Cisco Systems WRT54GP2 The Wireless Tab - Advanced Wireless Settings, Configuring the Router

Wireless-G Broadband Router with 2 Phone Ports

The Wireless Tab - Advanced Wireless Settings

This tab is used to set up the Router’s advanced wireless functions. These settings should only be adjusted by an expert administrator as incorrect settings can reduce wireless performance.

Basic Rate. The Basic Rate setting is not actually one rate of transmission but a series of rates at which the Router can transmit. The Router will advertise its Basic Rate to the other wireless devices in your network, so they know which rates will be used. The Router will also advertise that it will automatically select the best rate for transmission. The default setting is Default, when the Router can transmit at all standard wireless rates (1-2Mbps, 5.5Mbps, 11Mbps, 18Mbps, and 24Mbps). Other options are 1-2Mbps, for use with older wireless technology, and All, when the Router can transmit at all wireless rates. The Basic Rate is not the actual rate of data transmission. If you want to specify the Router’s rate of data transmission, configure the Transmission Rate setting.

Control Tx Rate. 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 you can select 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. The default value is Auto.

Preamble Type. The preamble defines the length of the CRC block for communication between the Router and the roaming Network Card. (High network traffic areas should use the shorter preamble type.) Select the appropriate preamble type, Long Preamble (default) or Short Preamble.

Authentication Type. The default is set to Auto, which allows either Open System or Shared Key authentication to be used. With Open System authentication, the sender and the recipient do NOT use a WEP key for authentication. With Shared Key authentication, the sender and recipient use a WEP key for authentication.

CTS Protection Mode. CTS (Clear-To-Send) Protection Mode should remain disabled unless you are having severe problems with your Wireless-G products. If these products are not able to transmit to the Router in an

Figure 5-20: Advanced Wireless Settings

cts (clear to send): a signal sent by a wireless device, signifying that it is ready to receive data.

Chapter 5: Configuring the Router 31

The Wireless Tab - Advanced Wireless Settings