SMC Networks SMC EZ Connect 2.4GHz 11 Mbps Wireless USB Flash Drive SMCWUSB32 User Manual page 24

9 | Frequently Asked Questions
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What is a Wireless LAN?
A local area network that transmits over the air typically in an unlicensed
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frequency such as the 2.4GHz band. A wireless LAN does not require lining up
devices for line of sight transmission like IrDA. Wireless access points (base
stations) are connected to an Ethernet hub or server and transmit a radio
frequency over an area of several hundred to a thousand feet which can
penetrate walls and other non-metal barriers. Roaming users can be handed off
from one access point to another like a cellular phone system. Laptops use
wireless network cards that plug into an existing PCMCIA slot or that are self
contained on PC cards, while stand-alone desktops and servers use plug-in cards
(ISA, PCI, etc.).
• What is Ad-hoc?
An AD-HOC network is a peer to peer network where all the nodes are wireless
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clients. As an example, two PC's with wireless adapters can communicate with
each other as long as they are within range. A wireless extension point can
extend the range of an AD-HOC network.
•
What is the 802.11 standard?
A family of IEEE standards for wireless LANs first introduced in 1997. 802.11
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provides 1 or 2 Mbps transmission in the 2.4GHz band using either a frequency
hopping modulation (FHSS) technique or direct sequence spread spectrum
(DSSS), which is also known as CDMA. The 802.11b standard defines an 11
Mbps data rate in the 2.4GHz band, and the 802.11a standard defines 54 Mbps
in the 5GHz band.
• What is Infrastructure?
In order for your wireless components to interact with traditional wired networks
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they need a media bridge to translate for them. This is where INFRASTRUCTURE
or Network mode comes into play. An ACCESS POINT is attached to the network
using CAT-5 Ethernet cable attaching to a hub, switch or another PC. Wireless
PC's can then communicate to Wired Ethernet computers through this access
point. The total range of the network is limited to a radius around this Access
Point. To increase the range, extra Access Points may be wired into the network.
These Access Points talk to each other over the hard-wired Ethernet cables
however, they cannot communicate wirelessly to one another and they must be
wired to the same network. Individual wireless PC's can move between Access
Points on the same network seamlessly due to a feature called ROAMING.
• What is Tx-Rate?
Tx-Rate or TRANSFER RATE is the current speed at which the network
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component is operating. SMC-802.11b products can operate at speeds of 1Mb,
2Mb, 5.5Mb, & 11Mbps. A wireless card set to AUTO will attempt to connect at
whatever speed will give the best throughput on the network.
• What is RTS Threshold?
(Request To Send) An RS-232 signal sent from the transmitting station to the
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receiving station requesting permission to transmit. RTS is a collision avoidance
method used by all 802.11b wireless networking devices. In most cases you will
not need to activate or administer RTS. Only if you find yourself in an
Infrastructure environment where all nodes are in range of the Access Point but
may be out of range of each other. It is recommended to leave this setting at its
default value leaving this feature disabled.