Authentication Type

The default is set to Auto, which allows either Open System or Shared Key authentication to be used. For Open System authentication, the sender and the recipient do NOT use a WEP key for authentication. For Shared Key authentication, the sender and recipient use a WEP key for authentication. If you want to use only Shared Key authentication, then select Shared Key.

Control Tx Rates

The default setting is Auto. The range is from 1 to 54Mbps.

The rate of data transmission should be set depending on the speed of your wireless network. You can select from a range of transmission speeds, or keep the default setting, Auto, to have the Gateway automatically use the fastest possible data rate and enable the Auto-Fallback feature. Auto-Fallback will negotiate the best possible connection speed between the Gateway and a wireless client.

Beacon Interval

The default value is 100. Enter a value between 1 and 65,535 milliseconds. The Beacon Interval value indicates the frequency interval of the beacon. A beacon is a packet broadcast by the Gateway to synchronize the wireless network.

DTIM Interval

The default value is 1. This value, between 1 and 255 milliseconds, indicates the interval of the Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM). A DTIM field is a countdown field informing clients of the next window for listening to broadcast and multicast messages. When the Gateway has buffered broadcast or multicast messages for associated clients, it sends the next DTIM with a DTIM Interval value.  Its clients hear the beacons and awaken to receive the broadcast and multicast messages.

Fragmentation Threshold

This value should remain at its default setting of 2346. The range is 256-2346 bytes. It specifies the maximum size for a packet before data is fragmented into multiple packets. If you experience a high packet error rate, you may slightly increase the Fragmentation Threshold. Setting the Fragmentation Threshold too low may result in poor network performance. Only minor modifications of this value are recommended.

RTS Threshold

This value should remain at its default setting of 2347. The range is 0-2347 bytes.

Should you encounter inconsistent data flow, only minor modifications are recommended. If a network packet is smaller than the preset RTS threshold size, the RTS/CTS mechanism will not be enabled. The Gateway sends Request to Send (RTS) frames to a particular receiving station and negotiates the sending of a data frame. After receiving an RTS, the wireless station responds with a Clear to Send (CTS) frame to acknowledge the right to begin transmission.

Wireless MAC Filters

The Wireless MAC Filters feature allows you to control which wireless-equipped PCs may or may not communicate with the Gateway's depending on their MAC addresses. To disable the Wireless MAC Filters feature, keep the default setting, Allow All. To set up a filter, click Restrict Access, and follow these instructions:

1.      If you want to block specific wireless-equipped PCs from communicating with the Gateway, then keep the default setting, Prevent computers listed below from accessing the wireless network. If you want to allow specific wireless-equipped PCs to communicate with the Gateway, then click the radio button next to Permit only computers listed below to access the wireless network.

2.      Click the Edit MAC Address Access List button. Enter the appropriate MAC addresses into the MAC fields.

Note: For each MAC field, the MAC address should be entered in this format: xxxxxxxxxxxx (the x's represent the actual characters of the MAC address).

3.      Click the Save Settings button to save your changes. Click the Cancel Changes button to cancel your unsaved changes. Click the Close button to return to the Advanced Wireless screen without saving changes.

Mode

If you have Wireless-G and 802.11b devices in your network, then keep the default setting, Mixed. If you have only Wireless-G devices, select G-Only. If you want to disable wireless networking, select Disable. If you would like to limit your network to only 802.11b devices, then select B-Only.

SSID

The SSID is the network name shared among all devices in a wireless network. The SSID must be identical for all devices in the wireless network. It is case-sensitive and must not exceed 32 alphanumeric characters, which may be any keyboard character. Make sure this setting is the same for all devices in your wireless network. For added security, Linksys recommends that you change the default SSID (linksys) to a unique name of your choice.

SSID Broadcast

When wireless clients survey the local area for wireless networks to associate with, they will detect the SSID broadcast by the Gateway. To broadcast the Gateway SSID, keep the default setting, Enable. If you do not want to broadcast the Gateway SSID, then select Disable.

Channel

Select the appropriate channel from the list provided to correspond with your network settings, between 1 and 11 (in North America). All devices in your wireless network must use the same channel in order to function correctly.