Wireless Network 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.

Wireless Network Name (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.

Wireless 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.

Wireless SSID Broadcast

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

Wireless MAC Filter

The Wireless MAC Filter feature allows you to control which wireless-equipped PCs may or may not communicate with the Router, depending on their MAC addresses. To disable the Wireless MAC Filter feature, keep the default setting, Disable. If you want to allow specific wireless-equipped PCs to communicate with the Router, then click the Permit only PCs listed to access the wireless network.

Basic Rate Set

The default value is set to Set #2. Depending on the wireless mode you have selected, a default set of supported data rates will be selected. The default setting will ensure maximum compatibility with all devices. For compatibility with older Wireless-B devices, select 1-2Mbps.

Transmission Rate

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 Router automatically use the fastest possible data rate and enable the Auto-Fallback feature. Auto-Fallback will negotiate the best possible connection speed between the Router and a wireless client.

CTS Protection Mode

The default value is set to Disabled. When set to Auto, a protection mechanism will ensure that your Wireless-B devices will connect to the Wireless-G Router when many Wireless-G devices are present. However, performance of your Wireless-G devices may be decreased.

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 Router 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 Router 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 Router 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.