User's Manual

4 • Getting Started
Overview of the Wireless Network
The AirWay 11 Mbps Network enables you to connect to a
broadband Internet connection (DSL or cable) and to transmit data
wirelessly at high speed (11 megabits per second.) Many of you are
familiar with a wired LAN (Local Area Network) that is in many
offices. In that environment, a network server is connected by wires
to computers called clients
1
; this is client/server architecture. The
server manages the data that is transmitted over the network. This
setup allows computers to share data between computers and other
connected devices, such as printers. AWLAN is like a LAN except
that it uses radio signals instead of wires.
Internet Gateway
In the AirWay 11 Mbps Network, TransPort acts as the Gateway
between the Internet and the wireless network. Instead of a server, it
acts as an access point or base station, which transmits data by
radio signals between the networks. In this way, a computer is
connected to both networks, wired and wireless.
TransPort can be configured either as a gateway so that the wired
network, the Internet, connection can be made directly to the
personal computers. The Internet connection is shared among the
computers on the WLAN. As a gateway, TransPort acts as a
firewall and a network address translator (NAT). It hides your
internal IP addresses on your WLAN from the external network.
When you elect not to share the Internet and use TransPort as a
bridge, then the Internet connection is not filtered nor are IP
addresses distributed to the WLAN computers.
Ad Hoc Network
You can also configure the network to operate in an ad hoc mode.
This type of network operates from one device to another without
TransPort. This setup could be useful in a meeting or outside the
office where you want to make use of the wireless communication
between computers.
1.All italicized words in this section are defined in the
“Glossary” on page 51.