Wireless Settings - Advanced
Request to send (RTS) Threshold: In some situations, not all clients in a WLAN are aware of each other (hidden node problem). That can lead to different WLAN clients transmitting to the Gateway at the same time, therefore jamming both transmissions. RTS Threshold is a packet size above which the Gateway will expect to use the RTS mechanism. This is negotiated with the client.
The client issues an RTS signal (before data packets were sent) to advise the Gateway nearby that it has a large packet to send. The Gateway then issues a clear to send (CTS) signal to all clients, which keeps the other clients waiting while the requesting client sends its data.
The default value for the IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway is 2432, which is large so that RTS does not activate in most cases. In most network environments, RTS is not necessary or desired, since it reduces performance.
The Fragmentation Threshold figure determines whether a long packet is split into several shorter packets. This is done for efficiency reasons. Packets longer than the Fragmentation Threshold are split, resulting in better network performance.
Part 3: Setting up the wireless access point in the IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway
