Netopia 3300 - Manual (Page 68)

3-24 Firmware User Guide
• Block Wireless Bridging : Toggle this setting to Yes to block wireless clients from communicating with other
wireless clients on the LAN side of the Gateway.
• Channel: (1 through 11) on which the network will broadcast. This is a frequency range within the 2.4Ghz
band. Channel selection depends on government regulated radio frequencies that var y from region to
region. The widest range available is from 1 to 14. However, in Nor th America only 1 to 11 may be
selected. Europe, France, Spain and Japan will differ. Channel selection can have a significant impact on
per formance, depending on other wireless activity close to this Gateway. Channel selection is not
necessar y at the client computers; the clients will scan the available channels seeking access points using
the same ESSID as the client.
• AutoChannel: (only available 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, At Startup, and Continuous.
• Off is the default setting; the Netopia Router will use the configured default Channel selected from the
previous menu.
• At Startup causes the Netopia Router at star tup 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 per forms the at-star tup scan, and will continuously monitor the current channel for any
other Access Point activity. If Access Point activity is detected on the same channel, the Netopia
Router will initiate a scan of the other channels, locate a less active one, and switch. Once it has
switched, it will remain on this channel for at least 30 minutes before switching again if a new Access
Point is detected.
Note: Channel scans can be disruptive to normal wireless activity and may take a few minutes.
• Closed System: If you toggle Closed System to Closed, the wireless network is hidden from the scanning
features of wireless client computers. Unless both the wireless clients and the Router share the same
SSID 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 toggle it to Open, 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.