Wireless/Redundant Edge Services xl Module Management and Configuration Guide WS.02.xx and greater

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Introduction
Radio Ports
Radio Ports
Because the RPs are a critical component of the wireless network—establish-
ing the actual radio signal and transmitting wireless traffic to and from
stations—you should understand how these RPs function.
The Wireless Edge Services xl Module can manage the following ProCurve RPs:
■ RP 210—includes one 802.11bg radio. The radio has two omnidirectional
diversity antennas.
■ RP 220—includes two radios, one 802.11a and one 802.11bg. Each radio
has two omnidirectional diversity antennas.
■ RP 230—includes two radios, one 802.11a and one 802.11bg. This RP is
designed for use with external antennas.
Using their radios and Ethernet interfaces, these IEEE 802.11-compliant RPs
enable wireless stations to connect to a WLAN and eventually to your
Ethernet network.
Note This guide will generally use the term RP instead of AP, even when discussing
general concepts that apply to both, to remind you that you connect RPs to
the Wireless Edge Services xl Module.
These devices are “thin” APs, which ProCurve Networking refers to as RPs to
distinguish them from its “thick” APs. Unlike APs, the RPs themselves provide
little intelligence. Instead, the RPs rely on the Wireless Edge Services xl
Module for the intelligence required to provide advanced services and cus-
tomized access for wireless users.
You can think of an RP as a remote radio on the Wireless Edge Services xl
Module. For example, an RP receives 802.11 frames from wireless stations,
encapsulates them in Ethernet headers, and forwards them to the Wireless
Edge Services xl Module; the module handles functions associated with a
standalone AP, such as generating 802.11 frames, encrypting traffic, filtering
traffic, and tagging traffic for a specific VLAN.
The advantage of such a deployment—coordinated RPs managed by a module
installed in a switch—is that the wireless network can be controlled efficiently
for consistent and transparent network access for all users. In addition, you
can configure multiple RPs through the Wireless Edge Services xl Module
instead of using separate management interfaces to configure each one.