What is a Wireless Access Point?
Wireless Access Point (AP) is a network bridge that provides an easy and quick solution for the wireless stations to access an existing wired local area network. An Access Point extends the reach and usefulness of the wired network resources. When you connect a Wireless AP to an Ethernet port of a hub or switch on your wired LAN, many wireless clients can also access the network resources. Radio frequency (RF) waves link the wireless clients to an AP, and the AP works as a bridge between the wireless clients and the wired LAN or Ethernet clients.
What devices will cause interference with a wireless LAN?
A wireless LAN compliant to IEEE 802.11b operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency band. Other products that operate in this frequency band, such as microwave ovens and 2.4 GHz cordless phones, can cause interference.
What are DSSS and FHSS?
DSSS and FHSS are two different digital modulation techniques that use spread spectrum transmission methods. With FHSS, the data rates are limited to 2 Mbps, while DSSS provides data rates up to 11 Mbps. In DSSS, the large bandwidth is effectively split into frequency channels and the signal is then spread across the channels in a predetermined pseudo random sequence. In DSSS, the digital data is encoded with a series of codes.
How secure is my wireless connection?
Wireless Access Point and clients that adhere to 802.11b standard use DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) technology. This technology has an inherent security feature called scrambling, which makes it difficult for an intruder to intercept and decipher the encoded wireless data. For enhanced security, your wireless network must use a unique SSID. You can also enable the WEP function so that the data is encrypted before being transmitted.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
