This article continues an overview of the standard functionality provided by the ASUS supplied firmware. The first article can be found at: The Asus RT-N16 Router Firmware – Part 1, General Settings.
The first article dealt with the General Settings, whereas this article will detail the more advanced router configuration options available.
The goal is to understand the router firmware provided by Asus and compare this with OpenSource firmware options provided by both DD-WRT and Tomato Firmware groups – two popular router OpenSource firmware groups.
Wireless – General
General wireless settings can be configured on this screen including the SSID and whether it should be broadcasted (public). Other typical wireless settings include the authentication method, WPA Encryption method and the encryption key.
Wireless – WPS
WPS stands for Wi-Fi Protected Setup. It is enabled by default and simply allows a user to easily configure their wireless client to connect with the Wi-Fi network without having to manually configure the different security options required by your wireless router.
Typically the user simply needs to push a button on the front of the router and then enter a PIN number when prompted. The WPS protocol then configures the client device to connect automatically in the future.
WPS was designed to allow home users with very little knowledge of wireless security to be able to easily connect their client devices. Too many users would disable wireless security because of the complexity, so WPS provided a way to keep security enabled while yet making it easy for users to connect.
Recently, (December 2011) major security flaws have been discovered in the WPS protocol. If this is a concern for you then WPS should be disabled.
Wireless – Bridge
By default the Asus RT-N16 router functions as a wireless access point. There is an option on the next screen to configure it as a repeater, allowing it to extend the distance of your Wi-Fi network.
Wireless – Wireless MAC Filter
An additional security option is to enable MAC filtering for your wireless devices. All Ethernet and 802.11 wireless adapters have a unique MAC address assigned to them in the form of 01-23-45-67-89-ab or 01:23:45:67:89:ab.
If you’re still concerned about the security of your home Wi-Fi, then you can enable MAC filtering which requires you to enter the specific MAC addresses of the devices you want to allow connecting with your network. Any other devices not specific will not be able to connect.
Wireless – RADIUS Setting
RADIUS is another server based protocol for authenticating wireless users. It’s most likely not in use with the typical home Wi-Fi network but it can be useful when a wireless client “roams” between different access points. Rather than having to configure the security of each wireless access separately, it depends on one centralized server to perform the authentication instead.
Again, this is not typical configuration in a home network environment.
Wireless – Professional
These are settings best left to those who know what they are doing when it comes to wireless configurations. “Enable Radio” however, does seem pretty straight-forward…
Next Step
The Asus RT-N16 Router Firmware – Part 3, Advanced LAN Settings.
Return to the Firmware Overview: Asus RT-N16 Router Firmware Overview
