User Manual

Intel® Wireless Gateway User's Guide
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Chapter 2. About the Intel® Wireless Gateway
The Intel® Wireless Gateway functions as an IEEE 802.11b-compliant wireless access point and
broadband router for residential and business environments. It can also operate as a wireless
access point only. As an access point, the Intel® Wireless Gateway communicates with wireless
clients via radio frequency channels. It connects with wired clients through a LAN port and with
the Internet through a cable or xDSL modem.
The Intel® Wireless Gateway supports up to 252 clients. Up to 16 of the 252 clients can be
wireless. The built-in Ethernet wireless access point runs at 11 Megabits per second (Mbps), and
the LAN (wired) port runs at 10/100 Mbps. The range of wireless coverage for indoor use is up to
300 feet and up to 1500 feet for outdoor use. The Network Address Translation (NAT) feature
allows 64 clients to simultaneously communicate out to the Internet.
The Intel® Wireless Gateway provides the following protocols and features:
• Nework Address Translation (NAT)
• Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
• Virtual Private Networking (VPN)
• Routing Information Protocol (RIP 1 and RIP 2)
• Virtual server properties
• Encryption
• Roaming
• Automatic Rate Selection and Rate Scaling
• Antenna Diversity
The last four features are described in the next section. Refer to Configuring the Intel® Wireless
Gateway or Glossary for information on the other protocols and features.
2.1 Features
2.1.1 Security
In a WLAN, wireless clients and access points send and receive information through the air.
Without implementing security, it is possible for an unauthorized person to intercept the
information.
A common way of implementing security and protecting information is encryption. Encryption
applies a set of instructions, called an algorithm, to information. The instructions combine the
plain or clear text of information with a sequence of hexadecimal numbers, called an encryption
key.
Before transmitting information over the airwaves, the wireless client or access point encrypts or
scrambles the information. The access point or wireless client receiving the information uses the
same key to decrypt or unscramble the information. The information is only readable to WLAN
devices that have the correct encryption key. The longer the key is, the stronger the encryption.
The form of data encryption used by the Intel® Wireless Gateway is called Wired Equivalent
Privacy (WEP). When encryption is enabled, you must set the WEP key in the client to match the