User's Manual
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2.4.2. Step 1: Selecting an Operational Mode
Fig. 5: Operational mode settings
Go to the General, Operational Mode section, select an operational mode and click Save at the bot-
tom of this page, and then you are brought back to the start page.
The IEEE 802.11b/g supports two operational modes:
AP/Bridge. This mode provides both Access Point and Static LAN-to-LAN Bridging
functionality. The static LAN-to-LAN bridging function is supported through Wireless
Distribution System (WDS).
AP Client. This mode is for Dynamic LAN-to-LAN Bridging. The AP Client automati-
cally establishes bridge links with APs from any vendors.
In either mode, the IEEE 802.11b/g forwards packets between its Ethernet interface and wireless in-
terface for wired hosts on the Ethernet side and wireless host(s) on the wireless side.
There are two types of wireless links as specified by the IEEE 802.11 standard.
STA-AP. This type of wireless link is established between an IEEE 802.11 Station (STA)
and an IEEE 802.11 Access Point (AP). An STA is usually a client computer (PC or PDA)
with a WLAN network interface card (NIC). The AP Client mode is actually an STA.
WDS. This type of wireless link is established between two IEEE 802.11 IEEE
802.11b/g’s. Wireless packets transmitted along the WDS link comply with the IEEE
802.11 WDS (Wireless Distribution System) format at the link layer.
The relationships among the operational modes and the wireless link types are shown in the following
table:
AP/Bridge AP Client
AP/Bridge
WDS STA-AP
AP Client
STA-AP
Table 1: Operational modes vs. wireless link types
To establish a static bridge link based on WDS, the AP/bridges at both end of the WDS link must be
manually configured with each other’s MAC addresses (see Section 3.5.1.6 for more information). To
establish a dynamic bridge link between a IEEE 802.11b/g and an AP Client, both devices have to be
configured with the same SSID and WEP settings. The AP Client automatically scans for any IEEE
802.11b/g that is using the matched SSID and establishes a bridge link with the scanned IEEE
802.11b/g.