Reference Manual for the RangeMax 240 Wireless Router WPNT834

Wireless Configuration

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v1.0, November 2005

•

WPA-PSK

and

WPA2-PSK.

Wi-Fi Protected Access, Pre-Shared Key (WPA-PSK and

WPA2-PSK) data encryption provide strong data security. WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK block

eavesdropping. Because these are new standards, wireless device driver and software

availability may be limited.

•

Turn Off the Wireless LAN.

If you disable the wireless LAN, wireless devices cannot

communicate with the router at all. You might choose to turn off the wireless LAN when you

are away and other users of your network all use wired connections.

Understanding Wireless Settings

To configure the Wireless settings of your firewall, click the

Wireless

link in the main menu of the

browser interface. The Wireless Settings menu appears, as shown below.

Figure 4-2

Reference Manual for the RangeMax 240 Wireless Router WPNT834

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Wireless Configuration

v1.0, November 2005

•

Name (SSID).

The SSID is also known as the wireless network name. Enter a value of up to

32 alphanumeric characters. In a setting where there is more than one wireless network,

different wireless network names provide a means for separating the traffic. Any device you

want to participate in a particular wireless network will need to use this SSID for that network.

The WPNT834 default SSID is:

NETGEAR

.

•

Region.

This field identifies the region where the WPNT834 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, see

“Wireless

Communications” in Appendix B

.

•

Mode.

This field determines which data communications protocol is used. You can select “g

only”, “b only”, “g and b”, “Up To 126 Mbps”, and “Up To 240 MBps”. The “g only” option

dedicates the WPNT834 to communicating with the higher bandwidth 802.11g wireless

devices exclusively. “b only” dedicates the WPNT834 to communicating with the higher

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 240 Wireless Router WPNT834

Wireless Configuration

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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 WPNT834

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 wireless router automatically detects whether Open System or Shared Key is used.

WPA-PSK

WPA2-PSK

WPA-Pre-shared Key

does

perform authentication. WPA2-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 Password Phrase 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

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 240 Wireless Router WPNT834

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Wireless Configuration

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 WPNT834.

•

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.

•

Wireless Card Access List.

When the Trusted PCs Only radio button is selected, the

WPNT834 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 will be able to 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.

Figure 4-3

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.

Reference Manual for the RangeMax 240 Wireless Router WPNT834

Wireless Configuration

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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.

•

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 aslo set to WPA2-PSK and are configured with

the correct Passphrase.

Use the procedures described in the following sections to configure the WPNT834. Store this

information in a safe place.

Note:

If you select

Shared Key

, the other devices in the network will not connect

unless they are also set to Shared Key and are configured with the correct key.