User Manual

Table Of Contents
Reference Manual for the NETGEAR ProSafe 802.11g Wireless Access Point WG302
2-4 Introduction
v0.1, December 2005
Virtual APs. A single AP is segregated into multiple individual virtual APs simulating
multiple APs in a single system. This segregation allows you to enforce different security
mechanisms for different clients on the same AP. Virtual AP also provides better control over
broadcast and multicast traffic for increased network performance.
Wireless VLAN Support. Short for virtual LAN, a network of computers that behave as if
they are connected to the same network even though they may actually be physically located
on different segments of a LAN. VLANs are configured through software rather than
hardware, which makes them extremely flexible. VLANs are very useful for user/host
management, bandwidth allocation and resource optimization.
World Mode. With world mode enabled, the Access Point provides radio channel settings for
client devices that associate with the Access Point. A visitor from Europe using world mode
on a client device can associate with an Access Point in North Carolina and automatically
switch to the correct channel settings
AutoCell—The Self-Organizing Wireless Network
AutoCell
TM
, an embedded control system for 802.11 WLANs. AutoCell increases available
bandwidth and reduces WLAN installation and operating costs significantly.
AutoCell is completely automatic: It is a continuous communication system that relies on a
lightweight protocol to monitor changes on the wireless domain while keeping overhead very low.
Among AutoCell's inherent advantages:
Elimination of manual site surveys and channel maps
Dynamic load balancing
Plug-and-play-implementation
Transparent fault recovery and failover
Since AutoCell is completely self-organizing, it holds human intervention to a minimum. That
reduces the people costs associated with deployment, management, and maintenance—making
802.11 WLANs practical, efficient, and cost-effective.
802.11g Standards-based Wireless Networking
The NETGEAR ProSafe 802.11g Wireless Access Point WG302 provides a bridge between
Ethernet wired LANs and 802.11g compatible wireless LAN networks. It provides connectivity
between Ethernet wired networks and radio-equipped wireless notebook systems, desktop
systems, print servers, and other devices.