WESM zl Management and Configuration Guide WT.01.28 and greater

1-50

Introduction

Radio Ports

Because the RPs are a critical component of the wireless network—establishing the

actual radio signal and transmitting wireless traffic to and from stations—you should

understand how these RPs function.

The Wireless Edge Services zl 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 zl 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 zl Module for the

intelligence required to provide advanced services and customized access for wireless

users.

You can think of an RP as a remote radio on the Wireless Edge Services zl 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 zl 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 zl Module instead of using separate

management interfaces to configure each one.