Prestige 2602HW Series User’s Guide

CHAPTER 6

Wireless LAN Setup

This chapter discusses how to configure Wireless LAN on the Prestige.

6.1 Wireless LAN Introduction

This section introduces the wireless LAN and some basic configurations. Wireless LANs can be as simple as two computers with wireless LAN cards communicating in a peer-to-peer network or as complex as a number of computers with wireless LAN cards communicating through access points which bridge network traffic to the wired LAN.

Note: The WLAN screens are only available when a WLAN card is installed.

6.1.1Additional Installation Requirements for Using IEEE 802.1x

•A computer with an IEEE 802.11b/g wireless LAN card and equipped with a web browser (with JavaScript enabled) and/or Telnet.

•A wireless station computer must be running IEEE 802.1x-compliant software. Currently, this is offered in Windows XP.

•An optional network RADIUS server for remote user authentication and accounting.

6.1.2Channel

A channel is the radio frequency(ies) used by IEEE 802.11b/g wireless devices. Channels available depend on your geographical area. You may have a choice of channels (for your region) so you should use a different channel than an adjacent AP (access point) to reduce interference. Interference occurs when radio signals from different access points overlap causing interference and degrading performance.

Adjacent channels partially overlap however. To avoid interference due to overlap, your AP should be on a channel at least five channels away from a channel that an adjacent AP is using. For example, if your region has 11 channels and an adjacent AP is using channel 1, then you need to select a channel between 6 or 11.

6.1.3 ESS ID

An Extended Service Set (ESS) is a group of access points or wireless gateways connected to a wired LAN on the same subnet. An ESS ID uniquely identifies each set. All access points or wireless gateways and their associated wireless stations in the same set must have the same

ESSID.

Chapter 6 Wireless LAN Setup

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