Netgear FWG114P v2 User Manual

Wireless Networking Basics

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This chapter provides an overview of Wireless networking.

The FWG114P Wireless Firewall/Print Server conforms to the Institute of Electrical and 
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11b and 802.11g standards for wireless LANs (WLANs). On an 
802.11b or g wireless link, data is encoded using direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) 
technology and is transmitted in the unlicensed radio spectrum at 2.5GHz. The maximum data rate 
for the 802.11b wireless link is 11 Mbps, but it will automatically back down from 11 Mbps to 5.5, 
2, and 1 Mbps when the radio signal is weak or when interference is detected. The 802.11g auto 
rate sensing rates are 1, 2, 5.5, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 54 Mbps. 

The 802.11 standard is also called Wireless Ethernet or Wi-Fi by the Wireless Ethernet 
Compatibility Alliance (WECA, see 

), an industry standard group promoting 

interoperability among 802.11 devices. The 802.11 standard offers two methods for configuring a 
wireless network - ad hoc and infrastructure.

With a wireless Access Point, you can operate the wireless LAN in the infrastructure mode. This 
mode provides wireless connectivity to multiple wireless network devices within a fixed range or 
area of coverage, interacting with wireless nodes via an antenna. 

In the infrastructure mode, the wireless access point converts airwave data into wired Ethernet 
data, acting as a bridge between the wired LAN and wireless clients. Connecting multiple Access 
Points via a wired Ethernet backbone can further extend the wireless network coverage. As a 
mobile computing device moves out of the range of one access point, it moves into the range of 
another. As a result, wireless clients can freely roam from one Access Point domain to another and 
still maintain seamless network connection.