Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Service - Getting Started

• How do I sign-up for service?
• Is service available in my area?
• When will service be available in my area?
• Is service available inside my home or business?

Hardware and Software Needed to Use the MoonOverAddison Network

• What basic equipment do I need?
• What is a wireless network card?
• How does a wireless network card work?
• What type of wireless network card should I use?
• How do I install a wireless network card?
• What is a wireless network card device driver?
• How do I install wireless network card drivers?
• How often should I update my wireless network card drivers?
• Which operating systems are supported?
• Which web browsers are supported
  

Setup and Configuration

• Which operating systems are supported?
• Does my wireless device need to be configured?
• What is a wireless supplicant?
• How do I configure my computer to access the MoonOverAddison network?

Connecting to the MoonOverAddison Network

• How do I connect/login to the MoonOverAddison network?
• How do I logout?
• Do I need to logout? What happens if I forget to logout?
• How do I know if I am connected to the MoonOverAddison Network/Internet?
• What is the minimum signal strength to get connected?
• How do I prevent my computer from flip-flopping between SSIDs?

Using the MoonOverAddison Network

• Can I get a stable connection using the MoonOverAddison network?
• How fast is the MoonOverAddison network?
• Can I upgrade my account to a higher speed?
• Can I get a static IP for my account?
• Can I have more than one person logon with my user ID?
• Can I use my account at all locations?
• Does my account have any session limits?
• Can I use a new wireless network card or new computer with my existing account?
• How many email addresses do I get with my account?
• Does the MoonOverAddison network support VPNs?
• How do I prevent my computer from flip-flopping between SSIDs?
  

Wireless Networking

• What is WiFi?
• How does WiFi work?
• What are the benefits of WiFi?
• Is wireless networking secure?
• How fast are wireless networks?
  

Troubleshooting

• How do I know if I am connected to the MoonOverAddison Network/Internet?
• I'm only getting 50 KB per second speed, why is this slower than my 56k dialup?
• What happens if I forget my password?
• What do I do if I have an active account and cannot log on?
• What do I do if I have a slow connection?
• How can I increase my signal strength?
• Does a low signal strength mean I am connecting at a slower connection rate?
• What do I do if I lose my connection?
• Why can't I send e-mail?
• What are common sources of interference?
• How can I contact MoonOverAddison?
  

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Glossary

How do I sign-up for service?

To purchase service directly from MoonOverAddison, use your laptop or other wireless device to connect to the network. Once connected, open a web browser and visit any Internet web site. You will be directed to a web page where you can sign-up for service.

Is service available in my area?

Deployment schedules vary from one metropolitan area to another. A list of cities associated with MoonOverAddison/RedMoon, Inc. can be found on the MoonOverAddison web site. If you are not located in one of these cities, service from MoonOverAddison is not available in your city at this time.

Each city in the list of cities links to a site dedicated to that city. You can find a deployment schedule and/or deployment map for that city in the "About Us" section of the site.

The best way to check if service is available in your area now is to use your laptop or wireless device and attempt to connect to the network. (Note that you will need a wireless network card properly installed and configured in your laptop to connect to the network.) The network will identify itself using a Service Set Identifier, aka "SSID". The identifier will be "MoonOverCityName" where CityName is the name of the city in which you are located. For example, users in Addison, TX would associate/connect with the "MoonOverAddison" wireless network. If you are unable to associate/connect with the network, chances are that service is not available in your area yet.

If you can connect, you should beware of rogue access points.

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Is service available inside my home or businesss?

MoonOverAddison is an outdoor Wi-Fi system. Similar to cordless telephones that operate under the same conditions, the MoonOverAddison signal can be degraded by walls and other infrastructure. There are also differing levels of performance in the computers themselves. In order to provide better coverage inside your home, MoonOverAddison reccomends purchasing a bridge/router for use in the network. This optional device will bring MoonOverAddison into areas where system performance is degraded inside buildings. The device will connect direct to your computer or wireless LAN via Ethernet, and will also regenerate the wireless into the emerging 802.11a wireless Wi-Fi band. A recommended bridge/router can be purchased through RedMoon by calling 972-599-3900.

What basic equipment do I need?

You will need the following items to connect to the MoonOverAddison wireless network:

• Computer or wireless networking device
• 802.11b or 802.11g wireless network card
• Supported operating system
• Current device driver for the wireless network card
• Appropriate supplicant (configuration) program
• Supported web browser

You will need a device such as a laptop or desktop computer equipped with an 802.11b or 802.11g compatible wireless network card. You will also need to install the appropriate wireless network card device driver. Wireless network cards are also sometimes referred to as a "Wireless NIC" or "WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) Card" Most laptops purchased after 2004 come with one of these types of cards already installed as standard equipment. If your computer does not have such a device, you can purchase one from most stores that sell computers or computer components. See the other questions in this FAQ list for information on operating systems, device drivers, and supplicants.

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What is a wireless network card?

A wireless network card is a physical device typically attached to a computer. Like a cell phone, a wireless network card is a radio device capable of sending and receiving radio signals which are converted to and from various different types of information such as text, voice, or video. Without a wireless network card, a computer cannot communicate with a wireless network such as the MoonOverAddison.

How does a wireless network card work?

A wireless network card works in the same fashion as a wired network card. It sends and receives data at a high rate of speed. However, instead of using a wire to communicate like a land-line telephone, it transmits and receives data via radio waves like a cell phone. Wireless network cards are capable of communicating a wide variety of information such as text or e-mail, pictures, web pages, sound, and anything else you can view or store on a computer. A wireless network card can be configured to communicate to transmit data to and from the Internet using the MoonOverAddison wireless network.

What type of wireless network card should I use?

If your computer does not have an integrated wireless network card (or if your integrated wireless network card does not work) you can purchase one. Any store that sells computers or computer accessories will typically sell wireless network card.
RedMoon does not recommend any one specific wireless network card or endorse any specific manufacturer. There are some general guidelines we can provide. In general, look for a card that has been manufactured in the last year. Wireless networking technology is rapidly evolving and newer cards will generally be better than older cards. Also, look for a card labeled as "Super G". These cards typically have better radios than their "B" and "G" counterparts.

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How do I install a wireless network card?

There are a number of different types of wireless network cards. Some are integrated into the computer, some attach via USB (Universal Serial Bus) connections, others attach via a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) slot. Which type of network card you have will determine how to install it. If you bought it from a store, follow the manufacturer's directions for installing the wireless network card in your computer.

Once the wireless network card is physically installed, you will also need to install device driver so that your computer can properly communicate using the wireless network card.

What is a wireless network card device driver?

A device driver is a computer program (software) that allows your operating system (Windows, Macintosh, Linux, Unix, etc) to use a physical device. A wireless network card device driver allows your operating system to properly send and receive radio signals with the wireless network card, to properly send and receive from the correct wireless network (such as MoonOverAddison), to communicate with the wireless network on the correct channel, and so on. Without a device driver, a wireless network card is as useful to a computer as a bowl of clam chowder.
When purchasing a wireless network card, it is important to ascertain that the device drivers will function properly for your operating system.

How do I install wireless network card drivers?

A wireless network card is bundled with the appropriate software. If your wireless network card is integrated, the software should have been included when you purchased your computer. Follow the manufacturer's directions for the installation of the device drivers. This typically involves installing software from a CD-ROM or other similar computer storage device.

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How often should I update my wireless network card drivers?

Manufacturers of wireless network cards often release updated device drivers. These updated drivers generally fix problems found in previous driver versions or increase performance or expand support features. It is generally best to update device drivers as they become available. Device driver updates are generally found on the manufacturer's web site. For more help, contact the manufacturer of your wireless network card.

Which web browsers are supported

You will need a web browser to successfully login to the MoonOverAddison network. The following web browsers are known to work correctly with the MoonOverAddison login servers:

• Mozilla Firefox, version 1.0.3 and later
• Safari, version 1.0 and later
• Internet Explorer, version 5.5 and later
• Netscape, version 7.1 and later
• Konquerer, version 3.4 and later (with OpenSSL)
• Opera, version 5 and later
  

For a browser to correctly work, it must support the current implementation/support of cookies, javascript, HTTP/1.1, SSL/TLS (HTTPS), tables, and forms.

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Which operating systems can be used?

MoonOverAddison suggests one of the following operating systems:

• Windows XP, any version
• Macintosh OS-X version 10.3 or later
• Linux
  

Other operating systems may be used if they can provide a necessary device driver for the wireless network card and if the manufacturer or the wireless network card can provide an adequate supplicant application.

Does my wireless device need to be configured?

Yes. Your computer or other wireless device along with its wireless network card will need to be properly configured before use. Along with your physical wireless network card and wireless network card device drivers, you will also need to configure a wireless supplicant.

What is a (wireless) "supplicant"?

Sometimes simply called a "wireless network card configuration program", a supplicant is a computer program that asks (thus the name "supplicant") a wireless network to allow your network device to join the network. Each wireless network has different settings. Settings include things such as a name (SSID), encryption, speed, channel, and so forth. A supplicant application will store the settings for each wireless network with which you communicate. That way, when you want to connect to a specific wireless network, you typically select the settings you've created from a list.

Microsoft Windows XP and Windows 2000 (with service Pack 4) come with a built-in supplicant called the "Wireless Zero Configuration" service. You configure wireless networks from the Network Connections portion of the Control Panel.

For earlier versions of Windows, you will need to obtain a supplicant application from the manufacturer of your wireless network card.

Macintosh OS-X versions 10.3 and later come with a built-in supplicant application as well. You configure wireless network settings from the Network panel of the system configuration menu. For earlier versions of the Macintosh OS, you will need to obtain a supplicant application from the manufacturer of your wireless network card.

For Linux, you will need to install the appropriate supplicant application. At the time of this writing there were two available open-source supplicants: X-Supplicant and WPA-supplicant. You could also check with the manufacturer of your wireless network card for the availability of a Linux-compatible supplicant application.

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How do I configure my computer to access the MoonOverAddison network?

First, make sure you meet the basic equipment requirements. Open your supplicant application and create an entry for the MoonOverBurlseon network. Each supplicant will display the setup options in a slightly different fashion, but will generally ask for the same entries or input fields. You will need to configure the following options:

• SSID: Your supplicant application should be able to auto-detect any wireless networks in range of your wireless network card. The MoonOverAddison network SSID is a combination of "MoonOverAddison" plus the name of the city, such as "MoonOverAddison".
• Data Encryption: none
• Authentication: open

The only option you will likely need to configure is the SSID.

How do I connect to the MoonOverAddison network?

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How do I logout?

When you connect to the MoonOverAddison network and successfully login, a pop-up window (if you aren't blocking pop-ups) will provide you with a logout button. Otherwise, you will be automatically logged out after a certain time period of inactivity.

Do I need to logout? What happens if I forget to logout?

It is always a good idea to logout for the same reasons it is always a good idea to remove your ATM card from the ATM machine when you're done with your transaction. When you connect to the MoonOverAddison network and successfully login, a pop-up window (if you aren't blocking pop-ups) will provide you with a logout button. If you forget to logout, you will be automatically logged out after a certain time period of inactivity.

How do I know if I am connected to the MoonOverAddison Network/Internet?

If you are connected to the MoonOverAddison Network (and thus the Internet), you should be able to browse to any Internet site such as Google. If you attempt to connect to Google but are instead redirected to a MoonOverAddison login page, then you are associated with the MoonOverAddison network, but have not yet logged in. You will not be able to access the network until you login. If nothing appears in your browser window when you attempt to visit the Google site or an error occurs, it might mean that you have not yet associated with the MoonOverAddison network. See the section on how to connect to the MoonOverAddison network.

What is the minimum signal strength to get connected?

Typically a signal strength of at least 40% or more is needed for your initial login. Once logged in, lower signal strength is often sufficient to retain a connection and effectively use the Internet.

Different wireless network cards may report different signal strengths from the same physical location. Computer-based signal meters only generally serve as a rough guide for troubleshooting.

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How do I prevent my computer from flip-flopping between SSIDs?

Sometimes your laptop or wireless device will be able to "see" more than one SSID. If your supplicant is not configured correctly, your wireless device may constantly flip-flop back and forth between two different SSIDs. By default, most wireless devices will attempt to connect to the SSID offering the best signal.

Can I get a stable connection using the MoonOverAddison network?

Certainly. RedMoon networks include access points in locations that maximize our coverage and minimize disruptions in our customers' service. While fluctuations and interference in signal strength are normal, we strive to make your Internet experience as worry-free as possible.

How fast is the MoonOverAddison Network?

Under perfect conditions, the MoonOverAddison network can operate at speeds up to roughly 18 times faster than a 56k dial-up connection. The entire network has been engineered with speed and throughput as a high priority. Your top speed will vary based on the number of other users with whom you are sharing the network, interference issues, and a number of other variables.

Can I get a static IP for my account?

Unfortunately, static IPs are not available at this time. MoonOverAddison offers business-class accounts that will offer static IP addresses.

Can I have more than one person logon with my user ID?

No. The second person/computer that logs in will cause the first person to be automatically logged out.

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Can I use my account at all locations?

All paid-subscription users can use their account throughout the city. After all, that is the purpose behind city-wide wireless networking! Users with month-to-month plans may use their account in any city that provides a RedMoon network (city list). However, you will need to add a new configuration to your supplicant application for each city you visit as each RedMoon city network has a different SSID (MoonOverAddison, MoonOverAddison, etc).

Does my account have any session limits?

Speed - This depends on the level of service you have purchased. See the section on speed for more help.

Data - There is no session limit on how much data you may upload or download.

Inactivity - For security reasons, you will automatically be logged out if you are inactive (do not upload or download anything) for a certain period of time.

Can I use a new wireless network card or new computer with my existing account?
It depends.

If you used the new account option from the login page to sign up for service and you selected the "MAC authentication" option when signing up for an account, the MAC address of your new equipment will not match the address of your old equipment and you will be prevented from logging in. To correct this, log into the self-service portal and use the account options to correct your MAC address to match the one on your new equipment. The MAC address of your network card can typically be viewed by viewing the properties of the card through your operating system.

If you did not use the self-service sign up or did not select the MAC authentication option when doing so, you can use your new equipment with your existing account.

Note that multiple logins (logging in with more than one computer at a time) are prevented.

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How many email addresses do I get with my account?

Up to 5 E-Mail addresses are provided by MoonOverAddison provider.

Does the MoonOverAddison network support VPNs?

Yes. If your company or another organization provides a Virtual Private Network (VPN) server, you can connect to it using the MoonOverAddison network. RedMoon networks do not block VPN traffic.

Is wireless networking secure?

Numerous books and articles have been written on wireless networking and security. Indeed, entire web sites are dedicated to this single topic. In a nutshell, your wireless connection is as prone to hackers as a hard-wired connection such as cable, DSL, or dial-up. As with any other type of computer networking, there are steps you can take to improve security. Security Tips for Using Wireless Networks.

I'm only getting 50 KB per second speed, why is this slower than my 56k dialup?

Actually, you are getting almost 8 times the speed of your dialup. This is a common misconception with how dialup bandwidth speeds are reported. On the Internet, or any network, bandwidth is reported as Kb (kilobits - note the small "b"). However, in almost all operating systems (all Microsoft Windows included), bandwidth and storage are reported as KB (kilobytes - note the capital "B"). The difference being that there are 8 bits in one byte (like there are 12 in a dozen). For example. A 56Kb/second (bits) dialup modem will have a maximum download speed of about 4KB/second (bytes) per second. Why? Because FCC limits the speed at which dialup can connect to 53Kb/second (bits), which gives a maximum transfer rate of 6.6KB/second (bytes). Plus when you take in to account noise on your phone line, you're lucky to get about 5KB/second (bytes) per second speeds.

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What do I do if I have an active account and cannot log on?

Check to see if you have the correct username and password. Usernames and passwords are CaSe SeNSitIve. This means that "JohnDoe" and "johndoe" are two different values. Be sure to enter your entire username. If you were given a username of "john@doe.com", enter the entire username, including "@doe.com".

What do I do if I have a slow connection?

First, keep in mind that a reported speed may not be what it appears to be. There are many possible reasons for a slow connection. Some of the most common include:

• Internet Traffic
• Number of other users on the network
• Radio Interference
• Weak Signal
  

When visiting a web site or using another Internet resource, your communications often travel through many different networks as it traverses the Internet. The Internet is made up of loosely connected groups of individual networks. Communication between these networks is not always fast, especially during times where many users are using the network at the same time.

On a wireless network such as the MoonOverAddison network, there are often several users sharing the same Access Point. The more users, the less time the equipment can dedicate to each individual user. As such, you'll notice better speeds at certain times of the day, with slower speeds during periods of peak usage.

There are many sources of radio interference which weakens your wireless network card's ability to communicate effectively with the MoonOverAddison network. Eliminating the interference can often boost speeds considerably.
Aside from interference, being too far away from an Access Point or having an older, weaker antenna or wireless network card often results in a weak signal. The weaker the signal, the slower the connection. Try changing your physical location or consider upgrading your wireless network card and/or antenna.

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How can I increase my signal strength?

Move closer to a MoonOverAddison network Access Point. Being too distant from an access point will quickly reduce your signal strength.

Check your surroundings for sources of possible interference. Eliminating sources of interference will generally result in increased signal strength.

Not all wireless network cards are created equal. Consider switching to a wireless network card or antenna with a greater signal gain, especially if your wireless network card is more than three years old.

Does a low signal strength mean that I am connecting at a slower connection rate?

No. Low signal strength does not always mean slower connect speed. If you are able to connect at a reasonable speed, the signal strength is irrelevant.

What do I do if I lose my connection?

Generally, you will lose your signal if you move too far from an Access Point or if you encounter some sort of interference. The first thing to try is to move back to the physical location of your initial login. If this does not work, check your wireless network card for a link light (it should be on), or if your wireless network card is internal or does not have a light, see if your supplicant application displays a signal strength for the MoonOverAddison network. No link light or no signal may mean that you need to reconnect or that you are experiencing some sort of interference.

How can I contact MoonOverAddison?

MoonOverAddison Nomadic and pre-paid card customers should call
MoonOverAddison Customer Care line at 1-877-250-4687.

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What are the benefits of WiFi?

Simply put, WiFi allows you to extend your communications to places wires can not or do not reach. You can work from the office, home, the park, the subway, coffee shops, the bus, and anywhere covered by the WiFi network. City workers, such as emergency responders, have access to critical information at all times and all places, allowing them to perform their tasks more efficiently and in a safer fashion. For example, firemen can access building floor plans while en route to a fire. Emergency medical technicians can send patient data in real time to the hospital prior to the patient's arrival. Average users gain new heights of convenience and mobility. Send flowers to a loved one while waiting for a haircut. Check email from the carpool line or while sitting at soccer practice. Anything you do online, now do online, on the road.

How does WiFi work?

A WiFi network typically consists of access points connected to the wired portion of the Internet and clients using computers (or computer devices such as VOIP phones) with wireless network cards. Instead of connecting the computer to the Access Point with a physical cable, they are connected with radio waves. When a user composes an e-mail and sends it, the wireless network card in the user's computer changes the e-mail data into radio waves and transmits those radio waves to an access point. The access point reverses the process by, changing the radio waves back into e-mail data and sending the e-mail on its way across the wired portion of the Internet.

The access point and wireless network cards speak the same "language" and know what radio "channel" on which to communicate by adhering to adopted WiFi standards such as 802.11b and 802.11g.

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FAQ Glossary

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