RFNet Technologies Pte Ltd AP1001G Manuale Utente

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Wireless LAN Basics 
A Wireless LAN (WLAN) is a computer network that transmits and receives data with radio 
signals instead of using cables. WLANs have become common in homes, offices, airports and 
public Hotspots. WLAN can support the same applications and software that run on a wired 
network (LAN). Besides supporting the same software and functions, WLAN brings greater 
convenience and eliminates the need to lay Ethernet cables in a home or office. 
 
The AP1001g is based on the finalised 802.11g  standard. The IEEE 802.11g  standard is an 
improvement on the 802.11b (WiFi) standard. It increases the data rate up to 54 Mbps within the 
2.4GHz band. As the 802.11b standard is also using the 2.4GHz frequency band, the product is 
fully backward compatible with the older 802.11b devices. WiFi cards can be used to connect to 
AP1001g at 11Mbps. 
 
The AP1001g can even support 108Mbps wireless data rate at Turbo mode. This is only 
applicable for user using recommended Turbo-capable Cardbus (with Atheros chipset). 
 
The AP1001g is also known as the Wireless Access Point (AP). The PC using the Cardbus is 
known as the Client. WLAN networking involves a few additional parameters to be configured: 
SSID 
The SSID is the “network name” for the WLAN network. The SSID is any name, and can be any 
set of characters or numbers, and must be configured on both the AP and Client. The Client sniffs 
the radio frequencies for an AP with the same SSID with itself. The client locks onto the AP and 
they are “associated”. 
To enable plug-and-play convenience, most client cards can sniff the frequencies to extract the 
available SSIDs to let the user choose from.
  
Encryption 
WLAN traffic can be captured by anybody to be read! The solution is to use encryption to make 
the traffic appear as random characters to the eavesdropper. Both the AP and client must use the 
same encryption standard and key to enable them to decode the “rubbish”. If the encryption 
settings are mismatched, the client and AP cannot associate. WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is 
the most common WLAN encryption standard. 
MAC Address Control 
Every client card has a unique MAC Address. This MAC Address can be input into the AP 
(Router), such that the AP only allows this pool of MAC Addresses to use the WLAN. 
Channel 
There are a total of 13 channels in the 2.4GHz band. Depending on regulation, not all the 
frequencies may be available in every country. Frequency is configured on the AP only. The client 
searches for the AP and locks onto that AP’s channel. 
Signal Strength 
Radio signals drop in power over a distance. Even if all the settings are correct, a low signal 
strength makes association impossible.  The usable distance between the AP and client can 
range from a few meters indoor to 200m outdoors maximum. When setting up the AP, make sure 
that you: 
 
  Keep the distance from the AP to the clients as short as possible.