Network Configuration |
 |
|
Wireless Settings |
This page allows you to configure and secure your wireless network. You will
need the following information to configure your wireless access point: types of
devices that are expected to access the wireless network, the region you are in,
and the security options you would like to use for securing your wireless
network. |
Wireless Network |
v |
Name (SSID): the name or
SSID (service set
identifier) is the unique name of the wireless network that is to be created.
Computers and devices communicating via this wireless gateway will choose the SSID configured in this field. |
v |
Region: select the region in which the wireless
gateway is operating. If this is unknown, or not in the list, select
none (the channel will be auto-detected in this
case). The region selection automatically shortlists the frequency channels (in
the
Channel dropdown list) available for this wireless
gateway. Selecting a new region and clicking Apply will require a reboot to set
the configuration.
For Europe there are 2 region codes listed:
Europe(20Mhz) - This selection limits the 11na 5Ghz mode operation to 20Mhz
only. Select this, if your country does not support 40, 20/40 operations in
5Ghz mode.
Europe(40Mhz) - This selection allows 40, 20/40 mode operations in 11na 5Ghz
mode. Select this if your country supports 40, 20/40 operations in 5Ghz mode.
For further clarifications on what channels are allowed in your country please
check with your country's regulatory body. You can also check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11, http://www.wi-fi.org/, http://ieee802.org/11/ for additional details. |
v |
Channel Spacing: The 802.11n standard allows you to
set the channel spacing (or bonding) for wireless traffic between the access point and
client. Select between 40 MHz (maximum spacing to minimize packet collisions)
and 20 MHz (more efficient when many clients are in the wireless network). The
20/40 MHz option provides support for both spacing based on the environment and
client capabilities. 20 MHz is the default channel spacing. |
v |
Mode: This selects the 802.11 modulation technique.
This device supports 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11ng and 802.11na modes.
Select g only if all devices in the wireless network can support 802.11g mode
only (i.e 54 Mbit/sec maximum); select b only if other devices and computers in
the network can only support the 11 Mbit/sec maximum data rate provided by
802.11b. Select a only if all devices in the wireless network will connect via
802.11a (5.4 GHz band) only. Select g and b if there will be some devices in
this wireless network that will use 802.11g and others that will use 802.11b.
Select ng mode if there are clients in the network that support 802.11n
modulation speeds; this mode also supports legacy 802.11b and 802.11g clients.
To support 802.11a and 802.11n clients concurrently, select na mode; this mode
will NOT support 802.11b or 802.11g clients. |
v |
Channel: based on the region selected above, the
available channels are presented in a dropdown list. The Auto
channel selects the best channel available based on the signal strength. The
Current Channel No: is
the current channel frequency used by the wireless gateway. |
|
Wireless Access Point |
v |
Select
Enable Wireless Access Point to create a wireless network where computers
and other devices communicate with each other by first going through this
wireless gateway. Also known as
Infrastructure Mode, selecting this box allows
multiple devices in the wireless network to access the WAN network and other LAN
devices through this wireless gateway. |
v |
Select
Allow Broadcast of Name (SSID) to display the name of this wireless
network to all supported devices within range. These devices will still be
protected by the selected wireless security options to access the network. To
hide the name of the wireless network from the public uncheck this box. In this
case, a wireless client device needs to know the exact SSID to connect to the
wireless gateway. |
|
Wireless Security Type |
Selecting some form wireless security is essential to
securing your wireless network and the data that passes through it. To
create a public “open” network, select
none and check the box to
Allow
Broadcast of Name (SSID) to allow public, unauthenticated devices to access
the internet and wireless network through this wireless gateway. |
v |
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy): select this option
if all devices in the network are configured with a static key, also known as a
pre-shared key. The WEP settings (Authentication, Encryption, and passphrase)
are made available in the WEP section of this page. This security option should
only be chosen if all networked computers do not support the other options,
since this is a weak security mechanism. |
v |
WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access): For stronger wireless
security. This authentication and data encryption option will require choosing
between Personal mode with a pre-shared key
(PSK) , using
TKIP or
AES encryption
and Enterprise mode with
RADIUS, using TKIP encryption. The corresponding fields
in subsequent boxes are enabled based on the authentication and encryption pair
selected. |
v |
WPA2: this security type uses AES encryption on
either PSK or RADIUS Server authentication. |
v |
WPA and WPA2: This uses both encryption algorithms, TKIP
and AES. WPA clients will use TKIP and WPA2 clients will use AES encryption
algorithms. |
|
WEP |
Selecting WEP in the Wireless Security Type box
requires a unique static key to be used in the computers or devices that
wish to access this secured wireless network. This is generated by filling
in the following fields: |
v |
Authentication: select between Automatic, Open
System, or Shared Key schemes |
v |
Encryption: select the encryption type: 64 WEP, 128
WEP, or 152 WEP. The larger size keys provide stronger encryption, thus making
the key more difficult to crack (e.g. 64 WEP has a 40 bit key which is less
secure than the 128 WEP which has a 104 bit key). |
v |
WEP Passphrase: choose any alphanumeric phrase and
click
Generate
Key to generate 4 unique WEP keys. Choose one of the keys to be
used for authentication. The selected key must be used by the wireless clients
to connect to this router. |
|
PSK Settings |
When using WPA,
PSK (Pre-shared Key) encryption is an
option. |
v |
Passphrase: an 8 to 63 character alphanumeric
pass code is required. |
v |
Key Lifetime: This setting determines how often the
encryption key is changed; shorter periods are more secure but may slow down
overall authentication times. |
|
Radius Server Settings |
If a RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial In User
Service) Server is to be used for WPA and/or WPA2 authentication, then the
Server Name or IP Address is required to identify the server. |
v |
Radius Port: the port number used to connect to the
RADIUS Server |
v |
Shared Key: enter the shared key that allows this
wireless gateway to log into the RADIUS server specified above; it must match
the key on the RADIUS Server. |
|
Click
Apply to save the changes. |
Click
Reset to revert to the previous settings. |
|