User's Manual

105
D. Advanced Symphony Parameters
Several advanced Symphony parameters are visible within the Advanced tab
of the Symphony Card’s Properties screen in the Windows 95/98’s Network
icon and within the Windows NT Card Setup screen.
Proxim recommends that you do not alter these advanced parameters from
their default values unless told to do so by a Symphony Technical Support
representative.
Station Type
The Symphony Cordless Networking Suite uses a radio technology known as
frequency hopping spread spectrum. This means that the frequency at which
the devices communicate changes several times a second within a specific
radio band.
In order for all devices to hop to the appropriate frequency at the same time,
one radio must coordinate these movements. This device is known as the
Master. A device which follow a Master’s pattern is known as a Station. Two
Masters cannot communicate with each other. Two Stations can communi-
cate with each other if they have the same Master.
At any point in time, each Symphony device is either a Master or a Station.
In addition, there is a third Station Type option, Alternate Master, which
allows a device to become a Master if one is not present and otherwise it acts
as a Station. Multiple Alternate Masters will decide among themselves
which device will act as the Master.
A Symphony Cordless Modem, a computer running the Symphony Conduc-
tor Sharing Software, and a Symphony-HRF Cordless Gateway are always
configured as Masters. Other Symphony devices act as Alternate Masters by
default, but this may be changed using the Station Type parameter to be a
Master, a Station, or an Alternate Master. Do not change this parameter
unless directed to do so by Technical Support.
Master Name
The Master Name is a string of characters which identifies a Master device.
This parameter is only valid for an active Master. Do not change this
parameter unless directed to do so by Technical Support.