INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. Revised May 07. Home Networking Guide

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Introduction

Home networks have rapidly become a mainstay for corporate America. High speed cable, DSL and even satellite internet access is commonplace. The need for Rexnord employees to work from a remote location is becoming increasingly prevalent.

For effective support and ease of operation, we have put together this guide to educate and provide information on equipment and connection methods. This guide will also convey good practices in the use of both wired and wireless configurations.

This guide will also outline appropriate practices in the use of Rexnord computers attached to home networks.

Intent

The intent of this guide is to educate the user in an effort to understand the technologies required to easily and securing connectivity to the Rexnord data network. It is not

intended to be the end all document that answers all questions about home network configurations. Advanced users may have a desire for more complex network infrastructures in their residence, some aspects of which this guide may not address.

Disclaimer

The information in this document is believed to be true and correct. These are guidelines based on industry accepted practices. You are ultimately responsible for the

configuration and setup of your network and you may encounter situations where these configurations may not be appropriate. You must decide whether to accept any potential risk incurred by utilizing the information contained within this document. You should review this document completely before attempting to install, configure and utilize information gained from this guide.

Rexnord Support limitations

Rexnord I/T has limited capability and resources to configure and troubleshoot your home network. The support staff will always fall back to a wired connection and work towards getting the VPN connection to connect. Wired connections will often work quickly indicating that there is some issue with either the configuration or wireless

access point portion of the home router. Our assistance is limited to a best effort basis in troubleshooting. Troubleshooting FAQs are routinely included with the installation

documentation supplied with your home network equipment and are also usually available on the manufacturer’s web site.

Remotely Connecting to the Rexnord Data Network

Background

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Personally Owned PC Computers

Rexnord I/T support will not attempt to assist or install any software on your personally owned equipment. Should you have a need or desire to work remotely, contact your management to discuss available options.

“I Just Need Access to E-mail”

Your Rexnord email is always available from any Internet connected PC. Using the Internet browser, use the http address: webmail.rexnord.com. You will be prompted for your userID and password.

Note: You will not have access to any personal folders or related folder storage. Only folders

that are stored under your “Mailbox” like Inbox, Tasks, Calendar, and Contacts

Connection Requirements

In order to connect to the Rexnord Data Network, you must have the following three items properly functioning. If any of the items fails to function properly, your connection will not work.

1. Reliable connection to the Internet 2. Rexnord PC with the Cisco VPN Client

3. Appropriate userID credentials with Authorization to remotely access the network.

Note: By default userID’s / employees are not given access to remotely connect to the network. You must have your management request such access via the help Desk prior to your need.

Network Provider Connectivity

Providers

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Network Provider Software installation

In most situations, no software is required to be installed on Rexnord PC’s to access home broadband or high speed connections. Many providers will indicate that you must install a diagnostic tool or some related set of software to setup your machine. This simply is not the case.

High Speed vs. Dial-up

The legacy of Dial-up is fast becoming extinct. In today’s environment of demanding applications and the public becoming less tolerant to have slow response. Dial-up cannot support the needs of current corporate access.

Home Office and remote users are highly encouraged to utilize a reliable high speed connection for application and data access.

Recommended Equipment

The Rexnord Information Technology Group recommends the Linksys brand for home network connectivity. Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems, Inc. has a proven track record of compatibility and reliability even before the Cisco acquisition. Since equipment models and version change often, please reference the I/T Help Desk IVIEW site for equipment models and recommendations. Obviously there are dozens of manufactures that provide networking type equipment, if purchased personally, the ultimately rests with you.

Home Network Configurations

Method 1 – One PC connected to the Provider Equipment

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Method 2 – Router connected to the Provider Equipment (Most Common)

By far the most common and versatile method, this configuration allows for up to 254 computers to be connected up to a single broadband connection. Provider literally “sees” only one connection, the router. It allows for home and business computers to utilize the connection.

Connectivity

There are primarily two main connectivity methods that exist when using a conventional broadband router, wired using a cable, or wireless.

Wired

A wired connection is always the preferred method. It is faster than current standard wireless and more reliable. It is also of course much less convenient as you are tethered to the wired cable. With wired connection you will get a 100 Mbps connection from your PC to the broadband router. It is consider more secure as it is unlikely that potential intruders will be able to “hack” into your system via a wired cable.

Wireless

Wireless is by far the most popular connection used today. It’s convenient, relatively fast and of course very portable. “Wireless G” is the supported standard.

Unlike its wired counterpart, wireless travels over the airwaves. A secure connection is crucial. Many users utilize the default UNSECURE connection when initially setting up their system. When doing so they put themselves at risk for being compromised and neighbors “piggybacking” onto your network to “steal” internet access.

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Device Configurations

The following device configurations are based on Linksys branded equipment and the screenshots are based on a certain firmware level. Other equipment vendors and firmware levels will likely vary from the instructions displayed in this guide. Router Configuration

Most routers are connected directly to your provider cable modem. (See previous graphics)

Router Wireless Configuration

The two main components of the wireless configuration are the SSID and the wireless security mode. It is recommended that WPA2-PSK is utilized as it is the best security. Another good security technique is to NOT broadcast the SSID. Advanced hackers can analyze data packets and figure out the SSID name; however it’s another layer that folks will need to overcome to attempt to access your network. To summarize the following configurations should be addressed:

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Wireless SSID Broadcast(2): Disable (Note: some analysts feel that disabling the SSID gives a false sense of security as most hackers can pick up the SSID rather quickly, We feel that it is an added level of defense and is worth the effort.)

Security Mode (3): WPA2-PSK (Personal) (Note: For years the WEP security mode was long considered sufficient, however over time this method has been increasingly

comprised by hackers. WPA2 is the second generation of the WPA Security Mode. To learn more check out the following Links:

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/3672711 http://www.techterms.org/definition/wpa

WPA Shared Key(4): This key needs to be an 8 – 63 character phrase. There are several good web sites that can generate 63 character WPA keys.

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There are clearly more security settings that could be defined, but for the purposes of this discussion, we will only cover the WPA2 settings.

Notebook Wireless Configuration

All supported Rexnord notebooks have wireless capabilities built-in. Other PC’s that require a card are not supported. There are several ways to access the wireless configuration. The way we will outlines is:

1. Dfrom the START menu, select Control Panel

2. Within the control panel select Network Connections 3. Locate and find the wireless network card (see below) 4. Right-Click and select Properties.

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5. Select the Wireless Networks Tab

6. Select ADD.

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The SSID MUST match exactly to the name entered in the router configuration

Use the “Clipboard” to paste copies of the WPA shared key. Do NOT attempt to entry by hand character by character as it is likely that you will make an error.

DO NOT check the Ad-Hoc selection, this allows other computers to connect to you!

Back out of all windows dialog boxes by selecting OK or Close.

You may need to turn on your wireless card.

On Dell Units it is Function (FN) + F2.

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You may need to perform a “Repair” which will reset the wireless card and have it “look” for the defined network. To perform this, Right-Click on the Wireless Icon (see below) and select REPAIR.

Troubleshooting

Always take a systematic approach to troubleshooting your connection problem.

1. Be familiar with router and notebook operations, where to turn on and off wireless cards, etc.

2. Review wireless configuration on both router and notebook

3. Be aware of anyone or systems that require you to ”hard code” an IP address. most systems do this dynamically.

4. When did it last work and what has changed since then. 5. Do other PC’s connect