Home Network Tab

26

•

Click the Wireless Settings

link to open the Configure the Wireless Network page.

Figure 13. Configure the Wireless Network Page

Home Network Tab

27

The Current Settings panel shows the 2Wire gateway’s wireless access point settings:

•

Access Point.

The designated name of the wireless access point.

•

Network Name.

The name assigned to your wireless network. The default is 2WIREXXX, where XXX

represents the last three digits of your 2Wire gateway serial number (for example, 2WIRE954).

•

Channel.

The radio frequency band the access point uses for your wireless network (the default is 6).

Wireless adapter cards auto-detect which channels to use. If you are having problems with your

wireless network, it could be due to radio interference. You can change the wireless channel to see if

interference is reduced on a different channel.

Note:

For more information on wireless channels, refer to the wireless channel entry on page 123 in the

Glossary.

•

Authentication.

The security method used to ensure that users are authorized to access the wireless

network: WEP-Open, WEP-Shared, or WPA-PSK.

•

Encryption.

The security setting that makes it difficult for unauthorized users to access your network.

Customizing Security Settings

You should always enable encryption for wireless communication. When encryption is enabled, you must

define an encryption key for the 2Wire gateway’s wireless access point and configure that same key on each

wireless client that will use your 2Wire gateway wireless network.

You can customize the following wireless settings in the Wireless Security panel.

1.

From the Authentication pull-down menu, select an authentication setting:

WEP-Open, WEP-Shared, or

WPA-PSK.

Note:

WPA-PSK authentication is supported only on HG model gateways.

Open authentication allows users to configure their wireless adapter as either Open or Shared; in either

case an encryption key is required. Shared authentication allows users to configure their wireless

adapter for Shared authentication, which requires an encryption key. WPA-PSK requires that users

configure their wireless adapter using TKIP

.

2.

To use the encryption key that came with your gateway, click the

Use default encryption key

radio button.

To create a custom encryption key, click the

Use custom encryption key

radio button.

If you select

Use custom encryption key

, you can define a 64-bit or 128-bit encryption key. For 64-bit

encryption, enter a 10-digit hexadecimal number. For 128-bit encryption, enter a 26-digit hexadecimal

number. A hexadecimal number uses the characters 0-9, a-f, or A-F.

3.

Click

SAVE

.

Note:

If encryption is enabled, each wireless client must be configured with the encryption key

defined on the system before it can operate on your wireless network.

Home Network Tab

28

Configuring Additional Settings

The Additional Settings panel allows you to customize wireless settings. In general, it is recommended that

you leave the default settings in place; however, if you are experiencing connection or performance

difficulties, altering these settings may improve performance.

•

Wireless Mode.

Allows you to force the gateway to use 802.11b/g, 802.11b-only, or 802.11g-only

modes of operation.

Note:

This field displays only for 802.11b/g based models.

•

DTIM Period (seconds).

Determines at which interval the access point will send its broadcast traffic.

The default value is 4 seconds.

•

Maximum Connection Rate.

The maximum rate at which your wireless connection works (1, 2, 5.5, 11,

or 22 Mbps for 802.11b-based models; 1, 2, 5.5, 11, 6, 9, 12, 24, 36, 48, or 54 Mbps for 802.11b/

g-based models).

•

Power Setting.

Allows you to select the power level for your wireless connection. The default list is 1 to

4; additional options may appear based on the service provider’s configuration.

If you have customized your wireless system configuration, you can restore the wireless settings to factory

defaults by clicking the

RESTORE DEFAULTS

button.

Configuring Advanced Settings

The Edit Advanced Home Network Settings page displays the current IP settings in use by your system for

your home network, and allows you to configure your home network settings. You should adjust these

settings

ONLY

if you are very familiar with computer networking technologies.

The Current Settings panel shows the following information:

•

Router Address.

The IP address used by your system on the private home network (the default is

192.168.0.1). The system has two IP addresses: a private address that it uses on the home network,

and one that is used on the public broadband connection on the Internet. You can change the home

network IP address by changing the home network IP address range.

•

Subnet Mask.

The subnet mask is determined by the home network IP address range settings (the

default is 255.255.0.0).

•

DHCP Range.

The range of IP addresses used by your system (the default is 192.16.1.33 through

192.16.1.250). IP addresses can be either static (permanently assigned) or dynamic (automatic and

temporary).

Setting up a Private Network

By default, the 2Wire gateway uses the 192.168.1.0/255.255.0.0 IP address range. You can select from

two additional IP address ranges, or configure the network settings manually. You should manually configure

these settings

ONLY

if you thoroughly understand IP internetworking, because an incorrect configuration can

cause unpredictable results.

Note:

Because the fields that display are dependent on the type of wireless adapter you are

using, some of these settings may not display.

Home Network Tab

29

To set up a private network:

•

Open a Web browser and access the 2Wire gateway user interface by entering

•

Click the

Home Network

tab.

•

Click the Advanced Settings

link under the tab to open the Edit Advanced Home Network Settings page.

Figure 14. Advanced Home Network Settings Page

Home Network Tab

30

1.

Click the radio button that corresponds to the IP address range you wish to use.

If you select the 172.16.0.0 / 255.255.0.0 or 10.0.0.0 / 255.255.0.0 range, continue to step 5. If

you select

Configure manually

, continue to step 2.

2.

In the Router Address field, enter the IP address used by your system on the private home network.

3.

In the Subnet Mask field, enter the subnet mask. The subnet mask is determined by the home network

IP address range settings.

4.

Click the Enable DHCP checkbox.

a.

In the First DHCP Address field, enter the first DHCP address that you’ll be distributing over the

private network.

b.

In the Last DHCP Address field, enter the last DHCP address that you’ll be distributing over the

private network.

c.

In the Set DHCP Lease Time field, enter a value for the number of hours before the DHCP lease

expires.

5.

Click

SAVE

.

Setting Up a Public Network

The Public Network pane allows you to create a local network that has broadband network-accessible IP

addresses by creating a route from the Internet to the specified public network. The public network

operates without Network Address Translation (NAT). This feature is typically used in conjunction with

broadband service that provides a range of available IP addresses. Once enabled, the public IP addresses

can be assigned to local computers.

To set up a public network:

1.

Check the

Enable

checkbox.

2.

In the Router Address field, enter the router address (this is typically provided by your service provider).

3.

In the Subnet Mask field, enter the subnet mask (this is typically provided by your service provider).

4.

Click

SAVE

.

Note:

If you change the home network IP address range, you must renew the DHCP lease on

all devices on your home network and manually reconfigure all devices configured with static IP

addresses. If you are using the 2Wire Network Support Tool, you can renew the DHCP lease by

selecting “Refresh Network Connection” in the Network Support Tool menu.