Wireless Networking Overview
The WG511U Wireless PC Card conforms to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11b standard for wireless LANs (WLANs) and a product update will bring the WG511U into conformance to the 802.11g standard when it is ratified. 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, 11, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 54 Mbps. Likewise, the 802.11a wireless link offers a maximum data rate of 54 Mbps, but will automatically back down to rates 48, 36, 24, 18, 12, 9, and 6 Mbps.The 802.11 standard is also called Wireless Ethernet or Wi-Fi by the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA, see http://www.wi-fi.net), 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.
NETGEAR, Inc. http://www.netgear.com |