NETGEAR MR814v2 manual Appendix D Wireless Networking Basics, Wireless Networking Overview

Appendix D

Wireless Networking Basics

This chapter provides an overview of Wireless networking.

Wireless Networking Overview

The MR814v2 router conforms to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11b standard for wireless LANs (WLANs). On an 802.11b wireless link, data is encoded using direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) technology and is transmitted in the unlicensed radio spectrum at 2.5GHz. The maximum data rate for the wireless link is 11 Mbps, but it will automatically back down from 11 Mbps to 5.5, 2, and 1 Mbps when the radio signal is weak or when interference is detected.

The 802.11b standard is also called Wireless Ethernet or Wi-Fi by the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA, see http://www.wi-fi.net), an industry standard group promoting interoperability among 802.11b devices. The 802.11b standard offers two methods for configuring a wireless network - ad hoc and infrastructure.

Infrastructure Mode

With a wireless Access Point, you can operate the wireless LAN in the infrastructure mode. This mode provides wireless connectivity to multiple wireless network devices within a fixed range or area of coverage, interacting with wireless nodes via an antenna.

Wireless Networking Basics D-1