Specifications

One or more items in a product family are
RoHS compliant and/or partially compliant.
Access www.L-com.com for latest status.
190
Wireless Networking Terms
2006-2007 Master Catalog
Prices and specifications subject to change.
E-mail: [e-mail] Fax: [phone] Toll Free: 1-800-343-1455 Hours: Mon - Thu 8am-6pm,Fri 8am-5pm EST
L-c om
®
CONNECTIVITY
PRODUCTS
© 2006 L-com,Inc. All Rights Reserved. L-com Connectivity Products and the L-com logo are registered marks.
Wireless Networking Terms
802.11a: An IEEE standard for wireless Ethernet networking
that operates in the 5 GHz radio band (ISM frequency band)
and uses the IP protocol. Maximum transmission speed is
54Mbps and approximate wireless range is 25-75 feet indoors.
802.11b: An IEEE standard for wireless Ethernet networking
that operates in the 2.4 GHz radio band (ISM frequency band)
and uses the IP protocol. Maximum transmission speed is
11Mbps and approximate wireless range is 100-200 feet indoors.
802/11g: An IEEE standard for wireless Ethernet networking
that operates in the 2.4 GHz radio band (ISM frequency band)
and uses the IP protocol. Maximum transmission speed is
54Mbps and approximate wireless range is 100-200 feet indoors.
Access Point: A wireless Access Point is used to connect PC's
with wireless adapter cards to a wired Ethernet network.
Access points can support several or all of the three most
popular IEEE WLAN standards including 802.11a, 802.11b
and 802.11g. Sometimes people may refer to an Access Point
as a Wireless Hub.
Adapter: A wireless adapter or NIC (Network Interface Card)
that is used to connect to a laptop or PC to a wireless LAN
(Local Area Network).
Ad-hoc: An Ad-hoc wireless network is made up of a group of
PC's and/or laptops connected as an independent wireless LAN.
Encryption: Encryption is used to hide or mask the data being
sent through wireless transmissions. There are several popular
and widely used encryption methods used today including WEP
(Wired Equivalent Privacy, and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access).
Hot Spot: A wireless Hot Spot is a public area where wireless
laptops can connect to WLAN and receive Internet access.
Recently many coffee shops and airports have added this
capability for their customer's convenience.
Infrastructure: A Wireless Infrastructure is comprised of both
wired and wireless LAN's. Typically this type of configuration
is found in SOHS and Enterprise environments where there
are many user groups or divisions requiring access to shared
resources.
ISM Band: The ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) band,
which is controlled by the FCC in the US, generally requires
licensing for various spectrum use. To accommodate wireless
LAN's, the FCC has set aside bandwidth for unlicensed use
including the 2.4Ghz spectrum where many WLAN products
operate.
Roaming: The ability to use a wireless device and be able to
move from one access point's range to another without losing
the connection.
Router: A wireless router is a protocol dependent device that
is used to connect sub networks or different independent
WLAN's together. Routers provide security as they can be
configured to only allow certain users access to different
services such as the Internet and file servers when connecting
a WLAN to the Internet a router is required.
SOHO (Small Office/Home Office): Is a widely used
acronym, which defines applications or products that are used
in homes or in small offices.
SSID: The SSID is the unique name shared among all devices
on the same wireless network
WIFI: Wi Fi stands for Wireless Fidelity and is used to define
any of the IEEE 802.11 wireless standards. The term Wi-Fi was
created by the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance
(WECA). Products certified as Wi-Fi compliant are
interoperable with each other even if they are made by
different manufacturers.
802.11a 802.11b 802.11g
Speed
Up to 54 Mbps Up to 11 Mbps Up to 54 Mbps
Frequency
5 Ghz 2.4 Ghz 2.4 Ghz
Indoor Range
25-75 feet 100-200 feet 100-200 feet
Compatibility
Incompatible with 801.11b Compatible Compatible
and 802.11g with 802.11g with 802.11b
What is a Wireless Network?
A wireless network is very similar to the wired network in that all the same pieces are still required,a wireless NIC,Access Point
(similar to a wired network Ethernet Switch) and a wireless router.The only thing that's missing is the cables.
First you will need to determine if your desktop or Laptop PC already has a wireless NIC built in.Again, check your users guide
to confirm this.Once your wireless NIC is installed you will need to configure the SSID (service set identifier) on each of the PC's
to use the same name.Also,you need to make sure all the wireless NICs are configured to be on the same channel and set levels
of encryption if desired.Your wireless access point or router should come with detailed explanation of how to configure the SSID
and security features such as encryption and access lists. Many of today's wireless routers come with the access point
functionality built right in.
The diagram below shows a simple wireless network set up.
The diagram below shows a typical business wireless LAN.
Internet
Cable or DSL Modem
Wireless
Access Point/Router
PC Laptop
Internet
T1
Router
Wireless
Access Point
Wireless
Access Point
Engineering
Operations
Laptop
Laptop
PC
Warehouse
Laptop
Laptop
PC
PC
PC
Executive Offices
PC
PC
PC
Barcode
Readers
2K6_MV2_NW&TestEquip_1.qxd 09/07/06 4:54 PM Page 190