Belkin F5D6001_ver1 User Guide - Page 16

P74056_F5D6001_man(fp).qxd 5/3/2002 5:09 PM Page 26 wireless networking Wireless Networking Using 802.11b To form a wireless network, two basic components are used. The first is a wireless adapter for a PC. This can be either a USB wireless adapter or a PCMCIA adapter. The adapter gives the PC wireless Ethernet capabilities. The second is a wireless access point, which can connect to a wired LAN and allow the wireless PCs to be able to access the wired LAN. A wireless access point can be a stand-alone component or it can be embedded into a cable/DSL router, thus forming a wireless gateway router. The use of each of these types of products is outlined later in this article. Wireless networking is very similar to wired networking, except for a few basic concepts that one must grasp. There are two different ways to network computers using 802.11b. The first, and least used method is the "Ad-Hoc" method, also known as "Peer-to-Peer". The more commonly used method is called "Infrastructure" mode. Peer-to-Peer (Ad-Hoc) Network Ad-Hoc, or Peer-to-Peer, refers to a wireless configuration in which each computer communicates directly with another. An Ad-Hoc wireless network (LAN) consists of a group of computers, each equipped with a wireless adapter, connected directly via radio signals to form an independent wireless LAN. Computers in a specific Ad-Hoc wireless LAN must be configured to the same radio channel and network name to communicate with one another. More than one Ad-Hoc network can exist in the same space if it is configured to operate on a different channel. There are a varying number of channels depending on which part of the world you are operating in. The US has 11 channels, Europe has 13 channels, and Japan has 14 channels. The following diagram shows a typical Ad-Hoc wireless LAN configuration. Notebook with Wireless Notebook Network Card Notebook with Wireless 26 Notebook Network Card PC with Wireless Desktop PCI Network Adapter wireless networking Infrastructure Network (Access Point) The use of a wireless access point to connect a wireless LAN to a wired LAN is called Infrastructure mode. A wireless access point serves as a bridge between the wired and wireless network. Connecting the access point to any port on the wired network will give wireless access to all wireless-equipped computers within its coverage area. An access point is configured with a "Service Set Identifier (SSID)", a "name" given to the wireless network and used by the wireless-equipped computers to access the wireless network. Access points can also be configured to use encryption or they can grant access to computers with specific MAC addresses. They effectively double the distance that computers in the wireless LAN can be located from one another. This is because the unit serves as a central point for routing of all the wireless network traffic between the wireless-equipped computers. Wireless-equipped computers networked together in Infrastructure mode form a group called a "Basic Service Set (BSS)". Up to 64 individual computers can exist at a single time in a BSS. This is due to the ability of the wireless access point to handle no more than 64 clients. The diagram below illustrates how the wireless access point works to increase the covered area range of your wireless network. Notebook with Wireless Notebook Network Card Notebook with Wireless Notebook Network Card WAP Basic Service Set (BSS) PC with Wireless Desktop PCI Network Adapter 27