Reference Manual for the RangeMax Wireless Router WPN824

Wireless Configuration

4-5

v1.0, November 2005

•

Region.

This field identifies the region where the WPN824 can be used. It may not be legal to

operate the wireless features of the wireless router in a region other than one of those

identified in this field.

•

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

access point. For more information on the wireless channel frequencies, please see

“Wireless

Communications” in Appendix B

.

•

Mode.

This field determines which data communications protocol to use. You can select “g

only”, “b only

”

, or “g and b”. The “g only”

option

dedicates the WPN824 to communicating

with the higher bandwidth 802.11g wireless devices exclusively. “b only” dedicates the

WPN824 to communicating with the lower bandwidth 802.11b wireless devices exclusively.

The “g and b” mode provides backward compatibility with the slower 802.11b wireless

devices while still enabling 802.11g communications.

•

Security Options.

These options are the wireless security features you can enable. The table

below identifies the various basic wireless security options. A full explanation of these

standards is available in

“Wireless Communications” in Appendix B

.

Note:

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

Reference Manual for the RangeMax Wireless Router WPN824

4-6

Wireless Configuration

v1.0, November 2005

Table 4-1. Basic Wireless Security Options

Field

Description

Automatic

No wireless security.

WEP

WEP offers the following options:

•

Open System

With Open Network Authentication and 64- or 128-bit WEP Data Encryption, the WPN824

does

perform 64- or 128-bit data encryption but

does not

perform any authentication.

•

Shared Key

Shared Key authentication encrypts the SSID and data.

Choose 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 box. Manually

entered keys

are

case sensitive but passphrase characters

are not

case sensitive.

Note

: Not all wireless adapter configuration utilities support passphrase key generation.

• Auto

The router automatically detects whether Open System or Shared Key are being used.

WPA-PSK

WPA2-PSK

WPA-Pre-shared Key

does

perform authentication. WPA-PSK uses TKIP (Temporal Key

Integrity Protocol) data encryption and WPA2-PSK uses AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)

data encryption. Both dynamically change the encryption keys, making them nearly impossible

to circumvent.

Enter a word or group of printable characters in the Passphrase box. These characters

are

case sensitive.

Note

: Not all wireless adapter configuration utilities support WPA. Furthermore, client software

is required on the client. Windows XP Service Pack 2 and Windows XP Service Pack 1 with

the WPA patch do include the client software that supports WPA. Nevertheless, the wireless

adapter hardware and driver must also support WPA.

Reference Manual for the RangeMax Wireless Router WPN824

Wireless Configuration

4-7

v1.0, November 2005

To configure the advanced wireless settings of your firewall, click the

Wireless Setup

link in the

Advanced section of the main menu of the browser interface. The Advanced Wireless Settings

menu appears, as shown below.

•

Enable Wireless Router Radio.

If you disable the wireless router radio, wireless devices

cannot connect to the WPN824.

•

Enable SSID Broadcast.

If you disable broadcast of the SSID, only devices that have the

correct SSID can connect. Disabling SSID broadcast nullifies the wireless network ‘discovery’

feature of some products such as Windows XP.

•

108 Mbps Settings.

For best performance, leave these at their default settings.

Figure 4-4

Reference Manual for the RangeMax Wireless Router WPN824

4-8

Wireless Configuration

v1.0, November 2005

•

Wireless Card Access List.

When the Trusted PCs Only radio button is selected, the

WPN824 checks the MAC address of the wireless station and only allows connections to

computers identified on the trusted computers list.

Information to Gather Before Changing Basic Wireless Settings

Before customizing your wireless settings, print this form and record the following information. If

you are working with an existing wireless network, the person who set up or is responsible for the

network must provide this information. Otherwise, you must choose the settings for your wireless

network. Either way, record the settings for your wireless network in the spaces below.

•

Wireless Network Name (SSID)

:

______________________________

The SSID identifies

the wireless network. You can use up to 32 alphanumeric characters. The SSID

is

case

sensitive. The SSID in the wireless adapter card must match the SSID of the wireless router. In

some configuration utilities (such as in Windows XP), the term “wireless network name” is

used instead of SSID.

•

If WEP Authentication is Used,

circle one:

Open System

,

Shared Key, or Auto

.

–

WEP Encryption key size

. Choose one:

64-bit

or

128-bit

. Again, the encryption key size

must be the same for the wireless adapters and the wireless router.

–

Data Encryption (WEP) Keys

. There are two methods for creating WEP data encryption

keys. Whichever method you use, record the key values in the spaces below.

•

Passphrase method

. ______________________________

These characters

are

case

sensitive. Enter a word or group of printable characters and click the

Generate Keys

button. Not all wireless devices support the passphrase method.

Note:

The

Fragmentation Threshold

,

CTS/RTS Threshold

, and

Preamble Mode

options are reserved for wireless testing and advanced configuration only. Do not

change these settings.

Note:

If you select

Shared Key

, the other devices in the network will not connect

unless they are set to Shared Key as well and are configured with the correct

key.

Reference Manual for the RangeMax Wireless Router WPN824

Wireless Configuration

4-9

v1.0, November 2005

•

Manual method

. These values

are not

case sensitive. For 64-bit WEP, enter 10 hex

digits (any combination of 0-9 or a-f). For 128-bit WEP, enter 26 hex digits.

Key 1: ___________________________________

Key 2: ___________________________________

Key 3: ___________________________________

Key 4: ___________________________________

•

If WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK Authentication is Used:

–

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 set to WPA-PSK as well 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 set to WPA2-PSK and are configured with the

correct Passphrase.

Use the procedures described in the following sections to configure the WPN824. Store this

information in a safe place.

Default Factory Settings

When you first receive your WPN824, the default factory settings are in effect as shown below.

You can restore these defaults with the Factory Default Restore button on the rear panel. After you

install the WPN824 router, use the procedures below to customize any of the settings to better

meet your networking needs.

FEATURE

DEFAULT FACTORY SETTINGS

Wireless Router Radio

Disabled

Wireless Access List (MAC Filtering)

All wireless stations allowed

SSID broadcast

Enabled

SSID

NETGEAR

802.11b/g RF Channel

11

Mode

Auto 108

Authentication Type

Automatic

WEP

Disabled

DHCP Server

Enabled

DHCP range

192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.254