Wireless Networking Basics; Wireless Networking Overview; Infrastructure Mode - NETGEAR DG834G Reference Manual

Appendix D

Wireless Networking Basics

This chapter provides an overview of Wireless networking.

Wireless Networking Overview

The DG834G wireless router conforms to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE) 802.11g standard for wireless LANs (WLANs). On an 802.11g wireless link, data is
encoded using direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) technology and is transmitted in the
unlicensed radio spectrum at 2.5GHz. The maximum data rate for the wireless link is 54 Mbps, but
it will automatically back down when the radio signal is weak or when interference is detected.
Also, 802.11g and 802.11b wireless devices are compatible; however, 802.11b products operate as
slower speeds than 802.11g products.
The 802.11 standard is also called Wireless Ethernet or Wi-Fi by the Wireless Ethernet
Compatibility Alliance (WECA, see http://www.wi-fi.net), an industry standard group promoting
interoperability among 802.11 devices. The 802.11 standard offers two methods for configuring a
wireless network - ad hoc and infrastructure.

Infrastructure Mode

With a wireless Access Point, you can operate the wireless LAN in the infrastructure mode. This
mode provides wireless connectivity to multiple wireless network devices within a fixed range or
area of coverage, interacting with wireless nodes via an antenna.
In the infrastructure mode, the wireless access point converts airwave data into wired Ethernet
data, acting as a bridge between the wired LAN and wireless clients. Connecting multiple Access
Points via a wired Ethernet backbone can further extend the wireless network coverage. As a
mobile computing device moves out of the range of one access point, it moves into the range of
another. As a result, wireless clients can freely roam from one Access Point domain to another and
still maintain seamless network connection.
Wireless Networking Basics D-1
202-10006-01