Netgear "Auto108" Mode in mixed environment?

Hi all,

Has anyone managed to get Netgear's "Auto108" mode to work in a mixed
environment? According to the docs, it's supposed to allow "fast"
(108Mbps) connections from capable devices while also hosting
connections from normal b/g devices.

I have a WGT624 router, a WGE101 bridge and a couple of WG511T PCMCIA
cards - all have the latest firmware and drivers. The router and the
cards are b/g/108 capable, the bridge is b/g.

When I set the router to "108 only" mode (which excludes normal b/g
devices), the PCMCIA cards will connect in fast mode. I don't get
108Mbps ... more like 70Mbps ... but it is significantly faster than
normal g connections. The bridge, however, cannot participate.

When I set the router to "Auto108" mode (which allows all devices), I
can only get normal g (54Mbps) connections from the PCMCIA cards, even
when the bridge is turned off and all the devices in use are 108
capable. What's more, if I set the PCMCIA cards to connect in fast
mode only when the router is in auto mode, they can't connect at all.
They will only connect to the router if I allow normal g connections.

My network is WEP'd (128bits) and I don't broadcast the SSID. There
are a couple of 802.11b networks around me, including another WEP'd
network on the same channel - I can have 802.11g on any channel but
Netgear requires 108 networks to use channel 6 (2437 MHz).

Netgear said there must be interference preventing fast connections,
but when I reminded them that the "108 only" mode works correctly they
had no answer for why "Auto108" mode doesn't.

Ideas anyone?

Thanks,
George
==============================================
Send real email to GNEUNER2 at COMCAST dot NET

Known problem, (except for Netgear staff obviously !). The '108' works by
using several channels at once,
which swamps ordinary 11b and 54g devices and they can't cope.
Regards,
Martin

On Sat, 14 Feb 2004 01:49:55 -0000, "Martin²"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Known problem, (except for Netgear staff obviously !). The '108' works by
>using several channels at once,
>which swamps ordinary 11b and 54g devices and they can't cope.
>Regards,
>Martin
>

I don't see why it should "swamp" 11b and 54g devices - they can only
see the traffic on the primary channel.

My question, though, is why 108 capable devices can't even make a fast
connection when the router is in "Auto108" mode - it only seems to
work if the router excludes connections from all slower devices ("108
only" mode).

George
==============================================
Send real email to GNEUNER2 at COMCAST dot NET

George Neuner <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:<(E-Mail Removed)>. ..
> Hi all,
>
> Has anyone managed to get Netgear's "Auto108" mode to work in a mixed
> environment? According to the docs, it's supposed to allow "fast"
> (108Mbps) connections from capable devices while also hosting
> connections from normal b/g devices.
>
> I have a WGT624 router, a WGE101 bridge and a couple of WG511T PCMCIA
> cards - all have the latest firmware and drivers. The router and the
> cards are b/g/108 capable, the bridge is b/g.
>
> When I set the router to "108 only" mode (which excludes normal b/g
> devices), the PCMCIA cards will connect in fast mode. I don't get
> 108Mbps ... more like 70Mbps ... but it is significantly faster than
> normal g connections. The bridge, however, cannot participate.
>
> When I set the router to "Auto108" mode (which allows all devices), I
> can only get normal g (54Mbps) connections from the PCMCIA cards, even
> when the bridge is turned off and all the devices in use are 108
> capable. What's more, if I set the PCMCIA cards to connect in fast
> mode only when the router is in auto mode, they can't connect at all.
> They will only connect to the router if I allow normal g connections.
>
> My network is WEP'd (128bits) and I don't broadcast the SSID. There
> are a couple of 802.11b networks around me, including another WEP'd
> network on the same channel - I can have 802.11g on any channel but
> Netgear requires 108 networks to use channel 6 (2437 MHz).
>
> Netgear said there must be interference preventing fast connections,
> but when I reminded them that the "108 only" mode works correctly they
> had no answer for why "Auto108" mode doesn't.
>
> Ideas anyone?
>

I'd love to hear an answer if anyone else has figured this out. I have
been playing with this for some time now and cannot get 108Mbs in Auto
mode with any configuration at all.

Dan