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ProSafe Dual Band Wireless-N Access Point WNDAP350 Reference Manual
Basic Installation and Configuration 2-19
v1.1, November 2009
• Broadcast Wireless Network Name (SSID). If you disable broadcast of the SSID, only
devices that have the correct SSID can connect. This nullifies the wireless network
“discovery” feature of some products such as Windows XP, Vista and Unix systems but
the data is still fully exposed to a determined snoop using specialized test equipment like
wireless sniffers. Default is enabled.
• Channel/Frequency. From the pull-down menu, select the channel you wish to use on
your wireless LAN. The default is Auto. When you select Auto as the Channel Frequency,
then the only available Channel Width is Dynamic: 20/40MHz.
It should not be necessary to change the wireless channel unless you experience
interference (shown by lost connections and/or slow data transfers). Should this happen,
you may want to experiment with different channels to see which is the best. See the
article on “Wireless Channels” available on the NETGEAR website. (A link to this article
and other articles of interest can be found in Appendix B, “Related Documents.”). When
selecting or changing channels, some points to bear in mind:
– Access points use a fixed channel. You can select the channel used. This allows you to
choose a channel which provides the least interference and best performance. In the
USA and Canada, 8 channels are available.
– If using multiple access points, it is better if adjacent access points use different
channels to reduce interference. The recommended channel spacing between adjacent
access points is 8 channels (for example, use channels 36 and 44, or 44 and 52).
– In “Infrastructure” mode, wireless stations normally scan all channels, looking for an
access point. If more than one access point can be used, the one with the strongest
signal is used. This can only occur when the various access points are using the same
SSID.
• MCS Index/Data Rate. From the pull-down menu, select the transmit data rate of the
wireless network. Also, depending on the band selected, the set of rates will vary. The
default is Best.
The possible data rates supported are:
Note: Data rate is selected using MCS Index. The actual data rate is computed based
on MCS Index, Channel Width, and Guard Interval. When Channel Width
selected is Dynamic 20/40MHz or when Guard Interval is selected is Auto,
then the data rate for a client depends on associated clients channel width and
guard interval capabilities.