Cisco WAP4410N User Manual page 51

Frequently Asked Questions
particular, is being made available worldwide. This presents a truly revolutionary opportunity
to place convenient high speed wireless capabilities in the hands of users around the globe.
What is Spread Spectrum?
Spread Spectrum technology is a wideband radio frequency technique developed by the
military for use in reliable, secure, mission-critical communications systems. It is designed to
trade off bandwidth efficiency for reliability, integrity, and security. In other words, more
bandwidth is consumed than in the case of narrowband transmission, but the trade-off
produces a signal that is, in effect, louder and thus easier to detect, provided that the receiver
knows the parameters of the spread-spectrum signal being broadcast. If a receiver is not tuned
to the right frequency, a spread-spectrum signal looks like background noise. There are two
main alternatives, Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and Frequency Hopping Spread
Spectrum (FHSS).
What is DSSS? What is FHSS? And what are their differences?
Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) uses a narrowband carrier that changes
frequency in a pattern that is known to both transmitter and receiver. Properly synchronized,
the net effect is to maintain a single logical channel. To an unintended receiver, FHSS appears to
be short-duration impulse noise. Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) generates a
redundant bit pattern for each bit to be transmitted. This bit pattern is called a chip (or
chipping code). The longer the chip, the greater the probability that the original data can be
recovered. Even if one or more bits in the chip are damaged during transmission, statistical
techniques embedded in the radio can recover the original data without the need for
retransmission. To an unintended receiver, DSSS appears as low power wideband noise and is
rejected (ignored) by most narrowband receivers.
Would the information be intercepted while transmitting on air?
WLAN features two-fold protection in security. On the hardware side, as with Direct Sequence
Spread Spectrum technology, it has the inherent security feature of scrambling. On the
software side, the WLAN series offers a variety of wireless security methods to enhance security
and access control. Users can set it up depending upon their needs.
Can Linksys wireless products support file and printer sharing?
Linksys wireless products perform the same function as LAN products. Therefore, Linksys
wireless products can work with NetWare, Windows NT/2000, or other LAN operating systems
to support printer or file sharing.
What is WEP?
WEP is Wired Equivalent Privacy, a data privacy mechanism based on a 40-bit shared-key
algorithm, as described in the IEEE 802.11 standard.
What is a MAC Address?
The Media Access Control (MAC) address is a unique number assigned by the manufacturer to
any Ethernet networking device, such as a network adapter, that allows the network to identify
it at the hardware level. For all practical purposes, this number is usually permanent. Unlike IP
addresses, which can change every time a computer logs on to the network, the MAC address
of a device stays the same, making it a valuable identifier for the network.
WAP4410N User Guide 46