Cisco Small Business Wireless Access Points

Configuring the Wireless Settings of the WET200

Managing the wireless settings of the WET200 can be done by accessing the web-based setup page. For instructions, click here.

When you are in the Web based setup page, click the Wireless section.

Wireless

The Wireless tab contains the following three screens that allow you to configure the Bridge's wireless interfaces:

• Basic Settings
• Wireless Security, and
• Advanced Settings

Wireless > Basic Settings

The Basic Settings screen allows you to set the following information.

SSID - The SSID is the network name used by all devices in a wireless network. It is case-sensitive, must not exceed 32 characters in length, and can contain any keyboard character except spaces. For added security, you should change the default SSID (linksys) to a unique name.

If you are using the WET200 in Infrastructure mode to communicate with a wireless access point, enter the SSID of the access point, or click Site Survey to see a list of available access points. For more information, see the "Wireless Site Survey" section.

If you are using the WET200 in Ad-Hoc mode to communicate with other clients on a wireless network, enter the SSID of that wireless network.

Mode - Select the network mode of your wireless access point. If you are unsure of the mode, keep the default setting, B/G Mixed. Select Disabled to disable wireless access. If you use the Site Survey feature, it will search for available networks based on your mode configuration.

Channel - Select the correct operating channel for your network from the drop-down menu. This should match the channel setting of the other devices in your wireless network. If you are using Infrastructure mode, this should match your Access Point's channel number. If you are using Ad-Hoc mode, this should match your peer device's channel number. If you use the Site Survey feature to connect to your wireless network, the channel setting is configured automatically.

Network Type - Keep the default setting, Infrastructure, if you want your wireless Bridge to connect to another wired network through an Access Point. Select Ad-Hoc if you want to connect to another wired network through a second wireless Bridge which is also in Ad-Hoc mode.

Click Apply to apply your changes, or click Cancel to cancel your changes.

Wireless > Wireless Security

The Wireless Security screen allows you to configure security on your wireless network.

Security Mode - Enter the security configuration to match the wireless Access Point that this bridge will connect to. To disable security, keep the default setting, Disabled.

To enable security, select the desired type of security: WEP, WPA-Personal, WPA -Personal, WPA-Enterprise, WPA -Enterprise. Then fill in all the fields that appear on the screen. The fields you see depend on the type of security you select and are described in detail below.
WEP Use the WEP screen to configure WEP encryption.

Note: WEP security is not recommended now due to its weak security protection. Users are urged to migrate to WPA or WPA2.

If WEP is selected as the Security Mode, the screen will be as shown below:

Authentication Type - Select the 802.11 authentication type, either Open System (default) or Shared Key.

Default Transmit Key - Select which WEP key (1-4) will be used when the Bridge sends data. Make sure the other wireless-equipped devices are using the same key.

Encryption - In order to use WEP encryption, select -Bit ( 0 hex digits) or 8-Bit ( hex digits) from the dropdown menu.

Passphrase - Instead of manually entering WEP keys, you can enter a Passphrase. This Passphrase is used to generate one or more WEP keys. It is case-sensitive and should not be longer than 16 alphanumeric characters. (The Passphrase function is compatible with Linksys wireless products only. If you want to communicate with non-Linksys wireless products, you must enter your WEP key manually on those products.) After you enter the Passphrase, click Generate to create WEP key(s).

Key - If you are not using a Passphrase, then you can enter one or more WEP keys manually. In each key field, manually enter a set of values. (Do not leave a key field blank, and do not enter all zeroes. These are not valid key values.) If you are using 64-bit WEP encryption, then each key must consist of exactly 10 hexadecimal characters in length. If you are using 128-bit WEP encryption, then each key must consist of exactly 26 hexadecimal characters. Valid hexadecimal characters are 0-9 and A-F.

Click Apply to apply your changes, or click Cancel to cancel your changes.

If WPA-Personal (aka WPA-PSK) is selected as the Security Mode, the screen will be as shown below:

Encryption - WPA offers two methods, TKIP and AES, for data encryption. Select the encryption method you want to use. The default is TKIP.

Shared Secret - Enter a WPA Shared Secret of 8-63 characters.

Key Renewal Timeout - Enter a Key Renewal Timeout period, which instructs the Access Point how often it should change the encryption keys. The default is 00 seconds.

Click Apply to apply your changes, or click Cancel to cancel your changes.

If WPA2-Personal is selected as the Security Mode, the screen will be as shown below:

Encryption - This is set to AES and cannot be changed as WPA2 always uses AES encryption.

Shared Secret - Enter a WPA Shared Secret of 8-63 characters.

Key Renewal Timeout - Enter a Key Renewal Timeout period, which instructs the Access Point how often to change the encryption keys. The default is 00 seconds.

Click Apply to apply your changes, or click Cancel to cancel your changes.

If WPA-Enterprise is selected as the Security Mode, the screen will be as shown below:

WPA Enterprise provides WPA security in coordination with a RADIUS server connected to the Bridge. WPA Enterprise offers two authentication methods, EAP-TLS and PEAP, as well as two encryption methods, TKIP and AES, with dynamic encryption keys.

Authentication - Select the authentication method your network is using, either EAP-TLS (default) or PEAP. EAP-TLS uses a Certificate file for authentication. The Login Name and Private Key Password are used to decrypt the certificate file. PEAP uses the Login Name and Password to perform authentication with the RADIUS server.

Encryption - Select either TKIP (default) or AES encryption.

Login Name - Enter your login name for the RADIUS server.

Private Key Password - Enter your password.

Certificate - Enter the name of your certificate file or click Browse to locate it. Click Import to load and decode the certificate file. Click Apply to save the configuration for wireless authentication while being associated with an Access Point.

When you are finished configuring the above settings, click Apply to apply your changes, or click Cancel to cancel your changes.

If WPA2-Enterprise is selected as the Security Mode, the screen will be as shown below:

WPA2 Enterprise provides WPA security in coordination with a RADIUS server connected to the Bridge. WPA2 Enterprise offers two authentication methods, EAP-TLS and PEAP, but only one encryption method, AES.

Authentication - Select the authentication method your network is using, either EAP-TLS (default) or PEAP. EAP-TLS uses a Certificate file for authentication. The Login Name and Private Key Password are used to decrypt the certificate file. PEAP uses the Login Name and Password to perform authentication with the RADIUS server.

Encryption - Select either TKIP (default) or AES encryption.

Login Name - Enter your login name for the RADIUS server.

Private Key Password - Enter your password.

Certificate - Enter the name of your certificate file or click Browse to locate it. Click Import to load and decode the certificate file. Click Apply to save the configuration for wireless authentication while being associated with an Access Point.

When you are finished configuring the above settings, click Apply to apply your changes, or click Cancel to cancel your changes.

Wireless > Advanced Settings

This screen lets you configure advanced wireless settings. Linksys recommends letting the Bridge automatically adjust the parameters for maximum data throughput.

Transmission Rate - The default setting is Auto. The range is from 1 to 54 Mbps. The rate should be set depending on the speed of your wireless network. You can select from a range of speeds, or keep the default setting, Auto, to have the Bridge automatically use the fastest possible data rate and enable the Auto-Fallback feature. Auto-Fallback negotiates the best possible connection speed between the Bridge and another wireless-equipped device.

RTS Threshold - This determines how large a packet can be before the Bridge coordinates transmission and reception to ensure efficient communication. It should remain at its default setting. If you encounter inconsistent data flow, only minor modifications are recommended.

Fragmentation Threshold - The maximum size of a data packet before it is split to create a new packet. It should remain at its default setting. A smaller setting means smaller packets, resulting in more packets per transmission. If you experience high packet error rates, you can decrease this value, but it will likely decrease overall network performance. Only minor modifications of this value are recommended.

Cloning Mode - You can clone the MAC address of any network device onto the Bridge. To disable MAC address cloning, keep the default setting, Disable. To use the MAC cloning feature, select Enable.
If you have enabled MAC cloning, then select Auto if you want to clone the MAC address of the device currently connected to one of the LAN ports. The Bridge will actively scan for a new MAC address to be cloned whenever you disconnect and reconnect the Bridge through a LAN port. Select Manual if you want to specify a MAC address in the Enter MAC Address field. This is useful when the Bridge is connected to multiple devices through a switch or a hub.

Click Apply to apply your changes, or click Cancel to cancel your changes.