Eureka!" That’s what you hope comes out of your mouth after setting up a wireless network. You may want to yell from the rooftops, or wherever you can find the tallest antennae that your new wireless network is running without any problems. Hold that thought: First check on your network’s health. That includes viewing the signal strength as well as monitoring its activity (that is, the network traffic). After all, what’s the point of having a wireless network if it is an underachiever?
Flexing Your Signal Strength
You’ll be happy to know of a simple way to view the strength of your wireless network’s signal. This method doesn’t provide a great deal of information, but it’s enough to know whether you ought to move your wireless router closer to your computers. Sometimes that’s all you really need to know. Don’t forget — a wireless connection is always weaker than a traditional, wired connection. In other words, you’ll experience slower download speeds than a wired connection. That’s why it’s important to make sure your signal strength is as strong as possible, to guarantee the best possible results from your wireless network.
You should check your signal strength at two different times:
♦ When you first set up your network
♦ Anytime you move your PCs or other network hardware
Moving components just a few feet from their original positions may cause signal strength to drop. In that case you can scurry about, putting everything back in place. Then, with thinking cap firmly applied, you can reconsider where you’ll move your equipment. You also have to take in to account the realities of where you installed your network; for example, the layout of your house if this is a home network. For example, I live in a building from the early 1800s; the walls are quite thick, so if I put my laptop on my desk, next to the wall, I don’t get a very good signal. If I move my laptop just a few feet behind me, the signal jumps to full strength.
Windows Vista has several built-in tools for testing your network.
To view a simple but helpful visual, just follow these steps:
1. Right-click the network icon in the Windows Vista notification area.
A pop-up menu appears.
2. Identify the desired network.
Next to the network connection is a small bar graph that provides a quick look at the strength of your wireless network’s signal, as shown in Figure 5-1. If four or five bars are highlighted, you’re enjoying robust signal reception. This is much easier than in past versions of Windows, where you actually had a procedure to work your way through simply to see if you had a decent connection or not.
Figure 5-1:
With four bars highlighted, this network is cranking.
If only three or fewer bars are highlighted, you have a pretty weak wireless connection.
3. When you’re done viewing your signal strength, move your mouse away from the pop-up menu.
You can also find out the strength of your network using a more procedure-intensive way. The Network and Sharing Center, shown in Figure 5-2, opens and tells the strength with text. Here’s how that text breaks down compared to the bar graph:
♦ Excellent: Your network is just full of energy. This is equivalent to four or five bars.
♦ Good: Your network is doing a fine job. This is equivalent to three bars.
♦ Fair: Your network is doing an OK job, but it’s not living up to its potential. This is equivalent to two bars.
♦ Poor: Your network is an underachiever. You may want to start shifting things, because you likely only have one bar.
Figure 5-2:
The Network and Sharing Center also shows signal strength.
A more sophisticated way of measuring signal strength is discussed a little later in this topic. Using a third-party software program, you can get a pretty accurate read on the strength of nearby Wi-Fi access points.
Monitoring Your Network
After you’ve decided which wireless networks you want to connect to, some Windows Vista tools can monitor those networks. One of these tools is in the same dialog box that shows your signal strength. Another is a real-time graphical network monitor that’s part of Windows Task Manager. In the following sections you learn how to use these tools. Most people use these tools simply to establish that their network is up and running properly. For example, if your network seems a bit sluggish, these tools will show you whether or not data is getting in or out.
Viewing your network’s activity
In the Wireless Network Connection Status dialog box, you can see how much data is moving in and out of a PC over your wireless network.
Here’s how you view it:
1. Confirm that your wireless network is enabled.
If it’s not, enable it. If you’re also running a wired network, disable it. If you’re using a laptop computer, it may be as simple as flipping a switch.
2. Right-click the network icon in Windows Vista notification area.
A pop-up menu appears.
3. Select Network and Sharing Center. The Network and Sharing Center appears.
4. Click View status on the Connection row of your wireless connection. Select the General tab if it’s not already selected.
5. The Wireless Connection Status window appears.
In the Activity area you can monitor bytes sent and received, as shown in Figure 5-3. If there’s a number below Sent but a zero is beneath Received, your wireless network may not be working properly. If there are at least three-digit numbers under both Sent and Received, your network should work.
6. Click Close.
That’s it for one view of network activity!
Figure 5-3:
A network showing signs of activity is a healthy network.
Viewing a real-time networking graph
To monitor your wireless network, just follow these steps:
1. Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete.
This is affectionately known by many as the Vulcan death grip. But in Windows Vista, instead of immediately rebooting your PC, it displays the Windows Task Manager dialog box. If that still freaks you out, you can always use Ctrl+Shift+Esc or right-click an open space on the Windows taskbar and go on to Step 2.
2. Select Task Manager.
You see several tabs at the top of the dialog box. By default, you are in the Applications tab.
3. Select the Networking tab.
A graph like that in Figure 5-4 shows your wireless network’s activity in real time. In this example my wireless network is using about 1 percent of its capacity. The bandwidth I’m using appears consistent because I’m streaming music over the Internet.
Figure 5-4:
A graphics display shows your network’s heartbeat, while a text area supplies other useful information.
If you also have a wired Ethernet network active, you see two graphic windows. One window shows the wired network while the other window shows the wireless network.
The bottom window shows a bunch of information about your wireless network. For starters, you see the Adapter Name, Network Utilization, Link Speed, and several columns displaying your network’s throughput (how much of the network’s capacity is actually being used).
4. When you’re done viewing your wireless network’s activity, close the Task Manager.
That’s it! See how easy it is to monitor your wireless network’s activity?
Changing the networking information you see
When viewing the Networking screen in Windows Task Manager, you see some detailed text information below the glitzy graphical display. It’s easy to change the columns displayed there:
1. In the Windows Task Manager, choose ViewOSelect Columns.
The Select Networking Page Columns dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 5-5.
Figure 5-5:
Choosing the information you’ll see in the networking graph
2. Select or deselect the boxes next to columns you want to display.
The default selections are usually sufficient. However, you may want to see something specific, or your network administrator may ask you to add columns while diagnosing a problem with your network. For example, you might want to see the number of bytes that were sent or received in order to see exactly how much data has been flowing across your network.
3. Click OK.
Any column changes appear in the text area.
4. If you added columns, you may need to resize the Windows Task Manager dialog box to see them. Point the mouse over the Task Manager’s outline until you see a double-headed arrow and click and drag to resize.
5. Close the dialog box when you’re done viewing the Networking screen.
You’re done — and you’re one step closer to becoming an experienced wireless network administrator.
Stumbling Upon NetStumbler
Although you can get a rough reading on your signal strength from Windows and monitor your network, another tool gives you a more detailed view: NetStumbler. It’s free for home users (commercial and government users are encouraged to donate $50 per copy). This application is recommended for any users who are still working with Windows XP. At the time of printing, NetStumbler does not support Windows Vista, which makes support for Windows 7 even less likely.
Written by Marius Milner, NetStumbler runs under Windows and monitors the signal strength of nearby access points. You can select an access point and NetStumbler displays a real-time graph showing the strength.
You can use it on your desktop PC to see if it’s close enough to the transmitter and if the signal is too noisy, which indicates interference or physical obstacles. Better yet, you can install the software on a laptop computer, moving around your house or business to measure signal strength in various places.
Downloading and installing NetStumbler
To download the program, follow these steps:
1. Go to www.netstumbler.com. The NetStumbler Web page loads.
2. Click Downloads (located on the left side of the main menu).
The Downloads page appears.
3. Click NetStumbler and save the program to your desktop or to another location you can remember.
4. Double-click the downloaded NetStumbler setup program.
The Setup dialog box displays the license agreement, once Windows Vista knows that it’s fine to install the program.
5. After reading the agreement, click I Agree.
The Choose Components screen appears.
6. Select the type of installation.
Complete is the default type.
7. Click Next.
The Choose Install Location screen appears.
8. If the installation directory is acceptable, click Install.
You can click Browse to choose another directory. The program installs when you click Install.
9. When it says Installation Complete, click Close.
Using other apps
Windows offers some solid, yet not stellar, networking monitoring tools, as we’ve seen in this topic. Some other viable alternatives are available if you want to get a second opinion.
Be careful, not all third-party applications are decent quality simply because they’re "not" Windows. Also, many are likely to either come at some cost and work only for a limited amount of time (either a full- or limited-access version). Be sure to check into such details before trying other applications.
For Windows Vista users, or any Windows 7 early adopters, you may want to try WirelessMon. This application, which is also available on a trial basis, works well under Windows Vista (even 64-bit). It is available at www. passmark.com.
The best advice I can give you is to perform a Web search for network monitoring applications and see what works best for you. Many applications offer the same or similar features for varying prices. In many cases, it’s simply a question of personal preference.
