Filtering - Proxim ORiNOCO AP-8000 User Manual

Access Point Features

Filtering

The Access Point's Packet Filtering features help to control the amount of traffic exchanged between the wired and
wireless networks.
Intra BSS Filtering
The wireless clients that associate with a certain AP form the Basic Service Set (BSS) of a network infrastructure. By
default, wireless subscribers in the same BSS can communicate with each other. However, some administrators may
wish to block traffic between wireless subscribers that are associated with the same AP to prevent unauthorized
communication and to conserve bandwidth. This feature enables you to prevent wireless subscribers within a BSS from
exchanging traffic.
Although this feature is generally enabled in public access environments, Enterprise LAN administrators use it to
conserve wireless bandwidth by limiting communication between wireless clients. For example, this feature prevents
peer-to-peer file sharing or gaming over the wireless network.
• If you select to block the traffic, then the wireless traffic between the clients associated with the same or different BSS
will not be able to communicate with each other.
• If you select to passthru, then the wireless traffic between the clients associated with the same or different BSS will be
able to communicate with each other.
The Filtering feature supports the filtering for following protocol layers:
Ethernet Layer Filtering
Static MAC Filtering
The Static MAC Address filter optimizes the performance of a wireless (and wired) network. When this feature is properly
configured, the AP can block traffic between wired devices and wireless devices based on the MAC address.
For example, you can set up a Static MAC filter to prevent wireless clients from communicating with a specific server on
the Ethernet network. You can also use this filter to block unnecessary multicast packets from being forwarded to the
wireless network.
NOTE: The Static MAC Filter is an advanced feature. You may find it easier to control wireless traffic via other filtering
options, such as Ethernet Protocol Filtering.
Each static MAC entry contains the following fields:
• Wired MAC Address
• Wired MAC Mask
• Wireless MAC Address
• Wireless MAC mask
• Comment
• Status
Each MAC Address or Mask is comprised of 12 hexadecimal digits (0-9, A-F) that correspond to a 48-bit identifier. (Each
hexadecimal digit represents 4 bits (0 or 1)).
Taken together, a MAC Address/Mask pair specifies an address or a range of MAC addresses that the AP will look for
when examining packets. The AP uses Boolean logic to perform an "AND" operation between the MAC Address and the
Mask at the bit level. However, for most users, you do not need to think in terms of bits. It should be sufficient to create a
filter using only the hexadecimal digits 0 and F in the Mask (where 0 is any value and F is the value specified in the MAC
address). A Mask of 00:00:00:00:00:00 corresponds to all MAC addresses, and a Mask of FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF applies
only to the specified MAC Address.
AP-8000 User Guide
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