Netgear WMS5316 Reference Manual

ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System WMS5316

Reference Manual

350 East Plumeria Drive
San Jose, CA 95134
USA

July 2010
202-10601-02
v1.0

ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System WMS5316 Reference Manual

©2010 NETGEAR, Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated

into any language in any form or by any means without the written permission of NETGEAR, Inc.

Technical Support

Thank you for choosing NETGEAR. To register your product, get the latest product updates, or get support online,
visit us at http://support.netgear.com.

Phone (US & Canada only): 1-888-NETGEAR
Phone (Other Countries): See Support information card.

Trademarks

NETGEAR, the NETGEAR logo, ReadyNAS, ProSafe, Smart Wizard, and Auto Uplink are trademarks or
registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, and Vista are registered trademarks
of Microsoft Corporation. Other brand and product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their
respective holders.

Statement of Conditions

To improve internal design, operational function, and/or reliability, NETGEAR reserves the right to make changes
to the products described in this document without notice. NETGEAR does not assume any liability that may occur
due to the use, or application of, the product(s) or circuit layout(s) described herein.

Revision History

Publication Part Number Version Publish Date Comments

202-10601-02 v1.0 July 2010 New document template

202-10601-01 v1.0 March 2010 Original publication

2 |

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Logging In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Basic System Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

General Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Time Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

IP Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

VLAN Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

DHCP Server Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Syslog Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Chapter 2 Access Point Discovery

Auto Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

IP Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Discovery Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Adding Access Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Chapter 3 Wireless Configuration

Configuring Centralized RF Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Advanced Wireless Settings for Access Point Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Configuring QoS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

QoS for Managed Access Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Advanced QoS Settings for Access Point Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Load Balancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Load Balancing for Managed Access Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Advanced Load Balancing for Access Point Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Chapter 4 Security Configuration

Security Profiles Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Security Profiles List for Access Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Editing a Security Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Advanced Security Profiles List for Access Point Groups . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Rogue Access Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

MAC Authentication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

MAC Authentication for Access Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Advanced MAC Authentication for Access Point Groups . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Radius Server Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Configuring Guest Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

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ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System WMS5316 Reference Manual

Guest Access Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Chapter 5 Monitoring

Monitoring Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Access Point Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Rogue Access Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Wireless Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Network Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Network Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Access Point Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Access Point Status Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Client Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Network Usage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Network Usage Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Network Topology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

DHCP Leases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Monitoring Rogue Access Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Chapter 6 Configuring Access Point Groups

Managed Access Point List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Editing Access Point Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

IP Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Access Point Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Chapter 7 Maintenance

User Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Changing Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Rebooting the Wireless Management System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46

Restoring Factory Default Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Rebooting an Access Point Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

SNMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

SNMP for the Wireless Management System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

SNMP for Access Point Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Remote Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Remote Console for the Wireless Management System . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Advanced Remote Console for Access Point Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

Session Timeout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Upgrading the Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Upgrading the Wireless Management System Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . .51

Upgrading Access Point Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52

Backing Up Configuration Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

Restoring Settings from a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54

Downloading Wireless Management System Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

System Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55

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ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System WMS5316 Reference Manual

Access Point Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Diagnostic Ping Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Using Discovery OUI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57

Appendix A Access Point Firmware Compatibility

Compatible Access Point Supported Firmware Versions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Controller Features and Access Point Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Appendix B Factory Default Settings
Appendix C Notification of Compliance
Index

Table of Contents | 5

1. Getting Started

The ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System allows you to manage up to 16 NETGEAR
wireless access points on a LAN. You can use the wireless management system to:

• Discover NETGEAR access points on the LAN.

• Optimize wireless access point performance with centralized RF management, QoS, and

load balancing.

• Streamline security configuration tasks and set up guest access.

• Monitor network usage.

• Perform maintenance tasks including user management, remote management, and

firmware updates for the wireless management system and for NETGEAR access points
on the LAN.

Depending on your network configuration, you can use basic settings or advanced settings to
manage your access points:

1

• Basic Settings for a typical network: The basic settings work with the most common

network configuration. All access points on the LAN are for the same organization or
business.

• Advanced Settings for access point groups: If completely separate networks share a

single LAN, use the advanced settings to set up access point groups. For example, a
shopping mall might need access point groups if several businesses share a LAN, but
each business has its own network.

Logging In

Note: For help installing the ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management

System, see the Installation Guide included in the package and on
the Resource CD.

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ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System WMS5316 Reference Manual

To log in to the wireless management system you must use a computer that is configured
with a static IP address of 192.168.0.210 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. Connect the
computer to a LAN port on the wireless management system with an Ethernet cable.

1. In the address field of your Internet browser, type the IP address for the ProSafe 16 AP

Wireless Management System. Its default IP address is http://192.168.0.250.
A login prompt displays:

2. If you are logging in for the first time, use the default user name admin and password

(password).
NETGEAR recommends that you change the password to a new, more secure password

and record it in a secure location.

The user interface opens with the Configuration tab selected. This tab is shown in the
following section, Basic System Settings.

Basic System Settings

When you log in, the Configuration tab displays General Settings.

General Settings

To navigate to this screen, on the Configuration tab select System > Basic > General:

The General Settings screen lets you configure the basic settings of your wireless
management system.

• Name: This unique value indicates the wireless management system name. By default,

the name is wms5316.

NETGEAR recommends changing the name as soon as possible after setting up. The
name must contain only alphabetical characters, numbers, and hyphens, and must be 31
characters or less.

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ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System WMS5316 Reference Manual

• Country/Region: This field displays the region of operation for the wireless management

system and the access points managed by the wireless management system. In the
United States, the country is preset and cannot be changed on the access points. If the
country/region is not set up correctly, the wireless management system might not be able
to access the access points.

For products sold outside the United States, you must select a country or region. It might not
be legal to operate the access points in a country/region not shown here. If your location is
not listed, check with your local government agency or check the NETGEAR website for
more information about which channels to use.

Time Settings

On the Configuration tab, select System > Basic > Time Settings:

This screen lets you configure the time-related settings of your wireless management system
and managed access points. It has the following options:

• Time Zone: Select the local time zone for your region or country.

• Current Time: The current time at your location.

• NTP Client: Enable this to use a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server to synchronize the

clock of the wireless management system and managed access points. Disable this
option if you do not want to use an NTP server.

• Use Custom NTP Server: Select this check box if you wish to use an alternate NTP

server. By default, the NETGEAR NTP server is used by the access point.

• Hostname / IP Address: Provide the host name or IP address of the NTP server, if you

are using a custom NTP server.

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ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System WMS5316 Reference Manual

IP Settings

On the Configuration tab select System > Basic > IP Settings:

This screen lets you to configure the management IP address settings of the wireless
management system. It has the following options:

• IP Address: This is the IP address of the wireless management system. The default IP

address is 192.168.0.250. To change it, enter an available IP address from the address
range used on your LAN.

• IP Subnet Mask: Enter the subnet mask value used on your LAN. The default value is

255.255.255.0.

• Default Gateway: Enter the IP address of the gateway for your LAN.

• Primary DNS Server: Enter the IP address of the primary Domain Name Server (DNS)

that you want to use.

• Secondary DNS Server: Enter the IP address of the secondary DNS that you want to

use.

VLAN Settings

To go to VLAN settings, click the Configuration tab, and select System > Basic > VLAN
Settings.

The 802.1Q VLAN protocol on the wireless management system logically separates traffic on
the same physical network. The settings apply only to the wireless management system.

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ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System WMS5316 Reference Manual

Untagged VLANs

When the Untagged VLAN check box is selected, one VLAN can be configured as an
untagged VLAN.

For each profile group up to 8 VLANS can be configured per radio, for example, a maximum
of 15 SSIDs per group for both the radios. The active VLANs depend on the active SSIDs and
access points that are deployed. If the access point is a ProSafe dual band, such as the
WNDAP350, then all 16 can be active. If it is a ProSafe single band, then only 8 SSIDs can
be active. If it is a SoHo access point, then only one SSID can be active.

The wireless management system itself can support 2 VLANs, one management VLAN and
one untagged VLAN.

When the wireless management system sends frames associated with the untagged VLAN
out the LAN (Ethernet) interface, those frames are untagged. When the wireless
management system receives untagged traffic from the LAN (Ethernet) interface, those
frames are assigned to the untagged VLAN.

If this check box is cleared, the wireless management system tags all outgoing LAN
(Ethernet) frames, and accepts only incoming frames that are tagged with known VLAN IDs.

Note: The untagged VLAN check box should be cleared only if the hubs

or switches on your LAN support the VLAN (802.1Q) standard.
Likewise, the untagged VLAN value should be changed only if the
hubs and switches on your LAN support the VLAN (802.1Q)
standard.

Changing either of these values will result in a loss of IP connectivity if the hubs and switches
on your network have not yet been configured with the corresponding VLANs.

The Untagged VLAN check box must be cleared when either access point model
WN802Tv2 or access point model WG602v4 is managed, as those access points do not
support 802.1Q VLAN tagging.

Management VLANs

Management VLANs are used for managing traffic (Telnet, SNMP, and HTTP) to and from the
wireless management system and managed access points.

Frames belonging to the management VLAN are not given any 802.1Q header when sent
over the trunk. If a port is in a single VLAN, it can be untagged. But if the port needs to be a
member of multiple VLANs, it must be tagged.

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ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System WMS5316 Reference Manual

DHCP Server Settings

The wireless management system can function as a DHCP server. Multiple DHCP server
pools can be added for different VLANs. Click the Configuration tab and select System >
Basic > DHCP Server Settings to display the following screen:

This screen lets you to enable and configure the DHCP server. You can specify the following
information:

• Use VLAN Interface: Select this check box to enable the wireless management system

to provide IP addresses to clients in a specified VLAN.

Note: Selecting the Use VLAN Interface check box allows you to access

the VLAN IP Address and Subnet Mask fields. Select this option if
the DHCP pool being added is only for a particular VLAN.

• VLAN: Enter the DHCP server VLAN ID. The range is between 1 and 4094. The DHCP

server will service this VLAN.

• IP Address: The IP address for the wireless management system in the specified VLAN;

when the Use VLAN Interface check box is not selected, the wireless management
system management IP/VLAN is used.

• Subnet Mask: Enter the subnet mask that will be assigned to the wireless clients by the

DHCP server.

• Default Gateway: Enter the IP address of the default network gateway for all traffic

beyond the local network.

• Start IP: Enter the starting IP address of the range that can be assigned by the DHCP

server.

• End IP: Enter the ending IP address of the range that can be assigned by the DHCP

server.

• Use Default DNS Server: Select this check box to allow the wireless management

system DNS server to be provided to the clients of the specified VLAN.

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ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System WMS5316 Reference Manual

• Primary DNS Server: Enter the IP address of the primary DNS server for the network.

• Secondary DNS Server: Enter the IP address of the secondary DNS server for the

network.

• DHCP Server List: This displays DHCP server configuration for all configured VLANs.

Syslog Settings

This screen lets you configure the settings to connect to a syslog server, if you have one
configured in your network. Click the Configuration tab and select System > Advanced.

• Enable Syslog: Enable the syslog settings, if you have a syslog server on your network.

• Syslog Server IP Address: Enter the IP address to which the wireless management

system and managed access points will send all syslogs, if the Syslog option is enabled.

• Server Port Number: Enter the number of the port at which your syslog server is

configured to listen to requests.

12 | Chapter 1: Getting Started

2. Access Point Discovery

You can discover supported NETGEAR access points on the LAN that can be managed by the
wireless management system. See Appendix A, Access Point Firmware Compatibility for a list of
compatible access points. The wireless management system supports Auto Discovery and IP
Discovery.

• Auto Discovery: Use this feature if the wireless management system and all access

points on the LAN are in the same IP subnet. This is a Layer 2 discovery method.

• IP Discovery: If the wireless management system and access points use different IP

subnets, you can use IP discovery to find the access points for each subnet (one subnet
at a time). This is a Layer 3 discovery method.

Note: For discovery to work, each access point must have an IP address.

If more than one access point has the same default IP address, then
only one of them is discovered with the model number at a time. You
have to add the access point to the managed list, change its IP
address, and then run discovery again to discover the next access
point with the default IP.

2

Auto Discovery

Use Auto Discovery if the wireless management system and all access points on the LAN
are in the same IP subnet. The process of Auto Discovery depends on how your access
points are configured.

Chapter 2: Access Point Discovery | 13

ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System WMS5316 Reference Manual

To use Auto Discovery:

1. On the Configuration tab select Access Point Discovery.

2. Click Search.

• The wireless management system searches for NETGEAR products on the LAN

based on MAC address, and then identifies which are access points.

• A list of the access points located through discovery is displayed on the screen.

3. Check the discovery results to make sure that all the access points are listed. See

Discovery Results on page 15.

4. Add the access points as described in Adding Access Points on page 16.

IP Discovery

Use IP Discovery to discover access points in a different IP network from the wireless
management system. You can search for a maximum of 255 IP addresses at a time.
NETGEAR recommends that you split up your search if you have access points in multiple
networks.

14 | Chapter 2: Access Point Discovery

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To use IP Discovery:

1. On the Configuration tab select Access Point Discovery, and then click the IP Discovery

tab:

2. To specify the range of IP addresses, fill in the Start IP and End IP fields.

3. Click Search.

• The wireless management system locates devices on the LAN within the range of IP

addresses that you specified.

• The devices are displayed in a list.

4. Check the discovery results to make sure that all the access points are listed. See

Discovery Results on page 15.

5. Add the access points as described in Adding Access Points on page 16.

Discovery Results

The effectiveness of the discovery feature depends in part on how the access points on your
LAN are set up. If each access point is configured with a unique IP address and is running
current firmware, then discovery is usually simple.

If the discovery results are not what you expect, check the following:

• Access points already managed by the wireless management system are not in the

discovery list.

• If two or more access points still have their factory default settings, their IP addresses

might be identical. If this is the case, the wireless management system discovers one of
these access points. Add that access point, change its IP address, and then use
discovery to find the next access point.

• If discovery results show unknown access points, it could be due to these reasons:

- The access point is running an older version of firmware. Upgrade firmware as

needed so that discovery can locate the access point.

- The wireless management system located a NETGEAR access point that is not

supported or located a NETGEAR device that is not an access point.

Chapter 2: Access Point Discovery | 15

ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System WMS5316 Reference Manual

For a list of compatible access point models and their supported firmware, see Appendix

A, Access Point Firmware Compatibility.

• If a new NETGEAR access point is not discovered, it might have a MAC address that the

wireless management system does not recognize, though this is not common. See Using

Discovery OUI on page 57.

Adding Access Points

After the wireless management system discovers the access points, add them so that they
can be managed by the wireless management system.

1. On the Access Point Discovery screen, select the access point and click Add.

2. Enter a password for the access point.

16 | Chapter 2: Access Point Discovery

3. Wireless Configuration

You can configure centralized RF management and specify wireless settings in the Basic RF
Management screen. If you use access point groups, you can use the Advanced Wireless
Settings screen to customize wireless settings for each group.

Configuring Centralized RF Management

In this screen you can specify RF management settings. RF management, when run,
optimizes the channel allocation for access points based on clients, user data traffic, and
observed nearby RF environment of access points.

On the Configuration tab, select Wireless:

3

This field
applies only
to model
WNDAP330.

1. Specify the centralized RF management:

• Centralized RF Management: The Enable radio button is selected by default. This

allows the wireless management system to allocate access point channels based on
the access point performance in the local environment. For example, if an access
point experiences interference on a channel, the wireless management system
allocates a different channel to that access point.

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ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System WMS5316 Reference Manual

• Client aware RF Management: If this Enable radio button is selected, the wireless

management system does not modify the channel for an access point with associated
clients that would be impacted by the channel change. The wireless management
system waits for the next scheduled channel allocation to adjust the channel.

• Usage aware RF Management: If this Enable radio button is selected, the wireless

management system does not modify the channel for an access point that is
switching more than 1 Mbps of wireless data traffic.

• Run Channel Allocation at: Specify at what time of the day the channel allocation

can modify access point RF configuration.

• Run Channel Allocation every: Specify a weekly schedule for running channel

allocation.

• Run Channel Allocation now: Click the Run Now button to run channel allocation

immediately.

2. Enter the custom RF settings:

• Mode Settings: Specify the radio mode preference to set on the access points.

Most access points are configured with the fastest mode by default. You can use the
Mode Settings field to change this. For example, you could specify that an access
point that supports wireless-n mode run in b/g mode in order to support clients that do
not support wireless n technology.

• 2.4GHz or 5GHz band selection: This selection affects only dual band access points

that can be set to only one band at a time, such as the WNDAP330. You can use this
field to specify which band the access point should use.

Note: For dual concurrent access points, both radio modes are enabled by

default.

3. Click Apply so that your changes take effect.

Advanced Wireless Settings for Access Point Groups

This screen is for advanced users who wish to control the WLAN settings of the access points
manually.

To manually specify the WLAN parameters for access points:

1. On the Configuration tab, select Basic > RF Management screen, and disable the Central

RF Management on the Wireless Settings screen.
This prevents the wireless management system from automatically using RF

management and adjusting power and channel settings for the access point group.

18 | Chapter 3: Wireless Configuration

ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System WMS5316 Reference Manual

2. On the Configuration tab, select Advanced > Wireless Settings:

3. Specify the settings in this screen (see Table 1, Advanced Wireless Settings for a

description of the fields).

4. Click Apply so that your changes take effect.

Table 1. Advanced Wireless Settings

Turn Radio On Disable this option to disable wireless access for the selected mode. To disable all

wireless access through this access point, you must turn off the 802.11b/g/n, as well
as the 802.11a/n radios.

Wireless Mode Specify the wireless mode for the access points. Access points use the mode

enabled for the group, unless the access point does not support the group setting. In
that case, the access point uses the mode providing highest performance.

• The default setting is 802.11ng mode.

• If you specify 802.11b or 802.11bg mode, both 802.11n- and 802.11g-compliant

devices can be used with this access point. However, 802.11b devices will not be
able to connect.

• If you select this option and other settings on this screen are disabled, then you

must select the Turn Radio On radio check box to enable available options on
this screen.

MCS Index/Data Rate Select the available transmit data rates of the wireless network.

Channel Width (11n only) Select the available channel width of the access point. A wider channel improves the

performance, but some legacy devices can operate only on either 20 MHz or 40
MHz.

Guard Interval (11n only) Select the value that will protect transmissions from interference. A shorter guard

interval improves performance, but some legacy devices can operate only with a long
guard interval.

Chapter 3: Wireless Configuration | 19

ProSafe 16 AP Wireless Management System WMS5316 Reference Manual

Table 1. Advanced Wireless Settings (Continued)

Output Power Select the available transmit power of the access point. This option sets the transmit

signal strength of the access point. Increasing the power improves performance, but
if two or more access points are operating in the same area, on the same channel, it
can cause interference.

RTS Threshold (0-2347) The transmission mechanism (CSMA/CA or CSMA/CD) for the packets. If the packet

size is equal to or less than this threshold, then the data frame is transmitted
immediately. However, if the packet size is larger than the specified value, then the
transmitting station must send out an Request to Send Threshold (RTS) packet to the
receiving station, and then must wait for the receiving station to send back a Clear to
Send (CTS) packet before sending the actual packet data.

Fragmentation Length
(256-2346)

Beacon Interval
(100-1000)

Aggregation Length
(1024-65535, 11n only)

AMPDU (11n only) Allow the aggregation of several MAC frames into a single large frame to achieve

RIFS Transmission (11n
only)

Enable Wi-Fi MultiMedia
(WMM)

DTIM Interval (1–255) Enter the DTIM or the data beacon rate that you want to use. This sets the message

Preamble Type (11b/bg
only)

The maximum packet size that used for fragmentation of data packets. Packets
larger than the specified fragmentation length are broken up into smaller packets
before being transmitted. The fragmentation length must be an even number.

The time interval for each beacon transmission that allows the access point to
synchronize the wireless network.

The length that defines the maximum length of Aggregated MAC Protocol Data Unit
(AMPDU) packets. Larger aggregation lengths might sometimes lead to better
network performance. Aggregation is a mechanism used to achieve higher
throughput.

higher throughput. Enabling AMPDU can sometimes lead to better network
performance.

Enable the Reduced Interframe Space (RIFS) option to allow transmission of
successive frames at different transmit powers. Enabling RIFS can lead to better
network performance.

Select this check box to ensure that applications that require better throughput and
performance are provided special queues with higher priority. For more information
about WMM, see

period of the beacon delivery traffic indication in multiples of beacon intervals.

A long transmit preamble can provide a more reliable connection or a slightly longer
range. A short transmit preamble gives better performance. The Auto setting
automatically handles both long and short preambles. The default is Auto.

QoS for Managed Access Points on page 21.

Access Point Channel Each managed access point’s channel and frequency can be individually selected.

The access point mode is set either to the one enabled for the group, or if the
selected mode is not available on the access point, to the mode providing highest
performance.

20 | Chapter 3: Wireless Configuration