Product overview
WLAN stick, NA
12
Version: 1.0
3.4
WLAN principles
WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) is a radio technology that makes wireless networks and wireless
internet access possible. WLAN, which is defined by the IEEE 802.11 standards family, can be configured in
the following mode:
Infrastructure network
The main difference between wireless infrastructure networks and wireless ad hoc networks is that the PCs
in a wireless infrastructure network can access the Internet via an access point.
Fig. 3: Example of an infrastructure network.
Pay attention to security when setting up an infrastructure network, because a connection to the internet is a
potential vulnerable point in the network infrastructure.
Encryption
WLAN encryption is an important security setting and you must ensure that no unauthorized user can log on
and use the network resources. The WLAN stick supports the WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access) security
mechanism,
where a key that is used to encrypt the data is defined in the access point or router. This key must be
entered in the clients' settings and must match the defined key.
Encryption with WEP is obsolete and can be decrypted in a short time.
Frequency range
If several WLANs are operated within a small radius, mutual interference can occur because both WLANs
work in the same frequency range or the distance between the channels is too small.
Only the transmission speed is affected by this; disconnections or data loss cannot occur due to frequency
sharing.
If there are persistent disturbances, select a different channel to prevent frequency sharing.
