Netgear WGM511 Installation Guide download pdf (Page 51)

Wireless Networking Basics B-1

December 2004

Appendix B

Wireless Networking Basics

Wireless Networking Overview

The WGM511 Pre-N Wireless PC Card 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.

Ad Hoc Mode (Peer-to-Peer Workgroup)

In an ad hoc network, computers are brought together as needed; thus, there is no structure or fixed

points to the network—each node can generally communicate with any other node. There is no

access point involved in this configuration. This mode enables you to quickly set up a small

wireless workgroup and allows workgroup members to exchange data or share printers as

supported by Microsoft networking in the various Windows operating systems. Some vendors also

refer to ad hoc networking as peer-to-peer group networking.

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Netgear WGM511 Installation Guide Page 51