Linksys WVC200 Cisco WVC200 2.4 GHz Wireless-G PTZ Internet Camera with Audio - Page 8

Planning Your Wireless Network 2 Ad-Hoc and Infrastructure Modes Planning Your Wireless Network A wireless local area network (WLAN) is exactly like a regular local area network (LAN), except that each computer in the WLAN uses a wireless device to connect to the network. Computers and other devices, such as peripherals, in a WLAN share the same frequency channel and SSID, which is an identification name for wireless devices. Ad-Hoc and Infrastructure Modes Unlike wired networks, wireless networks have two different modes in which they may be set up: infrastructure and ad-hoc. An infrastructure configuration is a WLAN and wired LAN communicating to each other through an access point. An ad-hoc configuration is computers with wireless capabilities communicating directly with each other. Choosing between these two modes depends on whether or not the wireless network needs to share data or peripherals with a wired network or not. If the computers on the wireless network need to be accessed by a wired network or need to share a peripheral, such as a printer, with the wired network computers, the wireless network should be set up in infrastructure mode. The basis of infrastructure mode centers around an access point, which serves as the main point of communications in a wireless network. (A wireless router can also be used because a wireless router incorporates the capabilities of an access point.) Access points transmit data to PCs equipped with wireless network cards, which can roam within a certain radial range of the access point. Multiple access points can be arranged to work in succession to extend the roaming range, and can be set up to communicate with your Ethernet (wired) hardware as well. If the wireless network is relatively small and needs to share resources only with the other computers on the wireless network, then the ad-hoc mode can be used. Ad-hoc mode allows computers equipped with wireless transmitters and receivers to communicate directly with each other, eliminating the need for an access point. The drawback of this mode is that wireless-equipped computers are not able to communicate with computers on a wired network. And, of course, communication between the wireless-equipped computers is limited by the distance and interference directly between them. Network Layout The PTZ Internet Camera is compatible with all 802.11g routers, such as model number WRVS4400N, as well as access points, including model number WAP4400N. The camera can also communicate with network adapters, such as the Wireless-G Notebook Adapter (model number WPC4400N) for your laptop computers, Wireless-G PCI Adapter (model numbers WMP200) for your desktop PCs, and Wireless-G USB Adapter (model number WUSB200) for your computers when you want to enjoy USB connectivity. With these, and many other Linksys products, your networking options are limitless. Go to the Linksys website at www.linksys.com/international for more information about products that work with the PTZ Internet Camera. WVC200-210 User Guide 4