Novell LINUX ENTERPRISE SERVER 11 - ADMINISTRATION Administration Manual page 274

Name
802.11b
802.11g
802.11n draft
802.11 Legacy cards are not supported by SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server. Most cards
using 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n draft are supported. New cards usually
comply with the 802.11n draft standard, but cards using 802.11g are still available.
18.1.1 Function
In wireless networking, various techniques and configurations are used to ensure fast,
high-quality, and secure connections. Different operating types suit different setups. It
can be difficult to choose the right authentication method. The available encryption
methods have different advantages and pitfalls.
Basically, wireless networks can be classified as managed networks and ad-hoc networks.
Managed networks have a managing element: the access point. In this mode (also re-
ferred to as infrastructure mode), all connections of the WLAN stations in the network
run through the access point, which may also serve as a connection to an ethernet. Ad-
hoc networks do not have an access point. The stations communicate directly with each
other, therefore an ad-hoc network is usually faster than a managed network. However,
the transmission range and number of participating stations are greatly limited in ad-
hoc networks. They also do not support WPA authentication. Therefore, an access point
is usually used. It is even possible to use a WLAN card as an access point. Some cards
support this functionality.
Authentication
Because a wireless network is much easier to intercept and compromise than a wired
network, the various standards include authentication and encryption methods. In the
original version of the IEEE 802.11 standard, these are described under the term WEP.
260 Administration Guide
Band (GHz) Maximum
Transmission
Rate (Mbit/s)
2.4 11
2.4 54
2.4 and/or 5 300
Note
Less common
Widespread, backwards-
compatible with 11b
Common