Chapter 11 Wireless LAN

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81

•

Use the

Advanced

screen (

Section 11.7 on page 90

) to allow wireless advanced features, such

as intra-BSS networking and set the

RTS/CTS Threshold.

•

Use the

QoS

screen (

Section 11.8 on page 91

) to set priority levels to services, such as e-mail,

VoIP, chat, and so on.

•

Use the

WPS

screen (

Section 11.9 on page 91

) to quickly set up a wireless network with strong

security, without having to configure security settings manually.

•

Use the

WPS Device

screen (

Section 11.10 on page 92

) to add a wireless device using WPS.

•

Use the

Scheduling

screen (

Section 11.11 on page 93

) to set the times your wireless LAN is

turned on and off.

•

Use the

Guest WLAN

screen (

Section 11.12 on page 94

) to configure multiple BSSs on the NBG.

11.3

What You Should Know

Every wireless network must follow these basic guidelines.

•

Every wireless client in the same wireless network must use the same SSID.

The SSID is the name of the wireless network. It stands for Service Set IDentity.

•

If two wireless networks overlap, they should use different channels.

Like radio stations or television channels, each wireless network uses a specific channel, or

frequency, to send and receive information.

•

Every wireless client in the same wireless network must use security compatible with the AP.

Security stops unauthorized devices from using the wireless network. It can also protect the

information that is sent in the wireless network.

11.3.1

Wireless Security Overview

The following sections introduce different types of wireless security you can set up in the wireless

network.

11.3.1.1

SSID

Normally, the AP acts like a beacon and regularly broadcasts the SSID in the area. You can hide the

SSID instead, in which case the AP does not broadcast the SSID. In addition, you should change

the default SSID to something that is difficult to guess.

This type of security is fairly weak, however, because there are ways for unauthorized devices to

get the SSID. In addition, unauthorized devices can still see the information that is sent in the

wireless network.

11.3.1.2

MAC Address Filter

Every wireless client has a unique identification number, called a MAC address.

1

A MAC address is

usually written using twelve hexadecimal characters

2

; for example, 00A0C5000002 or

1.

Some wireless devices, such as scanners, can detect wireless networks but cannot use wireless networks. These kinds

of wireless devices might not have MAC addresses.

2.

Hexadecimal characters are 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, and F.

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82

00:A0:C5:00:00:02. To get the MAC address for each wireless client, see the appropriate User’s

Guide or other documentation.

You can use the MAC address filter to tell the AP which wireless clients are allowed or not allowed to

use the wireless network. If a wireless client is allowed to use the wireless network, it still has to

have the correct settings (SSID, channel, and security). If a wireless client is not allowed to use the

wireless network, it does not matter if it has the correct settings.

This type of security does not protect the information that is sent in the wireless network.

Furthermore, there are ways for unauthorized devices to get the MAC address of an authorized

wireless client. Then, they can use that MAC address to use the wireless network.

11.3.1.3

Encryption

Wireless networks can use encryption to protect the information that is sent in the wireless

network. Encryption is like a secret code. If you do not know the secret code, you cannot

understand the message.

The types of encryption you can choose depend on the type of user authentication.

Usually, you should set up the strongest encryption that every wireless client in the wireless

network supports. Suppose the wireless network has two wireless clients. Device A only supports

WEP, and device B supports WEP and WPA-PSK. Therefore, you should set up

WEP

in the wireless

network.

Note: It is recommended that wireless networks use

WPA-PSK

or stronger encryption.

IEEE 802.1x and WEP encryption are better than none at all, but it is still possible

for unauthorized devices to figure out the original information pretty quickly.

When you select

WPA2-PSK

in your NBG, you can also select an option (

WPA Compatible

) to

support WPA as well. In this case, if some wireless clients support WPA and some support WPA2,

you should set up

WPA2-PSK

(depending on the type of wireless network login) and select the

WPA Compatible

option in the NBG.

Many types of encryption use a key to protect the information in the wireless network. The longer

the key, the stronger the encryption. Every wireless client in the wireless network must have the

same key.

11.3.1.4

WPS

WiFi Protected Setup (WPS) is an industry standard specification, defined by the WiFi Alliance. WPS

allows you to quickly set up a wireless network with strong security, without having to configure

security settings manually. Depending on the devices in your network, you can either press a

button (on the device itself, or in its configuration utility) or enter a PIN (Personal Identification

Number) in the devices. Then, they connect and set up a secure network by themselves. See how

to set up a secure wireless network using WPS in the

Section 10.3 on page 72

.

Table 37

Types of Encryption for Each Type of Authentication

NO AUTHENTICATION

Weakest

No Security

WEP

WPA-PSK

Strongest

WPA2-PSK

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11.3.1.5

WDS

Wireless Distribution System or WDS security is used between bridged APs. It is independent of the

security between the wired networks and their respective APs. If you do not enable WDS security,

traffic between APs is not encrypted. When WDS security is enabled, both APs must use the same

pre-shared key.

11.4

General Wireless LAN 2.4G/5G General Screen

Use this screen to enable the Wireless LAN 2.4G or 5G, enter the SSID and enable Guest WLAN.

Note: If you are configuring the NBG from a computer connected to the wireless LAN and

you change the NBG’s SSID, channel or security settings, you will lose your

wireless connection when you press

Apply

to confirm. You must then change the

wireless settings of your computer to match the NBG’s new settings.

This screen varies depending on whether you chose

Static WEP, WPA, WPA2, WPA-PSK or

WPA2-PSK

to add security on the selected wireless network. The wireless clients which want to

associate to this network must have same wireless security settings as the NBG.

No Security

allows any client to connect to this network without authentication.

If you enable the WPS function, only

No Security, Static WEP, WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK

are

available in this field.

Click

Network

>

Wireless LAN 2.4G

or

Wireless LAN 5G

to open the

General

screen.

Figure 65

Network > Wireless LAN 2.4G/5G > General

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84

The following table describes the general wireless LAN labels in this screen.

Table 38

Network > Wireless LAN 2.4G/5G > General

LABEL

DESCRIPTION

Wireless Setup

Wireless LAN

Select the radio button to

Enable

or

Disable

Wireless LAN

.

You can turn the wireless LAN on or off using the switch at the rear panel of the NBG.

Network Name

(SSID)

(Service Set IDentity) The SSID identifies the Service Set with which a wireless station is

associated. Wireless stations associating to the NBG must have the same SSID. Enter a

descriptive name (up to 32 keyboard characters) for the wireless LAN.

Hide SSID

Select this check box to hide the SSID in the outgoing beacon frame so a station cannot

obtain the SSID through scanning using a site survey tool.

Channel

Selection

Set the operating frequency/channel depending on your particular region.

Select a channel from the drop-down list box. The options vary depending on the frequency

band and the country you are in.

Refer to the Connection Wizard chapter for more information on channels. This option is

only available if

Auto Channel Selection

is disabled.

Operating

Channel

This displays the channel the NBG is currently using.

Network Mode

(Wireless LAN

2.4G)

Select

11b/g mixed mode

to allow IEEE802.11b and IEEE802.11g compliant WLAN

devices to associate with the NBG.

Select

11b only

to allow only IEEE 802.11b compliant WLAN devices to associate with the

NBG.

Select

11g only

to allow only IEEE 802.11g compliant WLAN devices to associate with the

NBG.

Select

11n only

to allow only IEEE 802.11n compliant WLAN devices to associate with the

NBG.

Select

11b/g/n mixed mode

to allow IEEE802.11b, IEEE802.11g and IEEE802.11n

compliant WLAN devices to associate with the NBG.

Network Mode

(Wireless LAN

5G)

Select

11a/n mixed mode

to allow IEEE802.11a and IEEE802.11n compliant WLAN

devices to associate with the NBG.

Select

11a only

to allow only IEEE 802.11a compliant WLAN devices to associate with the

NBG.

Select

11ac/a/n

to allow only IEEE 802.11a, IEEE802.11an and IEEE802.11ac compliant

WLAN devices to associate with the NBG.

Channel

Bandwidth

Select the channel bandwidth you want to use for your wireless network.

It is recommended that you select

20/40

(20, 40, 20/40 MHz).

Select 20 MHz if you want to lessen radio interference with other wireless devices in your

neighborhood.

Extension

Channel

This is set to

Auto

by default.

If you select

20/40

as your

Channel Bandwidth

, the extension channel enables the NBG

to get higher data throughput. This also lowers radio interference and traffic.

Security

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85

See the rest of this chapter for information on the other labels in this screen.

11.5

General Wireless LAN 2.4G/5G Security Screen

This screen varies depending on whether you chose

Static WEP, WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK

to add

security on the selected wireless network. The wireless clients which want to associate to this

network must have same wireless security settings as the NBG.

No Security

allows any client to

connect to this network without authentication.

11.5.1

No Security

Select

No Security

to allow wireless stations to communicate with the access points without any

data encryption.

Note: If you do not enable any wireless security on your NBG, your network is accessible

to any wireless networking device that is within range.

Figure 66

Network > Wireless LAN 2.4G/5G > General: No Security

Security Mode

Select

Static WEP

,

WPA-PSK

,

WPA2-PSK

to add security on this wireless network. The

wireless clients which want to associate to this network must have same wireless security

settings as this device. After you select to use a security, additional options appears in this

screen.

Section 11.5 on page 85

for detailed information on different security modes. Or you

can select

No Security

to allow any client to associate this network without authentication.

Note: If the WPS function is enabled (default), only

No Security

and

WPA2-PSK

are

available in this field.

Apply

Click

Apply

to save your changes back to the NBG.

Reset

Click

Reset

to begin configuring this screen afresh.

Table 38

Network > Wireless LAN 2.4G/5G > General (continued)

LABEL

DESCRIPTION