NETGEAR WG602 V2 manual Appendix B Wireless Networking Basics, Wireless Networking Overview

Appendix B

Wireless Networking Basics

This chapter provides an overview of wireless networking and security.

Wireless Networking Overview

The WG602 v2 Access Point conforms to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11g standard for wireless LANs (WLANs). On an 802.11 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 802.11g wireless link is 54 Mbps, but it will automatically back down from 54 Mbps when the radio signal is weak or when interference is detected.

The 802.11 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 802.11 devices. The 802.11 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.

In the infrastructure mode, the wireless access point converts airwave data into wired Ethernet data, acting as a bridge between the wired LAN and wireless clients. Connecting multiple access points via a wired Ethernet backbone can further extend the wireless network coverage. As a mobile computing device moves out of the range of one access point, it moves into the range of another. As a result, wireless clients can freely roam from one access point domain to another and still maintain seamless network connection.

Wireless Networking Basics B-1

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