Software Access Point; Terminology - MSI K8N Neo Platinum User Manual

MS-7030 ATX Mainboard
MSI Feature
In the Software Access Point sub-menu, you can see the status of communicating
on your system and choose the desired software access point mode by clicking on
the desired icon, in which the default settings are configured for your usage. The
default software access point mode is set to WLAN Card Mode. For more ad-
vanced security settings and channels switching, click on "Setting" button to enter
its sub-menu.

Terminology

Here are the introduction of WLAN / AP communication terminology.
WEP Key
In the wireless network environment, the administrator can set up password
(Network Key) to protect the network from being attacked or unauthorized
access. When building the network, you can set up 4 sets of WEP keys,
which can be 5 characters (10 hex-adecimal digital) or 13 characters (26
hex-adecimal digital) and specify one of them to use.
Ad-hoc Mode
An Ad-hoc network is a local area network or other small network, especially
one with wireless or temporary plug-in connections, in which some of the
network devices are part of the network only for the duration of a communi-
cations session. Users in the network can share files, print to a shared
printer, and access the Internet with a shared modem. In this kind of network,
new devices can be quickly added; however, users can only communicate
with other wireless LAN computers that are in this wireless LAN workgroup,
and are within range.
Infrastructure Mode
The difference between Infrastructure network and Ad-hoc network is that
the former one includes an Access Point. In an Infrastructure network, the
Access Point can manage the bandwidth to maximize bandwidth utilization.
Additionally, the Access Point enables users on a wireless LAN to access an
existing wired network, allowing wireless users to take advantage of the
wired networks resources, such as Internet, email, file transfer, and printer
sharing. The scale and range of the Infrastructure networking are larger and
wider than that of the Ad-hoc networking.
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Software Access Point