User's Manual

CHAPTER FIVE - CONECTIVITY
61
What is WLAN supplicant?
If you compare a wired network to a wireless network, it is easy to see that
in addition to physical signal handling there is also physical security
differences between them. In fact, physical security is not inherent in
communication based on radio waves. On the other hand, inherent
physical security in a wired LAN is derived from the assumption that
access to a physical connection conveys authority to connect to the LAN.
To tackle this aspect of the WLAN networking some measures has to be
taken to reduce security threats such as eavesdropping on transmitted
information and unauthorized access to wireless LAN. The IEEE WLAN
specifications address the physical security with the authentication
framework (IEEE 802.1X) and the link-layer encryption.
The IEEE 802.1X network port authentication architecture on the wireless
LAN uses three components to implement a network access control.
Supplicant is one of those components. It runs on the end user stations
and it seeks access to network resources. In other words, once there is an
association between a station and a WLAN access point the supplicant
attempts to get the station become authorized in the WLAN context.
Note! In this text, the term ‘supplicant’ may be used in broader sense than
the IEEE 802.1X defines the term, meaning that the term ‘supplicant’ is
used loosely and it refers to the whole subsystem on your PL3000 being
in charge of communication on wireless LAN.
PL3000 Wireless LAN in a Nutshell
WLAN Radio Characteristics
Radio IEEE 802.11b/g
802.11b (DSSS): 1, 2, 5.5, and 11Mbps Data rates
802.11g (OFDM): 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36,
48, and 54Mbps
Antenna Internal, Rx and Tx diversity
DSSS: From 0 to +19dBm
1)
Tx Power Control
OFDM: From 0 to +15dBm
1)
Rx sensitivity -75 to -96dBm
2)
1) Values are nominal, an accuracy of ±1.5dBm
2) Maximum receiver sensitivity depends on data rate being in use at a particular moment