Motorola RFS7000 Series System Reference Manual page 196

4-110 Network Setup
Short Preambles only If using a 802.11bg radio, select this checkbox for the radio to
RTS Threshold
Beacon Interval
Self Healing Offset
transmit using a short preamble. Short preambles improve
throughput. However, some devices (SpectraLink phones) require
long preambles. This checkbox does not display if using an 802.11a
radio.
Specify a Request To Send (RTS) threshold (in bytes) for use by the
WLAN's adopted access ports.
RTS is a transmitting station's signal that requests a Clear To Send
(CTS) response from a receiving station. This RTS/CTS procedure
clears the air where many MUs (or nodes) are contending for
transmission time. Benefits include fewer data collisions and
better communication with nodes that are hard to find (or hidden)
because of other active nodes in the transmission path.
Control RTS/CTS by setting an RTS threshold. This setting initiates
an RTS/CTS exchange for data frames larger than the threshold,
and sends (without RTS/CTS) any data frames smaller than the
threshold.
Consider the trade-offs when setting an appropriate RTS threshold
for the WLAN's access ports. A lower RTS threshold causes more
frequent RTS/CTS exchanges. This consumes more bandwidth
because of the additional latency (RTS/CTS exchanges) before
transmissions can commence. A disadvantage is the reduction in
data-frame throughput. An advantage is quicker system recovery
from electromagnetic interference and data collisions.
Environments with more wireless traffic and contention for
transmission make the best use of a lower RTS threshold.
A higher RTS threshold minimizes RTS/CTS exchanges, consuming
less bandwidth for data transmissions. A disadvantage is less help
to nodes that encounter interference and collisions. An advantage
is faster data-frame throughput. Environments with less wireless
traffic and contention for transmission make the best use of a
higher RTS threshold. The default is 2346
Specify a beacon interval in units of 1,000 microseconds (K-us).
This is a multiple of the DTIM value, for example, 100: 10. A beacon
is a packet broadcast by adopted access ports to keep the network
synchronized. Included is information such as the WLAN service
area, the radio-port address, the broadcast destination addresses,
a time stamp, and indicators about traffic and delivery such as a
DTIM.
Increase the DTIM/beacon settings (lengthening the time) to let
nodes sleep longer and preserve battery life. Decrease these
settings (shortening the time) to support streaming-multicast audio
and video applications that are jitter-sensitive. The default is
100 K-us
When an AP increases its power to compensate for a failed AP,
power is increased to the country's regulatory maximum. Set the
Self Healing Offset to reduce the country's regulatory maximum
power if APs are situated close to each other or if APs use external
antennas.