The Advanced Wireless Tab - Linksys WAP55AG User Manual

When you've completed making any changes on this tab, click the Apply button to
save those changes or Cancel to exit the Web-based Utility without saving changes.
To clear any of the information you've typed by not yet applied, click the Clear but-
ton. For more information on this tab, you can click the Help button.

The Advanced Wireless Tab

Before making any changes to the Advanced Wireless tab, shown in Figure 6-12,
please check your wireless settings on other systems, as these changes will alter
the effectiveness of the Access Point. In most cases, these settings do not need
to be changed.
The following settings are used in both wireless settings:
Transmission Rates. The basic transfer rates should be set depending on the
speed of your wireless network. You can select from a range of transmission
speeds or select Best to have the Access Point automatically engage the net-
work's optimum speed.
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Instant Wireless
Figure 6-11
® Series Dual-Band Wireless A + G Access Point
Transmit Power. The greater the transmit power used, the larger the area a
wireless network covers. To minimize the likelihood of eavesdropping by unau-
thorized wireless users, do not use more transmit power than necessary to cover
the range needed for your wireless network. Try using the Router at different
levels of transmit power, and determine how much transmit power is needed to
reach the wireless client, such as a PC, or access point that is farthest from the
Router. Then select the appropriate level of transmit power (Full, Half,
Quarter, Eighth, or Min) from the drop-down menu. The default value is Full.
Authentication Type. This setting allows the Access Point to authenticate com-
munication with the wireless devices in your network. You may choose between
Auto, Open System or Shared Key. With the Shared Key setting, all wire-
less devices must have the same WEP keys so that the Access Point and the
client can authenticate each other and start transmitting data. With the Open
System setting, any device can join a network without performing any securi-
ty check. The Authentication Type default setting is to Auto, which means that
the Access Point will automatically detect whether a wireless device is set to
Shared Key, Open System, and transmit data appropriately.
Beacon Interval. This value indicates the frequency interval of the beacon. A
beacon is a packet broadcast by the Access Point to keep the network synchro-
nized. A beacon includes the wireless LAN service area, the AP address, the
Broadcast destination addresses, a time stamp, Delivery Traffic Indicator
Maps, and the Traffic Indicator Message (TIM).
RTS Threshold. This value should remain at its default setting of 2,346.
Should you encounter inconsistent data flow, only minor modifications are rec-
ommended.
Fragmentation Length. This specifies the maximum size a data packet will
be before splitting and creating a new packet and should remain at its default
setting of 2,346. A smaller setting means smaller packets, which will create
more packets for each transmission. If you have decreased this value and expe-
rience high packet error rates, you can increase it again, but it will likely
decrease overall network performance. Only minor modifications of this value
are recommended.
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