User's Guide

3e-531AP Wireless Access Point
Chapter 1: Introduction
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Wireless Basics
Wireless networking uses electromagnetic radio frequency waves to
transmit and receive data. Communication occurs by establishing radio
links between the wireless gateway and devices con gured to be part of
the
WLAN.
The 3e-531AP incorporates the 802.11b (Wi-Fi) standard and
the most
state of the art encryption for a very powerful and secure wireless envi-
ronment.
802.11b
The IEEE 802.11b standard, developed by the Wireless Ethernet
Compatibility Alliance (
WECA), establishes a stable standard. A user with
an 802.11b product can use any brand of gateway/access point with any
other brand of client hardware that is built to the 802.11b standard for ba-
sic interconnection.
802.11b devices provide 11 Mbps transmission (with a
fallback to 5.5, 2 and 1 Mbps depending on signal strength) in the 2.4 GHz
band.
802.11b uses
DSSS (direct-sequence spread spectrum) for radio com-
munication.
Direct-sequence systems communicate by continuously
transmitting a redundant pattern of bits called a chipping sequence. The
chipping sequence is combined with a transmitted data stream to produce
the wireless output signal.
For wireless devices to communicate with the 3e-531AP, they must
meet the following conditions:
•
The signal strength must be suf cient;
•
The wireless device and wireless gateway must have been con g-
ured to recognize each other using the
SSID (a unique ID assigned
in setup so that the wireless device is seen to be part of the net-
work by the 3e-531AP);
•
Encryption and authentication capabilities and types enabled
must conform;
•
The wireless device and wireless gateway must have compatible
data rate con gurations; and
•
If MAC  ltering is used, the 3e-531AP must be con gured to
allow the wireless device’s MAC address to associate (communi-
cate) with the 3e-531AP wireless interface.