Help with Linksys Router and WAP

Hi,
I am a student working on my A+ certification. I have no networking experience so I am a little lost and trying to figure out how to set up my little home network. I collected the parts as I could so I realize what I am trying to attempt may not be the optimum configuration but money being tight I would like to see if I can make what I have work. It would be good practice for me in my studies.

Here's what I have and what I want to accomplish. I have 1 desktop and 1 laptop. Both run XP. My laptop has a netgear wireless card as well as a integrated network card. I have a satellite connection to the internet via Wildblue. Between the PCs and the satellite modem is a Linksys wired router with a four port switch part number BEFSR41 ver. 4.3. I also have Linksys wireless access point part number WAP11.
I have the desktop and laptop connected to the router via cat5 cables and it works great. But I don't have the mobility around my house that I want. So I want to install the WAP11 so that I can connect to my network from anywhere in my house without dragging a cable around. I also have a frequent house guest to my house who has a wireless card in his notebook to be able to access my network when he comes to visit.

My initial thought was that I would simply connect the wireless access point via cat5 cable to the router/switch. Now I know that there is software that the WAP needs to run which leads me to believe that I have to designate it to my desktop and install the software on it. Is this true or false? Remember, I know their are probably prettier ways to do this (like buying a wireless router) but I already have this stuff.

Let me know if you need more info or have any questions.

Thank you all so much,
Kittie

 

You have the right idea. In order to configure the WAP you will need a USB Male A to Male B to configure it. Also check the link below on Linksys website for a Manual.

http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Sate...rWrapper&lid=3681941180B01&displaypage=nodata

Note: You will need to select the version of the router you are using.