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Chapter 6: Configuring the Wireless-G Broadband Router with RangeBooster

The Wireless Tab - Wireless Security

Wireless-G Broadband Router with RangeBooster

PSK2

. PSK2 is stronger than WPA Personal and gives you one encryption method, AES, with dynamic encryption

keys. Enter a Passphrase of 8-63 characters. Then enter a Key Renewal period, which instructs the Router how

often it should change the encryption keys.

PSK2-Mixed

. PSK2-Mixed gives you either WPA-Personal (TKIP) or PSK2 (AES) encryption. Enter a Passphrase of

8-63 characters. Then enter a Key Renewal period, which instructs the Router how often it should change the

encryption keys.

WPA Enterprise

. 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 encryption you want to use,

TKIP

or

AES

. Enter the RADIUS server’s IP Address and port number, along with a shared secret (authentication key)

between the Router and the server. Last, enter a Key Renewal Timeout, which instructs the Router how often it

should change the encryption keys.

Figure 5-22: Wireless Tab - Wireless Security (PSK2)

Figure 5-23: Wireless Tab - Wireless Security (RPSK2-

Mixed)

Figure 5-24: Wireless Tab - Wireless Security (WPA

Enterprise)

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Chapter 6: Configuring the Wireless-G Broadband Router with RangeBooster

The Wireless Tab - Wireless Security

Wireless-G Broadband Router with RangeBooster

PSK2 + RADIUS

. This option features a PSK2 used in coordination with a RADIUS server. (This should only be

used when a RADIUS server is connected to the Router.) AES

is the type of encryption method used. Enter the

RADIUS server’s IP address and port number, along with the shared secret (authentication key) shared by the

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

the encryption keys.

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 a shared secret (authentic key) shared between the Router and the server. Then, select a level of WEP

encryption,

40/64 bits 10 hex digits

or

104/128 bits 26 hex digits

and either generate a WEP key using the

Passphrase or enter the WEP key manually, and lastly, select a Default Transmit Key (choose which Key to use).

Change these settings as described here and click the

Save Settings

button to apply your changes or

Cancel

Changes

to cancel your changes.

Figure 5-26: Wireless Tab - Wireless Security (RADIUS)

Figure 5-25: Wireless Tab - Wireless Security (PSK2 +

RADIUS)

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Chapter 6: Configuring the Wireless-G Broadband Router with RangeBooster

The Wireless Tab - Wireless MAC Filter

Wireless-G Broadband Router with RangeBooster

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

Enabled

. If you do not wish to

filter users by MAC Address, select

Disabled

.

Access Restriction

Prevent PCs listed below from accessing the wireless network

. Clicking this button will block wireless

access by MAC Address.

Permit PCs listed below to access the wireless network

. Clicking this button will allow wireless access by

MAC Address.

MAC Address Filter List

You can manually enter a MAC address to filter or you can select one from the Wireless Client List.

Wireless Client List

. Click the

Wireless Client MAC List

button to display a list of wireless network users. From

the

To Sort by

drop-down menu, you can sort the table by Client Name, IP Address, MAC Address, Interface, or

Client Name. To add a client’s MAC Address to your MAC Address Filter list, click the

Save to MAC Address Filter

List

checkbox and click the

Add

button. To view the most up-to-date information, click the

Refresh

button. To

exit this screen, click the

Close

button.

Change these settings as described here and click the

Save Settings

button to apply your changes or

Cancel

Changes

to cancel your changes.

Figure 5-27: Wireless Tab - Wireless MAC Filter

Figure 5-28: Wireless Client List

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Chapter 6: Configuring the Wireless-G Broadband Router with RangeBooster

The Wireless Tab - Advanced Wireless Settings

Wireless-G Broadband Router with RangeBooster

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.

Advanced Wireless

Frame Burst Mode

. Enabling this option should provide your network with greater performance, depending on

the manufacturer of your wireless products. The default setting is

Enabled

.

AP Isolation

. This isolates all wireless clients and wireless devices on your network from each other. Wireless

devices will be able to communicate with the Router but not with each other. To use this function, click

Enabled

.

AP Isolation is disabled by default.

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.

Basic Rate

. The Basic Rate setting is not actually one rate of transmission but a series of rates at which the

Router can transmit. The Router will advertise its Basic Rate to the other wireless devices in your network, so

they know which rates will be used. The Router will also advertise that it will automatically select the best rate

for transmission. The default setting is

Default

, when the Router can transmit at all standard wireless rates

(1-2Mbps, 5.5Mbps, 11Mbps, 18Mbps, and 24Mbps). Other options are

1-2Mbps

, for use with older wireless

technology, and

All

, when the Router can transmit at all wireless rates. The Basic Rate is not the actual rate of

data transmission. If you want to specify the Router’s rate of data transmission, configure the Transmission Rate

setting.

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 setting is

Auto.

Transmission Power

. The greater the transmission power used, the larger the area a wireless network covers.

To minimize the likelihood of eavesdropping by unauthorized wireless users, do not use more transmission power

than necessary to cover the range needed by your wireless network. Try using the Router at different levels of

transmission power, and determine how much power is needed to reach the wireless client, such as a PC or

access point, that is farthest from the Router. Then select the appropriate level,

Full

,

Half

,

Quarter

,

Eighth

, or

Min

, from the drop-down menu. The default setting is

Full

.

Figure 5-29: Wireless Tab - Advanced Wireless Settings

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Chapter 6: Configuring the Wireless-G Broadband Router with RangeBooster

The Wireless Tab - Advanced Wireless Settings

Wireless-G Broadband Router with RangeBooster

CTS Protection Mode

. CTS (Clear-To-Send) Protection Mode’s default setting is

Auto

. The Router will

automatically use CTS Protection Mode when your Wireless-G products are experiencing severe problems and

are not able to transmit to the Router in an environment with heavy 802.11b traffic. This function boosts the

Router’s ability to catch all Wireless-G transmissions but will severely decrease performance.

Beacon Interval

. 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 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

1

.

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. The default value is

2346

.

RTS Threshold

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

2346

, 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 default value is

2346

.

Change these settings as described here and click the

Save Settings

button to apply your changes or

Cancel

Changes

to cancel your changes.