Chapter 4. Managing the Adapter from the Control Panel
20
Intel® PRO/Wireless 2011B LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide
4.6
WLAN Adapter Property Page
Use the
WLAN Adapter
property page to configure the adapter hardware and radio settings.
1.
Use the
Card Type
pull-down menu to specify the type of adapter in the system.
The
Interrupt Number
,
IO Port Address
and
Memory Base Address
fields are automatically
updated.
2.
Select the appropriate
Diversity
setting for your wireless network:
•
Select
Diversity
if dual antenna support is available or required, such as in highly reflective
environments.
•
Select
Primary
only if a secondary antenna is not being used by the network access points.
The
Diversity
setting must match the antenna configuration for the network access points with
which your adapter associates to optimize network performance and maintain adapter association.
Diversity is the use of two access point antennas simultaneously. Diversity improves radio
reception by receiving over one antenna while transmitting at the same time over the other antenna.
In highly reflective environments, antenna diversity improves network speed and performance and
increases the likelihood of maintaining adapter to access point association and a high data rate.
When a single Primary antenna is used, that one antenna is used for both transmitting and
receiving. Outgoing access point transmissions must wait until all incoming data packets are
received before they are transmitted over the single Primary antenna. If an adapter is set for
Primary
and an access point is set for
Diversity
, the adapter’s ability to maintain the access point’s
throughput is compromised and numerous missed beacons could result in the access point dropping
the adapter from its list of supported devices.
Using the
Diversity
setting when associated with a single-antenna access point can also cause poor
wireless network performance.
Password Protecting Access to the Property Pages
You can set a password to limit access to the WLAN adapter’s advanced property pages. By default,
the password is off.
To create a password for the
Advanced
property pages:
1.
Click the
Password
button from the
WLAN Adapter
property page.
2.
Enter the case-sensitive password in the
Current Password
field. The maxim length is 10
characters.