What is Infrastructure?, What is Tx-Rate?

•What is Infrastructure?

oIn order for your wireless components to interact with traditional wired networks they need a media bridge to translate for them. This is where INFRASTRUCTURE or Network mode comes into play. An ACCESS POINT is attached to the network using CAT-5 Ethernet cable attaching to a hub, switch or another PC. Wireless PC’s can then communicate to Wired Ethernet computers through this access point. The total range of the network is limited to a radius around this Access Point. To increase the range, extra Access Points may be wired into the network. These Access Points talk to each other over the hard-wired Ethernet cables however, they cannot communicate wirelessly to one another and they must be wired to the same network. Individual wireless PC’s can move between Access Points on the same network seamlessly due to a feature called ROAMING.

•What is Tx-Rate?

oTx-Rate or TRANSFER RATE is the current speed at which the network component is operating. SMC-802.11b products can operate at speeds of 1Mb, 2Mb, 5.5Mb, & 11Mbps. A wireless card set to AUTO will attempt to connect at whatever speed will give the best throughput on the network.

•What is RTS Threshold?

o(Request To Send) An RS-232 signal sent from the transmitting station to the receiving station requesting permission to transmit. RTS is a collision avoidance method used by all 802.11b wireless networking devices. In most cases you will not need to activate or administer RTS. Only if you find yourself in an Infrastructure environment where all nodes are in range of the Access Point but may be out of range of each other. It is recommended to leave this setting at its default value leaving this feature disabled.

•What is Authentication Algorithm?

oAuthentication Algorithm is the means by which one station is authorized to communicate with another. In an Open System, any station can request authorization in accordance with the WECA standard. In a Shared key system, only stations that possess a secret encrypted key may participate in the network. This is a low level security key which allows the equipment with the shared key algorithm to see each other on the wireless lan.

•What is DBI?

oThe ability of the antenna to shape the signal and focus it in a particular direction is called Antenna Gain, and is expressed in terms of how much stronger the signal in the desired direction is, compared to the worst possible antenna, which distributes the signal evenly in all directions (an Isotropic Radiator). To express the relationship to the Isotropic reference, this is abbreviated: "dBi". The typical omni-directional "stick" antenna is rated at 6-8 dBi, indicating that that by redirecting the signal that would have gone straight up or down to the horizontal level, 4 times as much signal is available horizontally. A parabolic reflector design can easily achieve 24 dBi.

•What is WEP?

oShort for Wired Equivalent Privacy, WEP is a security protocol for wireless local area networks (WLANs) defined in the 802.11b and 802.11a standards.

oWEP is designed to provide the same level of security as that of a wired LAN. LANs are inherently more secure than WLANs because LANs are somewhat protected by the physicalities of their structure, having some or all part of the network inside a building that can be protected from unauthorized access. WLANs, which are over radio waves, do not have the same physical structure and therefore are more vulnerable to tampering.

oWEP aims to provide security by encrypting data over radio waves so that it is protected as it is transmitted from one end point to another. The Wired