ZyXEL Communications EX5501-B0 User Manual page 112

• A wireless client is a radio connected to a user's computer.
• An access point is a radio with a wired connection to a network, which can connect with numerous
wireless clients and let them access the network.
• A bridge is a radio that relays communications between access points and wireless clients, extending
a network's range.
Traditionally, a wireless network operates in one of two ways.
• 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 65 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 Zyxel 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.
EX5501-B0 / AX7501-B0 / PX7501-B0 User's Guide
Chapter 7 Wireless
112