Observing Placement And Range Guidelines; Cabling Requirements - NETGEAR WAG102 Reference Manual

Reference Manual for the NETGEAR ProSafe Dual Band Wireless Access Point WAG102

Observing Placement and Range Guidelines

The operating distance or range of your wireless connection can vary significantly based on the
physical placement of the wireless access point. The latency, data throughput performance, and
notebook power consumption of wireless adapters also vary depending on your configuration
choices.
Warning: Failure to follow these guidelines can result in significant performance
degradation or inability to wirelessly connect to the WAG102. For complete
performance specifications, see
For best results, place your wireless access point:
• Near the center of the area in which your PCs will operate.
• In an elevated location such as a high shelf where the wirelessly connected PCs have line-of-
sight access (even if through walls).
• Away from sources of interference, such as PCs, microwaves, and 2.4 GHz cordless phones.
• Away from large metal surfaces.
• Putting the antenna in a vertical position provides best side-to-side coverage. Putting the
antenna in a horizontal position provides best up-and-down coverage.
• If using multiple access points, it is better if adjacent access points use different radio
frequency Channels to reduce interference. The recommended Channel spacing between
adjacent access points is 5 Channels (for example, use Channels 1 and 6, or 6 and 11).
The time it takes to establish a wireless connection can vary depending on both your security
settings and placement. WEP connections can take slightly longer to establish. Also, WEP
encryption can consume more battery power on a notebook computer.

Cabling Requirements

The WAG102 Access Point connects to your LAN via twisted-pair Category 5 Ethernet cable with
RJ-45 connectors.
3-2
Appendix A,
v1.0, September 2005
"Specifications".
Basic Installation and Configuration