Wireless Networking Basics; Wireless Networking Overview; Infrastructure Mode - NETGEAR WGT624v1 - 108 Mbps Wireless Firewall Router Reference Manual

Appendix D

Wireless Networking Basics

This chapter provides an overview of Wireless networking.

Wireless Networking Overview

The WGT624 wireless router conforms to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE) 802.11 standard for wireless LANs (WLANs) and a product update will bring the WGT624
into conformance to the 802.11g standard when it is ratified. On an 802.11b or g 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 11 Mbps, but
it will automatically back down from 11 Mbps to 5.5, 2, and 1 Mbps when the radio signal is weak
or when interference is detected. The 802.11g auto rate sensing rates are 1, 2, 5.5, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24,
36, 48, and 54 Mbps.
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.
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