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Guidelines for reducing interference on a wireless network
The following tips will help reduce the chances for interference in a wireless network:
• Keep the wireless devices away from large metal objects, such as filing cabinets,
and other electromagnetic devices, such as microwaves and cordless telephones,
as these objects can disrupt radio signals.
• Keep the wireless devices away from large masonry structures and other building
structures as these objects can absorb radio waves and lower signal strength.
• For an infrastructure network, position the WAP in a central location in line of sight
with the wireless devices on the network.
• Keep all wireless devices on the network within range of one another.
Guidelines for ensuring wireless network security
This section contains the following topics:
•
To add hardware addresses to a WAP
•
Other guidelines
To add hardware addresses to a WAP
MAC filtering is a security feature in which a WAP is configured with a list of MAC
addresses (also called "hardware addresses") of devices that are allowed to gain
access to the network through the WAP.
If the WAP does not have the hardware address of a device attempting to access the
network, the WAP denies the device access to the network.
If the WAP filters MAC addresses, then the device's MAC address must be added to
the WAP's list of accepted MAC addresses.
1. Print the network configuration page. For information on the network configuration
page, see
Understand the network configuration page.
2. Open the WAP's configuration utility, and add the device's hardware address to the
list of accepted MAC addresses.
Other guidelines
To keep the wireless network secure, follow these guidelines:
• Use a password with at least 20 random characters. You can use up to 63
characters in a WPA password.
• Avoid any common words or phrases, easy sequences of characters (such as all
1s), and personally-identifiable information for passwords. Always use random
strings composed of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and if allowed,
special characters such as punctuation.
• Change the password periodically.
• Change the default password provided by the manufacturer for administrator
access to the access point or wireless router. Some routers let you change the
administrator name as well.
• Place the access point or router in the center of a room and not near a window.
Chapter 8
116 Configure and manage