Introduction, Planning Your Wireless Network

Figure 2-1

Instant Wireless® Series

Chapter 1: Introduction

The Wireless-B Notebook Adapter

The Linksys Wireless-B Notebook Adapter lets your notebook communicate with the popular 802.11b wireless network standard. 802.11b wireless net- works are commonly found in corporate environments, and are used in homes for household Internet connectivity without the need for running cables. They're also popping up all over the country in coffee shops, airports, hotels, convention centers, and other public spaces offering "on the go" connectivity to mobile users.

The included Setup Wizard will walk you through configuring the adapter to your network's settings, step by step. Then just slide it into your notebook's PC Card slot and enjoy network access with your notebook computer, while retain- ing true mobility.

Once you're connected, you can keep in touch with your e-mail, access the Internet, and share files and other resources such as printers and network stor- age with other computers on the network, wherever you wander. At home, you can surf the web or use instant messaging to chat with friends while sitting out on the patio. To protect your data and privacy, the Wireless-B Notebook Adapter can secure all wireless transmissions with up to 128-bit data encryp- tion.

Join the wireless revolution. With the Linksys Wireless-B Notebook Adapter, you'll be ready to connect to the wireless world, wherever you go.

Features

•11 Mbps High-Speed Data Transfer Rate with Automatic Fallback

•Plug-and-Play Operation Provides Easy Setup

•802.11b, DSSS, 2.4GHz-Compliant

•Supports up to 128-bit WEP Encryption Security

•Compatible with Virtually All Major Network Operating Systems

•Free Driver Upgrades via Web

•Integrated Equalizer Recovers Weak Signals and Enhances Sensitivity

•Sturdy Metal Design with Integrated Antenna

•Works with All Standard Internet Applications

•Clear Channel Assessment Increases Network Throughput

•Hardware Buffer Chaining Provides High Performance While Reading and Writing Buffers

Wireless-B Notebook Adapter

Chapter 2: Planning Your Wireless Network

Network Topology

A wireless local area network (WLAN) is exactly like a regular local area net- work (LAN), except that each computer in the WLAN uses a wireless device to connect to the network. Computers in a WLAN share the same frequency channel and SSID, which is an identification name for wireless devices.

Ad-Hoc versus Infrastructure Mode

Unlike wired networks, wireless networks have two different modes in which they may be set up: infrastructure and ad-hoc. An infrastructure configura- tion is a WLAN and wired LAN communicating to each other through an access point. An ad-hoc configuration is wireless-equipped computers com- municating directly with each other. Choosing between these two modes depends on whether or not the wireless network needs to share data or periph- erals with a wired network or not.

If the computers on the wireless network need to be accessed by a wired network or need to share a peripheral, such as a print- er, with the wired network computers, the wireless network should be set up in infrastructure mode. (See Figure 2-1.) The basis of infrastructure mode centers around an access point, which serves

as the main point of communications in a wireless network. Access points transmit data to PCs equipped with wireless network cards, which can roam within a certain radial range of the access point. Multiple access points can be arranged to work in succession to extend the roaming range, and can be set up to communicate with your Ethernet (wired) hardware as well.