Appendix A Wireless LANs

network overhead involved in the RTS (Request To Send)/CTS (Clear to Send) handshake.

If the RTS/CTS value is greater than the Fragmentation Threshold value (see next), then the RTS (Request To Send)/CTS (Clear to Send) handshake will never occur as data frames will be fragmented before they reach RTS/CTS size.

Note: Enabling the RTS Threshold causes redundant network overhead that could negatively affect the throughput performance instead of providing a remedy.

Fragmentation Threshold

A Fragmentation Threshold is the maximum data fragment size (between 256 and 2432 bytes) that can be sent in the wireless network before the AP will fragment the packet into smaller data frames.

A large Fragmentation Threshold is recommended for networks not prone to interference while you should set a smaller threshold for busy networks or networks that are prone to interference.

If the Fragmentation Threshold value is smaller than the RTS/CTS value (see previously) you set then the RTS (Request To Send)/CTS (Clear to Send) handshake will never occur as data frames will be fragmented before they reach RTS/CTS size.

Preamble Type

Preamble is used to signal that data is coming to the receiver. Short and Long refer to the length of the synchronization field in a packet.

Short preamble increases performance as less time sending preamble means more time for sending data. All IEEE 802.11b/g compliant wireless adapters support long preamble, but not all support short preamble.

Select Long preamble if you are unsure what preamble mode the wireless adapters support, and to provide more reliable communications in busy wireless networks.

Select Short preamble if you are sure the wireless adapters support it, and to provide more efficient communications.

Select Dynamic to have the AP automatically use short preamble when wireless adapters support it, otherwise the AP uses long preamble.

 

307

NWA-3160 Series User’s Guide