20

Chapter 5: Configuring the Router

The Wireless Tab - Basic Wireless Settings

Broadband Router with 2 Phone Ports

The Wireless Tab - Basic Wireless Settings

The basic settings for wireless networking are set on this screen.

Wireless Network Mode

. From this drop-down menu, you can select the wireless standards running on your

network. If you have both 802.11g and 802.11b devices in your network, keep the default setting,

Mixed

. If you

have only 802.11g devices, select

G-Only

. If you have only 802.11b devices, select

B-Only

. If you do not have any

802.11g and 802.11b devices in your network, select

Disable

.

Wireless Network Name (SSID)

. The SSID is the network name shared among all points in a wireless network.

The SSID must be identical for all devices in the wireless network. It is case-sensitive and must not exceed 32

characters (use any of the characters on the keyboard). Make sure this setting is the same for all points in your

wireless network. For added security, you should change the default SSID (

linksys

) to a unique name.

Wireless Channel

. Select the appropriate channel from the list provided to correspond with your network

settings. All devices in your wireless network must be broadcast on the same channel in order to function

correctly.

Wireless SSID Broadcast

. When wireless clients survey the local area for wireless networks to associate with,

they will detect the SSID broadcast by the Router. To broadcast the Router's SSID, keep the default setting,

Enable

. If you do not want to broadcast the Router's SSID, then select

Disable

.

When you have finished making changes to this screen, click the

Save Settings

button to save the changes, or

click the

Cancel Changes

button to undo your changes. For help information, click

Help

.

Figure 5-10: Wireless Tab - Basic Wireless Settings

21

Chapter 5: Configuring the Router

The Wireless Tab - Wireless Security

Broadband Router with 2 Phone Ports

The Wireless Tab - Wireless Security

These settings configure the security of your wireless network. There are four wireless security mode options

supported by the Router: WPA Pre-Shared Key, WPA RADIUS, RADIUS, and WEP. (WPA stands for Wi-Fi Protected

Access, which is a security standard stronger than WEP encryption. WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy,

while RADIUS stands for Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service.) These four are briefly discussed here. For

detailed instructions on configuring wireless security for the Router, turn to “Appendix B: Wireless Security.”

WPA Pre-Shared Key

. WPA offers two encryption methods, TKIP and AES, with dynamic encryption keys. Select

the type of algorithm,

TKIP

or

AES

. Enter a WPA Shared Key of 8-63 characters. Then enter a Group Key Renewal

period, which instructs the Router how often it should change the encryption keys.

When you have finished making changes to this screen, click the

Save Settings

button to save the changes, or

click the

Cancel Changes

button to undo your changes. For help information, click

Help

.

WPA RADIUS

. This option features WPA used in coordination with a RADIUS server. (This should only be used

when a RADIUS server is connected to the Router.) First, select the type of WPA algorithm you want to use,

TKIP

or

AES

. Enter the RADIUS server’s IP Address and port number, along with the key shared between the Router and

the server. Last, enter the Key Renewal Timeout period, which instructs the Router how often it should change the

encryption keys.

When you have finished making changes to this screen, click the

Save Settings

button to save the changes, or

click the

Cancel Changes

button to undo your changes. For help information, click

Help

.

Figure 5-11: Wireless Tab - Wireless Security

(WPA Pre-Shared Key)

Figure 5-12: Wireless Tab - Wireless Security

(WPA RADIUS)

22

Chapter 5: Configuring the Router

The Wireless Tab - Wireless Security

Broadband Router with 2 Phone Ports

RADIUS

. This option features WEP used in coordination with a RADIUS server. (This should only be used when a

RADIUS server is connected to the Router.) First, enter the RADIUS server’s IP Address and port number, along

with the key shared between the Router and the server. Then, to indicate which WEP key to use, select a Default

Transmit Key number. Select the appropriate level of WEP encryption,

64 bits 10 hex digits

or

128 bits 26 hex

digits

. If you want to use a Passphrase, then enter it in the

Passphrase

field and click the

Generate

button. If you

want to manually enter the WEP keys, then enter them in the

Key 1-4

fields.

When you have finished making changes to this screen, click the

Save Settings

button to save the changes, or

click the

Cancel Changes

button to undo your changes. For help information, click

Help

.

WEP

. WEP is a basic encryption method, which is not as secure as WPA. To indicate which WEP key to use, select

a Default Transmit Key number. Select the appropriate level of WEP encryption,

64 bits 10 hex digits

or

128 bits

26 hex digits

. If you want to use a Passphrase, then enter it in the

Passphrase

field and click the

Generate

button. If you want to manually enter the WEP keys, then enter them in the

Key 1-4

fields.

When you have finished making changes to this screen, click the

Save Settings

button to save the changes, or

click the

Cancel Changes

button to undo your changes. For help information, click

Help

.

Figure 5-13: Wireless Tab - Wireless Security

(RADIUS)

Figure 5-14: Wireless Tab - Wireless Security

(WPA RADIUS)

23

Chapter 5: Configuring the Router

The Wireless Tab - Wireless MAC Filter

Broadband Router with 2 Phone Ports

The Wireless Tab - Wireless MAC Filter

Wireless access can be filtered by using the MAC addresses of the wireless devices transmitting within your

network’s radius.

Wireless MAC Filter

. To filter wireless users by MAC Address, either permitting or blocking access, click

Enable

.

If you do not wish to filter users by MAC Address, select

Disable

.

Prevent

. Clicking this button will block wireless access by MAC Address.

Permit Only

. Clicking this button will allow wireless access by MAC Address.

Edit MAC Address Filter List

. Clicking this button will open the MAC Address Filter List. On this screen, you can

list users whose wireless access you to permit or block.

For added convenience, click the

Wireless Client MAC List

button to display a list of wireless network users by

MAC Address. Then click the

Enable MAC Filter

checkbox for any device you want to add to the MAC Address

Filter List. To update the information on this list, click the

Refresh

button. When you have finished making

changes to the

Wireless Client MAC List

screen, click the

Update Filter List

button to save the changes. Click the

Close

button to return to the

MAC Address Filter List

screen.

When you have finished making changes to the

MAC Address Filter List

screen, click the

Save Settings

button to

save the changes, or click the

Cancel Changes

button to undo your changes.

When you have finished making changes to the

Wireless MAC Filter

screen, click the

Save Settings

button to

save the changes, or click the

Cancel Changes

button to undo your changes. For help information, click

Help

.

Figure 5-15: Wireless Tab - Wireless MAC Filter

Figure 5-16: MAC Address Filter List

Figure 5-17: Wireless Client MAC List

24

Chapter 5: Configuring the Router

The Wireless Tab - Advanced Wireless Settings

Broadband Router with 2 Phone Ports

The Wireless Tab - Advanced Wireless Settings

This tab is used to set up the Router’s advanced wireless functions. These settings should only be adjusted by an

expert administrator as incorrect settings can reduce wireless performance.

Authentication Type

. The default is set to

Auto

, which allows either Open System or Shared Key authentication

to be used. With

Open System

authentication, the sender and the recipient do NOT use a WEP key for

authentication. With

Shared Key

authentication, the sender and recipient use a WEP key for authentication.

Transmission Rate

. The rate of data transmission should be set depending on the speed of your wireless

network. You can select from a range of transmission speeds, or you can select

Auto

to have the Router

automatically use the fastest possible data rate and enable the Auto-Fallback feature. Auto-Fallback will

negotiate the best possible connection speed between the Router and a wireless client. The default value is

Auto

.

Beacon Interval

. Enter a value between 1 and 65,535 milliseconds. The Beacon Interval value indicates the

frequency interval of the beacon. A beacon is a packet broadcast by the Router to synchronize the wireless

network. The default value is

100

.

DTIM Interval

. This value, between 1 and 255, indicates the interval of the Delivery Traffic Indication Message

(DTIM). A DTIM field is a countdown field informing clients of the next window for listening to broadcast and

multicast messages. When the Router has buffered broadcast or multicast messages for associated clients, it

sends the next DTIM with a DTIM Interval value. Its clients hear the beacons and awaken to receive the broadcast

and multicast messages. The default value is

3

.

Fragmentation Threshold

. This value specifies the maximum size for a packet before data is fragmented into

multiple packets. If you experience a high packet error rate, you may slightly increase the Fragmentation

Threshold. Setting the Fragmentation Threshold too low may result in poor network performance. Only minor

reduction of the default value is recommended. In most cases, it should remain at its default value of

2346

.

RTS Threshold

. Should you encounter inconsistent data flow, only minor reduction of the default value,

2347

, is

recommended. If a network packet is smaller than the preset RTS threshold size, the RTS/CTS mechanism will

not be enabled. The Router sends Request to Send (RTS) frames to a particular receiving station and negotiates

the sending of a data frame. After receiving an RTS, the wireless station responds with a Clear to Send (CTS)

frame to acknowledge the right to begin transmission. The RTS Threshold value should remain at its default value

of

2347

.

When you have finished making changes to this screen, click the

Save Settings

button to save the changes, or

click the

Cancel Changes

button to undo your changes. For help information, click

Help

.

Figure 5-18: Wireless Tab - Advanced Wireless Settings