Netgear Wna3100 N300 Wireless Usb Adapter User Manual

							Wireless-N 300 USB Adapter WNA3100 User Manual
2-11
v1.0, December 2009
c.In the Security section, select WPA-PSK [TKIP] or WPA2-PSK [AES], and enter the 
passphrase.
For more about WPA2-PSK, click the link to “Wireless Networking Basics” in 
Appendix B.
3.Save your settings in a profile. 
a.Click the Save Profile button. All the configuration settings are saved in this profile. 
b.Click Apply, and then click Close to exit the Smart Wizard.
Setting Up WEP Encryption Security
To configure WEP encryption security:
1.Run the WNA3100 v1 Smart Wizard.
a.Make sure that the wireless-N USB adapter is connected to the USB port in your 
computer.
b.Use the   icon to open the Smart Wizard. The Settings tab displays.
2.Configure the security settings. 
a.In the Profile field, select the profile, or type in a profile name.
Figure 2-10 
						

							Wireless-N 300 USB Adapter WNA3100 User Manual
2-12
v1.0, December 2009
b.In the Network Name (SSID) field, select the network, or enter the SSID.
c.In the Security section, select WEP.
3.Select the WEP encryption strength you will use. 
• 64-bit WEP data encryption 
• 128-bit WEP data encryption
4.Select Create with Passphrase, and enter the passphrase. The Smart Wizard generates the 
WEP keys.
If the passphrase method is not available in the other devices, you must manually enter the 
keys to match exactly what is in the access point and other wireless devices.
Note: You will not get a wireless network connection unless the network SSID 
matches exactly what is configured in the access point.
Figure 2-11
Note: Larger encryption keys require more processing and might slow the 
communications response times.
Note: The characters are case-sensitive. Be sure to use the same passphrase for all the 
wireless devices in the network. 
						

							Wireless-N 300 USB Adapter WNA3100 User Manual
2-13
v1.0, December 2009
5.Save your settings in a profile. 
a.Click the Save Profile button. All the configuration settings are saved in this profile. 
b.Click Apply. 
c.Click Close to exit the configuration utility.
Monitoring Statistics 
The Statistics tab provides real time and historical trend information about the data traffic and 
performance of your wireless adapter.
Figure 2-12
Table 2-2.  Statistics Descriptions
LabelDescription
1. Transmit/Receive Performance (%)A real-time graph identifies the total, receive, and transmit 
utilization as a percentage of the total possible.
2. Transmit, Receive, and Total (TxRx)Radio buttons let you select whether to display the transmit 
performance, the receive performance, or both in the same 
graph.
3. Transmit StatisticsIdentifies transmit megabits per second (Mbps), transmit 
packets per second (Tx Packets/s), total transmitted packets, 
and transmit errors.
4. Receive StatisticsIdentifies receive megabits per second (Mbps), receive packets 
per second (Rx Packets/s), total received packets, and 
reception errors.
3
4
21 
						

							Wireless-N 300 USB Adapter WNA3100 User Manual
2-14
v1.0, December 2009
About Your Smart Wizard
The About tab displays the current version information.
Figure 2-13
Table 2-3.  About Tab Settings  
About Tab FieldDescription
Device Regional 
DomainThis is the region setting for the wireless adapter. The approved 
channels for the region are automatically scanned. Governments 
regulate the channels used for wireless transmission. Operating the 
wireless adapter in a different region might violate local laws.
Driver version The wireless adapter driver version. 
Driver Date The wireless adapter driver release date.
MAC Address The MAC (Media Access Control) address of the adapter. This is a 
unique 48-bit hardware address assigned to every network interface 
card. Some wireless networks restrict access based on a list of known 
MAC addresses. If you are communicating with such a network, you 
must provide the address shown here to the network administrator 
before you are allowed to connect. Restricting access by MAC address 
adds an obstacle against unwanted access to your network. However, 
unless you use data encryption security, the data broadcast over the 
wireless link is fully exposed.
IP Address The IP address assigned to this adapter.
Smart Wireless 
UtilityVersion The version of the Smart Wizard.
Date The release date of the Smart Wizard. 
						

							Wireless-N 300 USB Adapter WNA3100 User Manual
2-15
v1.0, December 2009
Advanced Settings
The default advanced settings usually work fine. Except for the power saving setting, changing the 
settings incorrectly could cause your wireless connection to fail. Change them only if you have a 
specific reason to do so. To go to advanced settings, click the Advanced Settings button on the 
Settings tab.
•2.4GHz Preamble. An Auto setting might give slightly better performance. A Long setting 
might provide a more reliable connection or slightly longer range. 
•Transmit Rate. Lowering the rate reduces the chance of interference with other nearby access 
points but also reduces the range of your adapter.
SupportGet Info button Click this button to display information about your wireless adapter.
Check button Click this button to check the NETGEAR website to see if an upgrade is 
available.
Auto Check 
check boxAutomatically check the NETGEAR website every 30 days to see if an 
upgrade is available.
Note: For Windows Vista computers, you must have administrator rights to access the 
Advance Settings screen.
Figure 2-14 Table 2-3.  About Tab Settings  (continued)
About Tab FieldDescription 
						

							Wireless-N 300 USB Adapter WNA3100 User Manual
2-16
v1.0, December 2009
•Wireless Mode. Depending on your wireless adapter, you can choose some of the available 
802.11 wireless protocols.
•Fragmentation Threshold. This is the maximum packet size used for fragmentation. Packets 
larger than the size programmed in this field are fragmented. The FragmentationThreshold 
value must be larger than the RTS Threshold value.
•RTS/CTS Threshold. The packet size that is used to determine whether it should use the 
CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection) mechanism or the 
CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance) mechanism for packet 
transmission. CSMA/CD is slightly more efficient.  
						

							3-1
v1.0, December 2009
Chapter 3 Wireless Network Performance
This chapter explains how to use your wireless-N USB adapter to connect to your wireless local 
area network (WLAN) and how to maximize the performance of your wireless-N USB adapter 
within your network. Included are scenarios for setting up your network in a mixed-use 
environment and the trade-off of using different types of technology—wireless, wired, Powerline, 
and so on. 
Optimizing Wireless Performance
The speed and range of your wireless connection can vary significantly based on the location of 
the wireless router. You should choose a location for your router that maximizes the network 
speed.
The following list describes how to optimize wireless router performance.
• Identify critical wireless links.
If your network has several wireless devices, decide which wireless devices need the highest 
data rate, and locate the router near them. Many wireless products have automatic data-rate 
fallback, which allows increased distances without loss of connectivity. This also means that 
devices that are farther away might be slower. Therefore, the most critical links in your 
network are those where the traffic is high and the distances are great. Optimize those first. 
• Choose placement carefully. For best results, place your router:
– Near the center of the area in which your computers will operate.
– In an elevated location such as a high shelf where the wirelessly connected computers 
have line-of-sight access (even if through walls).
• Avoid obstacles to wireless signals.
– Keep wireless devices at least 2 feet from large metal fixtures such as file cabinets, 
refrigerators, pipes, metal ceilings, reinforced concrete, and metal partitions.
– Keep the devices away from large amounts of water such as fish tanks and water coolers.
• Reduce interference.
Avoid windows unless communicating between buildings.
Place wireless devices away from various electromagnetic noise sources, especially those in 
the 2400–2500 MHz frequency band. Common noise-creating sources are: 
						

							Wireless-N 300 USB Adapter WNA3100 User Manual
3-2
v1.0, December 2009
– Computers and fax machines (no closer than 1 foot)
– Copying machines, elevators, and cell phones (no closer than 6 feet)
– Microwave ovens (no closer than 10 feet)
• Choose your settings.
– Use a scanning utility to determine what other wireless networks are operating nearby, and 
choose an unused channel.
– Turn off SSID Broadcast, and change the default SSID. Other nearby devices might 
automatically try to connect to your network several times a second, which can cause 
significant performance reduction. 
Optimizing Your Network Bandwidth
The speed of network connections depends on the type of equipment that you use. Try to use high-
speed technologies for network connections with the heaviest traffic to avoid lower-speed 
bottlenecks in the path. Figure 3-1 on page 3-3 shows a home network that includes many different 
connection speeds.
In this network, the two computers with gigabit Ethernet adapters have a gigabit connection 
through the router to the storage server. With a high-speed router this connection allows for 
extremely fast backups or quick access to large files on the server. The computer connected 
through a pair of Powerline HD adapters is limited to the 200 Mbps speed of the Powerline HD 
connection. Although any of the links in this example would be sufficient for high-traffic 
applications such as streaming HD video, the use of older devices such as 10 Mbps Ethernet or 
802.11b wireless would create a significant bottleneck. 
						

							Wireless-N 300 USB Adapter WNA3100 User Manual
3-3
v1.0, December 2009
In planning your network, think about which tasks will have the heaviest traffic flow between 
them. Examples are:
• A media center in one room streaming high-definition video from a server in another room
• A storage device that is used for backing up your computers
Small Office and Home Office (SOHO) Networking Technologies
Common connection types and their speed and security considerations are:
•Broadband Internet
Your Internet connection speed is determined by your modem type, such as ADSL or cable 
modem, the connection speed of the sites to which you connect, and general Internet traffic. 
ADSL and cable modem connections are asymmetrical, meaning they have a lower data rate to 
the Internet (upstream) than from the Internet (downstream). Keep in mind that when you 
connect to another site that also has an asymmetrical connection, the data rate between your 
sites is limited by each side’s upstream data rate. A typical residential ADSL or cable modem 
connection provides a downstream data rate of about 1 to 3 megabits per second (Mbps). 
Newer technologies such as ADSL2+ and Fiber to the Home (FTTH) l increase the connection 
speed to tens of Mbps.
Figure 3-1 
						

							Wireless-N 300 USB Adapter WNA3100 User Manual
3-4
v1.0, December 2009
•Wireless
A high-speed wireless router can provide a wireless data throughput of up to 300 Mbps using 
technology called multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), in which multiple antennas 
transmit multiple streams of data. The use of multiple antennas also provides excellent range 
and coverage. With WPA and WPA2 encryption and authentication protocols, wireless 
security is extremely strong.
To get the best performance, use newer adapters such as RangeMax adapters for your 
computers. A high-speed router might be compatible with older 802.11b and 802.11g adapters, 
but the use of these older wireless technologies in your network can result in lower throughput 
overall (typically less than 10 Mbps for 802.11b and less than 40 Mbps for 802.11g). In 
addition, many older wireless products do not support the latest security protocols, WPA and 
WPA2.
•Powerline
For connecting rooms or floors that are blocked by obstructions or are distant vertically, 
consider networking over your building’s AC wiring. NETGEAR’s Powerline HD family of 
products delivers up to 200 Mbps to any outlet, while the older-generation XE family of 
products delivers 14 Mbps or 85 Mbps. Data transmissions are encrypted for security, and you 
can configure an individual network password to prevent neighbors from connecting.
When you add new Powerline products, you can continue to use older models, but they might 
not be able to share the same Powerline network.
•Wired Ethernet
As Gigabit Ethernet ports become common on newer computers, wired Ethernet remains a 
good choice for speed, economy, and security. Gigabit Ethernet can extend up to 100 meters 
with twisted-pair wiring of CAT-5e or better. A wired connection is not susceptible to 
interference, and eavesdropping would require a physical connection to your network.
Assessing Your Network Speed Requirements
Because your Internet connection is likely to operate at a much lower speed than your local 
network, faster local networking technologies might not improve your Internet experience. 
However, many emerging home applications require high data rates. For example:
• Streaming HD video requires 10 to 30 Mbps per stream. Because latency and packet loss can 
disrupt your video, plan to provide at least twice the capacity you need.
Note: Actual data throughput varies. Network conditions and environmental factors, 
including volume of network traffic, building materials and construction, and 
network overhead, can lower actual data throughput rate.