Motorola 2200 - Manual (Page 92)

Administrator’s Handbook
92
close to this Router. Channel selection is not necessar y at the client computers; the clients will scan
the available channels seeking access points using the same SSID as the client.
AutoChannel Setting
For 802.11G models, AutoChannel is a feature that allows the Netopia Router to determine the best
channel to broadcast automatically.
Three settings are available from the pull-down menu: Off-Use default, At Startup, and Continuous.
❑ Off-Use default: the Netopia Router will use the configured default channel selected from the previ-
ous pull-down menu.
❑ At Startup – the default setting – causes the Netopia Router at startup to briefly initialize on the
default channel, then per form a full two- to three-second scan, and switch to the best channel it can
find, remaining on that channel until the next reboot.
❑ Continuous performs the at-startup scan, and will continuously monitor the current channel for any
other Access Point beacons. If an Access Point beacon is detected on the same channel, the Neto-
pia Router will initiate a three- to four-minute scan of the channels, locate a better one, and switch.
Once it has switched, it will remain on this channel for at least 30 minutes before switching again if
another Access Point is detected.
Enable Closed System Mode
If enabled, Closed System Mode hides the wireless network from the scanning features of wireless cli-
ent computers. Unless both the wireless clients and the Router share the same Wireless ID in Closed
System mode, the Router’s wireless LAN will not appear as an available network when scanned for by
wireless-enabled computers. Members of the Closed System WLAN must log onto the Router’s wireless
network with the identical SSID as that configured in the router.
Closed System mode is an ideal way to increase wireless security and to prevent casual detection by
unwanted neighbors, office users, or malicious users such as hackers.
If you do not enable Closed System Mode, it is more convenient, but potentially less secure, for clients
to access your WLAN by scanning available access points. You must decide based on your own network
requirements.
About Closed System Mode and Wireless Encryption
Enabling Closed System Mode on your wireless Router provides another level of security, since your
wireless LAN will no longer appear as an available access point to client PCs that are casually scanning
for one.
Your own wireless network clients, however, must log into the wireless LAN by using the exact SSID of
the Motorola Netopia
®
Router.
In addition, if you have enabled WEP or WPA encr yption on the Motorola Netopia
®
Router, your network
clients must also have WEP or WPA encr yption enabled, and must have the same WEP or WPA encr yp-
tion key as the Motorola Netopia
®
Router.
Once the Motorola Netopia
®
Gateway is located by a client computer, by setting the client to a matching
SSID, the client can connect immediately if WEP or WPA is not enabled. If WEP or WPA is enabled then
the client must also have WEP or WPA enabled and a matching WEP or WPA key.