Setting Up Wireless Network

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HomePortal 3801HGV Gateway User Guide

Configuring LAN Devices

The following figure displays the

Devices

section of the

Status

page.

Refer to the following table to hide inactive devices and clear the list of devices appearing on the

Status

page:

Setting Up Wireless Network

Objective

To setup your wireless network.

This configuration determines the wireless settings used to access the wireless interface of the

gateway.

Steps

1.

Navigate to

Settings

>

LAN

>

Wireless

. The

Wireless

page appears.

Step

Result

Click

Hide Inactive Devices

.

Devices that are no longer on the local network will be hidden from the

Devices

list on this page and under

Home Network Devices

on the

Home

page.

Click

Clear List

.

Devices that are no longer active on the local network are cleared from the

Devices

list on this page and under

Home Network Devices

on the

Home

page.

Setting Up Wireless Network

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Configuring LAN Devices

Securing the Wireless Network Using Encryption Key

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Configuring LAN Devices

2.

Enable the wireless connection by selecting the

Enable Wireless Interface

check box.

3.

Enter a name assigned to your wireless network in the

Network Name (SSID)

text box. The

default is 2WIREXXX, where XXX represents the last three digits of your 2Wire gateway

serial number (for example, 2WIRE008). This name appears next to the

Wireless

icon on

the

Home

page.

Note

The HomePortal 3801HGV gateway can support up to 4 SSIDs. It can support upto 4

wireless devices at a time.

4.

Enable the broadcast of the SSID over the wireless network by selecting the

SSID

Broadcast

check box. This implies that the broadcasted SSID is visible to the users who

are scanning to connect to a wireless network.

Note

You can disable the broadcast of the SSID by clearing the SSID Broadcast check box.

When you disable

SSID Broadcast

, the LAN client cannot scan and connect to your

wireless network. You have to manually add a wireless profile in the LAN client to connect

to the wireless network instead of selecting the SSID name from a typical scan list.

5.

Select a wireless channel (radio frequency band) from the corresponding drop-down list

box. This is the access point used for your wireless network. Wireless clients or wireless

adapter cards auto-detect the 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. It is best to select

Auto

,

because a channel is automatically selected to minimize interference.

6.

Click

Save

. This ensures that the configured wireless setting is saved.

Securing the Wireless Network Using Encryption Key

Objective

To secure your wireless network using the encryption key.

Encrypted security setting makes it difficult for unauthorized users to access your network. It is

good practice to customize an encryption key for wireless communication. When the key is defined,

each wireless client must have it to connect to your wireless network.

Securing the Wireless Network Using Encryption Key

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Configuring LAN Devices

Steps

1.

Navigate to

Settings

>

LAN

>

Wireless

. The

Wireless

page to configure the

Security

settings appears.

2.

Enable or disable the wireless security by selecting or clearing the

Wireless Security

check

box. Wireless security is enabled as a default setting.

3.

Select an authentication setting from the

Authentication Type

drop-down list box. Check

the capabilities of the wireless clients that will be accessing this network and find a secure

protocol by referring to the following table:

4.

Select the

Use default encryption key printed on the System Label

radio button to use the

encryption key that came with your gateway.

OR

Select the

Set custom encryption key

radio button to create a 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

Authentication Type

Description

WEP-Open

The Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP) is an older security protocol that allows

any wireless clients within the radio range to access your network without an

encryption key. This setting provides the least level of security. For security

reasons, do not select this setting unless there is a compatibility issue with an

older wireless client. For added protection, set an encryption key on your AP and

enter the same key into your other wireless clients.

WEP-Shared

Similar to the

WEP-Open

setting, do not select this setting unless there is a

compatibility issue with an older wireless client. Unlike the

WEP-Open

setting,

the

WEP-Shared

setting prevents open access by any wireless client; therefore,

it is more secure than the

WEP-Open

setting. For added protection, set an

encryption key on your AP and enter the same key into your other wireless

clients.

WPA-PSK (TKIP)

This setting provides good security and works with most newer wireless clients.

This setting requires an encryption key on the AP and the wireless client

configured to use Wi-Fi Protected Access – Pre-Shared Key (WPA-PSK) with the

same encryption key.

WPA-PSK (TKIP) and

WPA2-PSK (AES)

This setting allows a wireless client to use either WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK to

access your network. An encryption key must be configured on the AP and the

same key must be entered on the wireless client.

WPA2-PSK (AES)

This setting requires that wireless clients use only WPA2-PSK to access your

networks. An encryption key must be configured on the AP and entered into the

wireless client. WPA2-PSK is currently the most secure Wi-Fi encryption protocol

but may not be available on many wireless clients.

Securing the Wireless Network Using MAC Filtering

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Configuring LAN Devices

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

This security key will be used by all clients to access your wireless network.

5.

Click

Save

. This ensures that the configured security setting is saved.

Securing the Wireless Network Using MAC Filtering

Objective

To secure your wireless network using the MAC filtering feature.

This feature enables you to block or allow wireless connection to all devices, or an individual device

based on the MAC address of the device. You allow only “known and trusted” devices to associate

with the wireless access point. MAC address filtering is disabled as a default setting. When

enabled, the wireless connection is granted only to the MAC addresses that are pre-configured in

the allowed device list.

Steps

1.

Navigate to

Settings

>

LAN

>

Wireless

. The

Wireless

page appears.

2.

In the

MAC Filtering

section, click

Edit Blocked/Allowed Device List

link. The

Wireless

MAC Filtering

page appears.