Configuring Basic Settings

Review / Describe the Access Point


Field	Description
IP Address	Shows IP address assigned to this access point. This field is not editable because the IP address is already assigned (either via DHCP, or statically through the Ethernet (wired) settings as described in Configuring Guest Interface Ethernet (Wired) Settings).
MAC Address	Shows the MAC address of the access point. A MAC address is a permanent, unique hardware address for any device that represents an interface to the network. The MAC address is assigned by the manufacturer. You cannot change the MAC address. It is provided here for informational purposes as a unique identifier for an interface. The address shown here is the MAC address for the bridge (`br0`). This is the address by which the AP is known externally to other networks. To see MAC addresses for Guest and Internal interfaces on the AP, see the Status > Interfaces tab.
Firmware Version	Version information about the firmware currently installed on the access point. As new versions of the U.S. Robotics Professional Access Point firmware become available, you can upgrade the firmware on your access points to take advantages of new features and enhancements. For instructions on how to upgrade the firmware, see Upgrading the Firmware.
Location	Specify a location description for this access point.

Provide Administrator Password and Wireless Network Name

Field

Description

Administrator Password

Enter a new administrator password. The characters you enter will be displayed as "*" characters to prevent others from seeing your password as you type.

The Administrator password must be an alphanumeric string of up to 8 characters. Do not use special characters or spaces.

As an immediate first step in securing your wireless network, we recommend that you change the administrator password from the default.

Administrator Password (again)

Re-enter the new administrator password to confirm that you typed it as intended.

Wireless Network Name (SSID)

Enter a name for the wireless network as a character string. This name will apply to all access points on this network. As you add more access points, they will share this SSID.

The Service Set Identifier (SSID) is an alphanumeric string of up to 32 characters

Note: If you are connected as a wireless client to the same AP that you are administering, resetting the SSID will cause you to lose connectivity to the AP. You will need to reconnect to the new SSID after you save this new setting.


Note	The U.S. Robotics Professional Access Point is not designed for multiple, simultaneous configuration changes. If you have a network that includes multiple access points, and more than one administrator is logged on to the Administration Web pages and making changes to the configuration, all access points in the cluster will stay in synch but there is no guarantee that all configuration changes specified by multiple users will be applied.

Set Configuration Policy for New Access Points


Field	Description
New Access Points	Choose the policy you want to put in effect for adding New Access Points to the network. If you choose "are configured automatically", then when a new access point is added to the network it automatically joins the existing cluster. The cluster configuration is copied to the new access point, and no manual configuration is required to deploy it. If you choose "are ignored", new access points will not join the cluster; they will be considered standalone. You need to configure standalone access points manually via KickStart and the Administration Web pages residing on the standalone access points. (To get to the Web page for a standalone access point, use its IP address in a URL as follows: http://IPAddressOfAccessPoint.) Note: If you change the policy so that new access points "are ignored", then any new access points you add to the network will not join the cluster. Existing clustered access points will not be aware of these standalone APs. Therefore, if you are viewing the Administration Web pages via the IP address of a clustered access point, the new standalone APs will not show up in the list of access points on the Cluster > Access Points tab. The only way to see a standalone AP is to browse to it directly by using its IP address in the URL. If you later change the policy back to the default so that new access points "are configured automatically", all subsequent new APs will automatically join the cluster. Standalone APs, however, will stay in standalone mode until you explicitly add them to the cluster. For information on how to add standalone APs to the cluster, see Adding an Access Point to a Cluster.

Update Basic Settings

When you have reviewed the new configuration, click Update to apply the settings and deploy the access points as a wireless network.

Summary of Settings

When you update the Basic Settings, a summary of the new settings is shown along with information about next steps.

At initial startup, no security is in place on the access point. An important next step is to configure security, as described in Configuring Security.

At this point if you click Basic Settings again, the summary of settings page is replaced by the standard Basic Settings configuration options.

Basic Settings for a Standalone Access Point

The Basic Settings tab for a standalone access point indicates only that the current mode is standalone and provides a button for adding the access point to a cluster (group). If you click on any of the Cluster tabs on the Administration pages for an access point in stand-alone mode, you will be re-directed to the Basic Settings page because Cluster settings do not apply to standalone APs.

For more information see Standalone Mode and Adding an Access Point to a Cluster.

Your Network at a Glance: Understanding Indicator Icons

All the Cluster settings tabs on the Administration Web pages include visual indicator icons showing current network activity.


Icon	Description
	When one or more APs on your network are available for service, the "Wireless Network Available" icon is shown. The clustering icon indicates whether the current access point is "Clustered" or "Not Clustered" (that is, standalone). For information about clustering, see Understanding Clustering.
	The number of access points available for service on this network is indicated by the "Access Points" icon. For information about managing access points, see Managing Access Points and Clusters.
	Then number of client user accounts created and enabled on this network is indicated by the "User Accounts" icon. For information about setting up user accounts on the access point for use with the built-in authentication server, see Managing User Accounts. See also IEEE 802.1x and WPA/WPA2 Enterprise (RADIUS), which are the two security modes that offer the option of using the built-in authentication server.