Jeff Duntemann's Wi-Fi Guide, Second Edition (Paperback)

by Jeff Duntemann (Author) "When the infamous tech bubble burst in early 2000, the computer products industry went into a miles-deep funk from which it is only now beginning..." (more)
Key Phrases: firmware release level, bandwidth expander, partner hotspot, Cisco Aironet, Orinoco Gold, Wired Equivalent Privacy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
I have more than 30 books on wireless/WLAN technology. This book has now moved to the top of my list. -- Michael J. Davis, wireless LAN and cellular uber geek, April 4, 2003

Product Description
This new edition of the bestselling Wi-Fi guide provides everything Wi-Fi users need to know to design, build, protect, and extend Wi-Fi wireless networks! In this book, legendary tech teacher, wireless expert, and best-selling author Jeff Duntemann explains practical techniques for setting up and using Wi-Fi gear and software. This second edition has been expanded and brought fully up-to-date, covering more on setting up hotspots, community networking, security, Wireless Protected Access (WPA), new Wi-Fi standards (802.11g), and much more.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 520 pages
• Publisher: Paraglyph; 2nd edition (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932111883
• ISBN-13: 978-1932111880
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #471,894 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A worthy successor to the original, May 24, 2004

By	roamer (Odenton, MD United States) - See all my reviews

The first edition of the WiFi Guide was considered by many in the wireless world to be the "bible' of WiFi. As hard as it may be to believe, the second edition is even better! Jeff has truly outdone himself with this version. All of the important information from the first edition is back, but this time the book is expanded to include a wealth of information the first only hinted at.

If you are interested in how wireless networks actually work as well as how to secure them (at both the hardware and software level) this book is for you. Well done Jeff.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best Wi-Fi guides
One of the best Wi-Fi guides, September 25, 2004

By	Jack D. Herrington "engineer and author" (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

It's a toss-up for me between this book and O'Rielly's "Wi-Fi Hacks" book. Both books have up-to-date, well written content. The Hacks books is organized more aggressively into a set form that may or may not appeal to you. This book has a more traditional topic based organization.

Topics include antenna coverage and construction, operating system information and coverage of the different types of Wi-Fi security that are available.

I recommend this book for anyone serious about building their own Wi-Fi networks. I don't recommend this book, or O'Reilly Hacks, for someone just looking for how to get their computer on a wireless network. For that I would recommend a book specific to their operating system.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The latest WiFi scene, May 5, 2004

By	W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In 2003, Duntemann came out with the first edition of this book and it was well received. Now, scarcely a year late, he has brought forth the second edition. One could be cynical and say that a second edition is in part to trigger users of the first edition to upgrade, much as some hardware and software vendors might so. But WiFi has been growing rapidly on several fronts. It is a measure of its vitality that in the space of a year, this new edition is indeed useful.

Here are the salient recent developments, as explained by Duntemann. For starters, the IEEE 802.11g is now well defined and a slew of products has become available that support it. So much so that Duntemann recommends that you consider 802.11a products obsoleted by these, in most circumstances. Related to this, he provides an updated assessment of many types of 802.11 hardware.

A common need by some WiFi users who travel is knowledge of public hotspots. A chapter is devoted to this topic, with summaries of major networks like Boingo and T-Mobile. A field in major flux.

Every text on WiFi talks about security. Because when you use wireless, anyone in the vicinity could evesdrop. But this book is slightly unusual in the amount of attention devoted to it. Fully 5 chapters (a quarter of the book) expound on security. The level of this discussion is necessarily technical. But not forbiddingly so. Hopefully, most of you can glean something from this, if you pay attention.