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# Adapter Settings (Administrator)

The Adapter Settings screen controls and displays the device properties for the WiFi adapter installed on a computer. Not all settings listed here apply to all adapters, see the setting description.

This version of Intel® PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software is compatible with the following adapters:

- Intel® Centrino® Ultimate-N 6300
- Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N + WiMAX 6250
- Intel® Centrino® Advanced-N 6200
- Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5150
- Intel® WiFi Link 5300
- Intel® WiFi Link 5100
- Intel® WiFi Link 1000
- Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN
- Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AG_
- Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection

## How to Access

1. Open the Administrator Tool.
2. Select to Create a new package or Open an existing package.
3. Click the Adapter Settings tab and click Include Adapter Settings in this package.

## Configure Adapter Settings

1. From within the Administrator tool, click Include Adapter Settings in this package.
2. For each setting listed in the table below, select one of the following options:
   - Use default value: Resets the setting on the user machine to the default value.
   - No change: (For Windows* XP users and Windows* 7 users only.) Maintains the user selected value. The administrator decides not to enforce all the settings on a user's computer. The user can change the WiFi adapter setting values from the Advanced menu in the Intel® PROSet/Wireless WiFi Connection Utility.
   - No change: (For Windows Vista* users only.) Maintains the user selected value. The administrator decides not to enforce all the settings on a user's computer. The user can change the WiFi adapter setting values at the Device Manager.
   - Select the value: The administrator selects the value that is to be used on the user's computer.

## WiFi Adapter Settings Description

Following are descriptions of the WiFi adapter settings.

Name | Description
--- | ---
802.11n Channel Width (2.4 GHz) | Set high throughput channel width to maximize performance. Set the channel width to Auto or 20MHz. 20MHz is the default setting. Use 20MHz if 802.11n channels are restricted. This setting applies to 802.11n capable adapters only. NOTE: This setting does not apply to the following adapters:

- Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (20 MHz channel width only)

802.11n Channel Width (5.2 GHz) | Set high throughput channel width to maximize performance. Set the channel width to Auto or 20MHz. Auto is the default setting. Use 20MHz if 802.11n channels are restricted. This setting applies to 802.11n capable adapters only. NOTE: This setting does not apply to the following adapters:

- Intel® WiFi Link 1000
- Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN

802.11n Mode | The 802.11n standard builds upon previous 802.11 standards by adding multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO). MIMO increases data throughput to improve transfer rate. Select Enabled or Disabled to set the 802.11n mode of the WiFi adapter. Enabled is the default setting. This setting applies to 802.11n capable adapters only.

NOTE: To achieve transfer rates greater than 54 Mbps on 802.11n connections, WPA2*-AES security must be selected. No security (None) can be selected to enable network setup and troubleshooting.

An administrator can enable or disable support for high throughput mode to reduce power-consumption or conflicts with other bands or compatibility issues.

Ad Hoc Channel | Unless the other computers in the ad hoc network use a different channel from the default channel, there is no need to change the channel. Value: Select the allowed operating channel from the list.

- 802.11b/g: Select this option when 802.11b and 802.11g (2.4 GHz) ad hoc band frequency is used. For this band, the default channel is 11.
- 802.11a: Select this option when 802.11a (5 GHz) ad hoc band frequency is used. For this band, the default channel is 36. This setting does not apply to the Intel® WiFi Link 1000 adapter.

NOTE: When an 802.11a channel is not displayed, initiating ad hoc networks is not supported for 802.11a channels.

Ad Hoc Power Management | Set power saving features for Device to Device (ad hoc) networks.

- Disable: Select when connecting to ad hoc networks that contain stations that do not support ad hoc power management.
- Maximum Power Savings: Select to optimize battery life.
- Noisy Environment: Select to optimize performance or connecting with multiple clients.

Ad Hoc QoS Mode | Quality of Service (QoS) control in ad hoc networks. QoS provides prioritization of traffic from the access point over a wireless network based on traffic classification. WMM* (Wi-Fi Multimedia*) is the QoS certification of the Wi-Fi Alliance* (WFA). When WMM* is enabled, the WiFi adapter uses WMM to support priority tagging and queuing capabilities for Wi-Fi* networks.

- WMM Enabled
- WMM Disabled (default)

Fat Channel Intolerant | This setting communicates to surrounding networks that this WiFi adapter is not tolerant of 40MHz channels in the 2.4GHz band. The default setting is for this to be turned off (disabled), so that the adapter does not send this notification. NOTE: This setting does not apply to the following adapters:

- Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 4965AG_
- Intel® PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Connection

Mixed Mode Protection | Use to avoid data collisions in a mixed 802.11b/11g/11a/11n environment. Request to Send/Clear to Send (RTS/CTS) should be used in an environment where clients may not hear each other. CTS-to-self can be used to gain more throughput in an environment where clients are in close proximity and can hear each other. (CTS-to-self is not supported for 802.11n.)
Power Management (Administrator View) | When creating an administrator package, Power Management lets you select a balance between power consumption and WiFi adapter performance.

> PSP - Power Saving Mode
> CAM - Constantly Awake Mode

Select one of the Power Saving Mode levels:

> PSP CAM: The client adapter is powered up continuously.
> PSP Level 1: PSP set at maximum power.
> PSP Levels 2-4: PSP set to maximize power.
> PSP Level 5: PSP set to maximize battery life.
> PSP Auto: Default is PSP Level 5.

NOTE: Power consumption savings vary based on infrastructure settings.

Preamble Mode | Changes the preamble length setting received by the access point during an initial connection. Always use Auto Tx Preamble to provide optimal network throughput. Auto Tx Preamble allows automatic preamble detection. If supported, short preamble should be used. If not, use Long Tx Preamble.

NOTE: This setting is only available if the client WiFi adapter is an Intel® PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection or an Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection.

Roaming Aggressiveness | This setting lets you define how aggressively a wireless client roams to improve connection to an access point. Click Use default value to balance between not roaming and performance or select a value from the list.

> Values:

> 0: No Roaming: Your wireless client does not roam. Only significant link quality degradation causes it to roam to another access point.
> 1-3: Allow Roaming
> 2: Default: Balances between not roaming and performance.
> 4: Maximum Roaming

Throughput Enhancement | Changes the value of the Packet Burst Control.

- Enable: Select to enable throughput enhancement.
- Disable: (Default) Select to disable throughput enhancement.

Transmit Power | If you decrease the transmit power, you reduce the WiFi radio coverage. Default Setting: Highest power setting Values:

> Tx Minimum: Lowest Minimum Coverage: Set the adapter to the lowest transmit power. Enables you to expand the number of coverage areas or confine a coverage area. Reduce the coverage area in high traffic areas to improve overall transmission quality and avoid congestion and interference with other devices.
> Tx Level 1, Tx Level 2, Tx Level 3: Set by country requirements.
> Tx Maximum: Highest Maximum Coverage: Set the adapter to the maximum transmit power level. Select for maximum performance and range in environments with limited additional radio devices.

If you select No change, then this setting will not be changed at the user's computer.

NOTE: The optimal setting is for a user to always set the transmit power at the lowest possible level still compatible with the quality of their communication. This allows the maximum number of wireless devices to operate in dense areas and reduce interference with other devices that this radio shares radio spectrum with.

NOTE: This setting takes effect when either Network (Infrastructure) or Device to Device (ad hoc) mode is used.

Wireless Mode | Select which mode to use for connection to a WiFi network:

- 802.11a only: Connect the wireless WiFi adapter to 802.11a networks only. Not applicable for all adapters.
- 802.11b only: Connect the wireless WiFi adapter to 802.11b networks only. Not applicable for all adapters.
- 802.11g only: Connect the wireless WiFi adapter to 802.11g networks only.
- 802.11a and 802.11g: Connect the wireless WiFi adapter to 802.11a and 802.11g networks only. Not applicable for all adapters.
- 802.11b and 802.11g: Connect the wireless WiFi adapter to 802.11b and 802.11g networks only. Not applicable for all adapters.
- 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g: (Default) - Connect to either 802.11a, 802.11b or 802.11g wireless networks. Not applicable for all adapters.

NOTE: These wireless modes (Modulation types) determine the discovered access points displayed in the WiFi Networks list.

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