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LOCATOR |
INFO |
ASSOC |
WIRELESS |
ACCESS
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ADVANCED
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SECURITY |
IP SETTINGS |
ADMIN
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The screenshots above
represent eight of the menus available within the
Actiontec Access Point's web based configuration utility,
and the included locator application that will help you
find the Access Point once it is connected to your
network. The locator application is very
straightforward. Install the app, run it and a few
moments later you'll be presented with your Access Point's
ID and IP address. Click on the "Web" button, login
with the proper name and password, and you'll then be able
to tailor the Access Point for you needs (The Scan button
available in the locator's menu simply rescans for more
access points, the configure button allows you to alter
the Access Point's IP address).
All of the Actiontec 54Mbps
Wireless Access Point's customization is done using the
web based configuration utility. The "Info" menu gives
just that - information like the AP's name and firmware
revision, etc. The "Assoc" screen displays a list of
MAC addresses associated with the access point.
Under the "Wireless" menu, you'll find quite a few
interesting toggles. The "Visibility Status" offers
some level of security, by hiding the AP from anyone
except those with the unit's explicit SSID, or wireless
network name (which incidentally can also be set on this
screen). The Access Point's channel can also be
changed on the "Wireless" menu. We
actually had to experiment
quite a bit with different channels because of
interference in our lab; more in this later. Within
the "Access" menu, users can add yet another level of
security by listing the MAC address that can be associated
with the AP. With Access Control enabled, only the
MAC addresses listed on this page can be linked the AP.
The "Advanced" menu gives user's the ability to alter some
low level settings, but we suspect most home users
probably won't touch anything here. The "Security"
menu is where WEP (Wireless Encryption Standard) can be
enabled, and the keys specified. Lastly, we have the
"IP Settings" and "Admin" menus where the Access Point's
IP and login settings can be altered. As you can
see, the Actiontec 54Mbps Wireless Access point is a
highly configurable device.
The PC Card has its fair
share of menus as well, but they're mostly for displaying
information, rather than altering settings. The
"Status" screen offers the most useful bits of
information. The "Status" screen displays the
quality of the wireless connection, transfer rates and the
current channel that is in use. Under the IBSS tab,
users can select their desired channel, all of which fall
in the 2.4GHz frequency range. Countries and
Domains, along with 802.11d support can be selected on the
domain tab and the about tab gives some basic information
about the card and software revisions.
Installing the
Actiontec Access Point and PC card was virtually painless,
but once we had the unit up and running for a while we hit
a few speed-bumps. For the most part, wireless
connections were good. When using Actiontec's
802.11g PC card, we consistently had strong signal
strength, even as far as 60 feet away, through walls and
everything else in-between. When we used our
Centrino laptop's built in 802.11b NIC, signal strength
was also good, but the connection dropped constantly.
We suspected interference was the problem, because we'd
have an excellent signal, that would instantaneously drop,
and then come back a few moments later. Actiontec's
802.11g card dropped the signal far less frequently, but
we still lost the connection enough to leave us
uncomfortable. We experimented with different
channels, antenna positioning and even moved the Access
Point to different parts of the lab, but to no avail.
In the end, we found the problem to be a Panasonic
KX-TG2570S cordless phone. Occasionally, when the
phone rang or we made a call, we would lose our wireless
link. The cordless phone and Access Point both
operate in the 2.4GHz frequency range and it seems the
Access Point couldn't deal with the phone's signal some of
the time...
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Testing & The Rating
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