NETGEAR WGR614v2 Router Manual PDF (Setup & Configuration Guide)

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Reference Manual for Cable/DSL Wireless Router WGR614

Preparing Your Network

C-21

Restarting the Network

Once you’ve set up your computers to work with the firewall, you must reset the network for the

devices to be able to communicate correctly. Restart any computer that is connected to the firewall.

After configuring all of your computers for TCP/IP networking and restarting them, and

connecting them to the local network of your WGR614 router, you are ready to access and

configure the firewall.

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Reference Manual for Cable/DSL Wireless Router WGR614

C-22

Preparing Your Network

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Wireless Networking Basics

D-1

Appendix D

Wireless Networking Basics

This chapter provides an overview of Wireless networking.

Wireless Networking Overview

The WGR614 router conforms to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

802.11 standard for wireless LANs (WLANs) and a product update will bring the WGR614 into

conformance to the 802.11g standard when it is ratified. On an 802.11b or g wireless link, data is

encoded using direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) technology and is transmitted in the

unlicensed radio spectrum at 2.5GHz. The maximum data rate for the wireless link is 11 Mbps, but

it will automatically back down from 11 Mbps to 5.5, 2, and 1 Mbps when the radio signal is weak

or when interference is detected. The 802.11g auto rate sensing rates are 1, 2, 5.5, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24,

36, 48, and 54 Mbps.

The 802.11 standard is also called Wireless Ethernet or Wi-Fi by the Wireless Ethernet

Compatibility Alliance (WECA, see

http://www.wi-fi.net

), an industry standard group promoting

interoperability among 802.11 devices. The 802.11 standard offers two methods for configuring a

wireless network - ad hoc and infrastructure.

Infrastructure Mode

With a wireless Access Point, you can operate the wireless LAN in the infrastructure mode. This

mode provides wireless connectivity to multiple wireless network devices within a fixed range or

area of coverage, interacting with wireless nodes via an antenna.

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Reference Manual for Cable/DSL Wireless Router WGR614

D-2

Wireless Networking Basics

In the infrastructure mode, the wireless access point converts airwave data into wired Ethernet

data, acting as a bridge between the wired LAN and wireless clients. Connecting multiple Access

Points via a wired Ethernet backbone can further extend the wireless network coverage. As a

mobile computing device moves out of the range of one access point, it moves into the range of

another. As a result, wireless clients can freely roam from one Access Point domain to another and

still maintain seamless network connection.

Ad Hoc Mode (Peer-to-Peer Workgroup)

In an ad hoc network, computers are brought together as needed; thus, there is no structure or fixed

points to the network - each node can generally communicate with any other node. There is no

Access Point involved in this configuration. This mode enables you to quickly set up a small

wireless workgroup and allows workgroup members to exchange data or share printers as

supported by Microsoft networking in the various Windows operating systems. Some vendors also

refer to ad hoc networking as peer-to-peer group networking.

In this configuration, network packets are directly sent and received by the intended transmitting

and receiving stations. As long as the stations are within range of one another, this is the easiest

and least expensive way to set up a wireless network.

Network Name: Extended Service Set Identification (ESSID)

The Extended Service Set Identification (ESSID) is one of two types of Service Set Identification

(SSID). In an ad hoc wireless network with no access points, the Basic Service Set Identification

(BSSID) is used. In an infrastructure wireless network that includes an access point, the ESSID is

used, but may still be referred to as SSID.

An SSID is a thirty-two character (maximum) alphanumeric key identifying the name of the

wireless local area network. Some vendors refer to the SSID as network name. For the wireless

devices in a network to communicate with each other, all devices must be configured with the

same SSID.

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Reference Manual for Cable/DSL Wireless Router WGR614

Wireless Networking Basics

D-3

Authentication and WEP

The absence of a physical connection between nodes makes the wireless links vulnerable to

eavesdropping and information theft. To provide a certain level of security, the IEEE 802.11

standard has defined two types of authentication methods, Open System and Shared Key. With

Open System authentication, a wireless PC can join any network and receive any messages that are

not encrypted. With Shared Key authentication, only those PCs that possess the correct

authentication key can join the network. By default, IEEE 802.11 wireless devices operate in an

Open System network.

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) data encryption is used when the wireless devices are configured

to operate in Shared Key authentication mode. There are two shared key methods implemented in

most commercially available products, 64-bit and 128-bit WEP data encryption.

802.11 Authentication

The 802.11 standard defines several services that govern how two 802.11 devices communicate.

The following events must occur before an 802.11 Station can communicate with an Ethernet

network through an access point such as the one built in to the WGR614:

1.

Turn on the wireless station.

2.

The station listens for messages from any access points that are in range.

3.

The station finds a message from an access point that has a matching SSID.

4.

The station sends an authentication request to the access point.

5.

The access point authenticates the station.

6.

The station sends an association request to the access point.

7.

The access point associates with the station.

8.

The station can now communicate with the Ethernet network through the access point.

An access point must authenticate a station before the station can associate with the access point or

communicate with the network. The IEEE 802.11 standard defines two types of authentication:

Open System and Shared Key.

•

Open System Authentication

allows any device to join the network, assuming that the device

SSID matches the access point SSID. Alternatively, the device can use the “ANY” SSID

option to associate with any available Access Point within range, regardless of its SSID.

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