ing into it in that depth. Configuring a WAP Most people will configure an access point using a web browser, since many residential- class access points support only HTTP configuration. I'm a command-line kind of guy, SO I'll show you how to configure a single Cisco 1231 WAP in an environment where only one WAP is required. Things get substantially more complicated when consider- ations such as roaming and wireless controllers come into play. In enterprise environ- ments, it's common to use lightweight access points (LAPs) that are controlled entirely by wireless access controllers. Configuring a wireless network through a controller is a very different task than what I've outlined here. Again, I recommend a book dedicated to wireless networking for such detail. This configuration is very simple, and is designed to give you a basic understanding of what the IOS configuration in a simple WAP looks like. There are far better ways to configure wireless networks, including better security, the use of wireless VLANs, roaming, and SO on. Please use your best judgment when designing wireless environments. Simple security such as WEP can pose serious security risks and should not be used in most corporate environments. I'm configuring a single Cisco 1231 WAP for a small office that only has a few em- ployees. They don't need multiple access points, and they have minimal security needs since their office is in a remote location protected by large dogs hungry for wireless- hacker meat. The first step is to enable bridging with the bridge irb command. I detest bridging in most environments, but for a WAP, it's just what we need. This will make all of the wireless nodes appear as if they are directly connected to the network: Cisco-WAP(config)#bridge irb Next, I'll configure a Service Set ID (SSID). My SSID will be called Coolness. The SSID is used to identify the wireless network to the client. Multiple SSIDs can exist on a single WAP, and they can even be tied to different VLANs. I will only be configuring one SSID: Cisco-