ZyXEL Communications VMG4381-B10A User Manual page 119

• An "infrastructure" type of network has one or more access points and one or more wireless
clients. The wireless clients connect to the access points.
• An "ad-hoc" type of network is one in which there is no access point. Wireless clients connect to
one another in order to exchange information.
The following figure provides an example of a wireless network.
Figure 44 Example of a Wireless Network
The wireless network is the part in the blue circle. In this wireless network, devices A and B use the
access point (AP) to interact with the other devices (such as the printer) or with the Internet. Your
Device is the AP.
Every wireless network must follow these basic guidelines.
• Every device in the same wireless network must use the same SSID.
The SSID is the name of the wireless network. It stands for Service Set IDentifier.
• If two wireless networks overlap, they should use a different channel.
Like radio stations or television channels, each wireless network uses a specific channel, or
frequency, to send and receive information.
• Every device in the same wireless network must use security compatible with the AP.
Security stops unauthorized devices from using the wireless network. It can also protect the
information that is sent in the wireless network.
Radio Channels
In the radio spectrum, there are certain frequency bands allocated for unlicensed, civilian use. For
the purposes of wireless networking, these bands are divided into numerous channels. This allows a
Chapter 7 Wireless
VMG4381-B10A User's Guide
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