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–

Passphrase

. ______________________________ These characters

are

case-sensitive.

Enter a word or group of printable characters. When you use WPA-PSK, the other devices

in the network will not connect unless they are also set to WPA-PSK and are configured

with the correct passphrase. Similarly, when you use WPA2-PSK, the other devices in the

network will not connect unless they are also set to WPA2-PSK and are configured with

the correct passphrase.

Use the procedures described in the following sections to specify the WNR2000 router. Store this

information in a safe place.

Changing Wireless Security Settings

This section describes the wireless settings that you can view and configure in the Wireless

Settings screen, which you access under Setup in the main menu.

Viewing Basic Wireless Settings

To specify the wireless security settings of your router:

1.

Log in to the router as described in

“Logging In To Your Wireless Router” on page 1-2.

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2.

Select

Wireless Settings

under Setup in the main menu. The Wireless Settings screen

displays

.

The available settings in this screen are:

•

Name (SSID)

. The SSID is also known as the wireless network name. Enter a value of up to

32 alphanumeric characters. When more than one wireless network is active, different wireless

network names provide a way to separate the traffic. For a wireless device to participate in a

particular wireless network, it must be configured with the SSID for that network. The

WNR2000 default SSID is

NETGEAR

. You can disable this broadcast as described in

“Viewing Advanced Wireless Settings” on page 2-12

.

•

Region

. This field identifies the region where the WNR2000 router can be used. It might not

be legal to operate the wireless features of the wireless router in a region other than one of

those identified in this field.

Figure 2-2

Note:

The region selection feature might not be available in all countries.

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•

Channel

. This field determines which operating frequency is used. It should not be necessary

to change the wireless channel unless you notice interference problems with another nearby

wireless network. The wireless router uses channel bonding technology to extend the

bandwidth for data transmission. For more information about the wireless channel

frequencies, see the online document that you can access from

“Wireless Networking Basics”

in Appendix B

.

•

Mode

. This field determines which data communications protocol is used. You can choose

from:

–

Up To 54 Mbps

. Legacy mode, for compatibility with the slower 802.11b and 802.11g

wireless devices.

–

Up To 145 Mbps

. Neighbor Friendly mode, for reduced interference with neighboring

wireless networks. Provides two transmission streams with different data on the same

channel at the same time, but also allows 802.11b and 802.11g wireless devices. This is

the default mode.

–

Up To 300 Mbps

. Performance mode, using channel expansion to achieve the 300 Mbps

data rate. The WNR2000 router will use the channel you selected as the primary channel

and expand to the secondary channel (primary channel +4 or –4) to achieve a 40 MHz

frame-by-frame bandwidth. The WNR2000 router will detect channel usage and will

disable frame-by-frame expansion if the expansion would result in interference with the

data transmission of other access points or clients.

•

Security Options

. The selection of wireless security options can significantly affect your

network performance. The time it takes to establish a wireless connection can vary depending

on both your security settings and router placement.

WEP connections can take slightly longer to establish. Also, WEP, WPA-PSK, and WPA2-

PSK encryption can consume more battery power on a notebook computer, and can cause

significant performance degradation with a slow computer. Instructions for configuring the

security options can be found in

“Choosing Appropriate Wireless Security” on page 2-1

. A full

explanation of wireless security standards is available in the online document that you can

access from

“Wireless Networking Basics” in Appendix B

.

3.

Click

Apply

to save your settings.

Note:

The maximum wireless signal rate is derived from the IEEE Standard 802.11

specifications. Actual data throughput will vary. Network conditions and

environmental factors, including volume of network traffic, building materials

and construction, and network overhead, lower actual data throughput rate.

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Configuring WEP Wireless Security

WEP Shared Key authentication and WEP data encryption can be defeated by a determined

eavesdropper using publicly available tools.

WEP offers the following options:

•

Automatic

. With the Automatic option, the router will try both Open System and Shared Key

authentication. Normally this setting is suitable. If it fails, select

Open System

or

Shared Key

.

You can also refer to your wireless adapter’s documentation to see what method to use.

•

Open System

. With Open System authentication and 64 or 128 bit WEP data encryption, the

WNR2000 router

does

perform data encryption but

does not

perform any authentication.

Anyone can join the network. This setting provides very little practical wireless security.

•

Shared Key

. With Shared Key authentication, a wireless device must know the WEP key to

join the network. Select the encryption strength (64 or 128 bit data encryption). Manually

enter the key values, or enter a word or group of printable characters in the

Passphrase

field.

Manually entered keys

are not

case-sensitive, but passphrase characters

are

case-sensitive.

To configure WEP data encryption:

1.

Select

Wireless Settings

under Setup in the main menu.

2.

In the Security Options section, select

WEP

. The WEP options display.

Note:

If you use a wireless computer to configure WEP settings, you will be disconnected

when you click

Apply

. You must then either configure your wireless adapter to

match the wireless router WEP settings or access the wireless router from a wired

computer to make any further changes. Not all wireless adapter configuration

utilities support passphrase key generation.

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.

3.

Select the authentication type and encryption strength.

4.

You can manually or automatically program the four data encryption keys. These values must

be identical on all computers and access points in your network.

•

Automatic

. In the

Passphrase

field, enter a word or group of printable characters, and

click

Generate

. The passphrase is case-sensitive. For example, NETGEAR is not the

same as nETgear. The four key fields are automatically populated with key values.

•

Manual

. Enter 10 hexadecimal digits (any combination of 0–9, a–f, or A–F). These

entries are not case-sensitive. For example, AA is the same as aa.

Select which of the four keys to activate.

5.

Click

Apply

to save your settings.

Configuring WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK Wireless Security

Wi-Fi Protected Access with Pre-Shared Key (WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK) data encryption

provides extremely strong data security, very effectively blocking eavesdropping. Because WPA

and WPA2 are relatively new standards, older wireless adapters and devices might not support

them. Check whether newer drivers are available from the manufacturer. Also, you might be able

to use the Push 'N' Connect feature to configure this type of security if it is supported by your

wireless clients. See

“Using Push 'N' Connect (Wi-Fi Protected Setup)” on page 2-13

.

Figure 2-3