Settings for RTS Threshold and Fragmentation Threshold

Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us

RELATED CONTENT Wireless Networking with Lisa Phifer Wireless signal penetration Wireless bridges Wireless LAN QoS Advice for setting up a WLAN How can QoS be maintained on 802.11? I'm about to embark on a CWNA course, and I'm wondering how in-depth the RF math is? How many computers can each access point support? What's the expected range on a pair of Belkin 54G routers in wireless bridge mode? What would be the best security design for a campus environment, EAP or LEAP? Implementing WPA over WDS links

RELATED RESOURCES 2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary

RTS Threshold is the frame size above which an RTS/CTS handshake will be performed before attempting to transmit. RTS/CTS asks for permission to transmit to reduce collisions, but adds considerable overhead. Disabling RTS/CTS can reduce overhead and latency in WLANs where all stations are close together, but can increase collisions and degrade performance in WLANs where stations are far apart and unable to sense each other to avoid collisions (aka Hidden Nodes). If you are experiencing excessive collisions, you can try turning RTS/CTS on or (if already on) reduce RTS/CTS Threshold on the affected stations.

Fragmentation Threshold is the maximum length of the frame, beyond which payload must be broken up (fragmented) into two or more frames. Collisions occur more often for long frames because sending them occupies the channel for a longer period of time, increasing the chance that another station will transmit and cause collision. Reducing Fragmentation Threshold results in shorter frames that "busy" the channel for shorter periods, reducing packet error rate and resulting retransmissions. However, shorter frames also increase overhead, degrading maximum possible throughput, so adjusting this parameter means striking a good balance between error rate and throughput.