NETGEAR DG824M - 802.11b Wireless ADSL Modem, Reference Manual

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Wireless Networking Basics D-1
Appendix D
Wireless Networking Basics
This chapter provides an overview of Wireless networking.
Wireless Networking Overview
The DG824M wireless gateway conforms to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE) 802.11b standard for wireless LANs (WLANs). On an 802.11b 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 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. Also, 802.11g wireless adapters are compatible with 802.11b
networks.
The 802.11b 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 802.11b devices. The 802.11b standard offers two methods for configuring
a wireless network - ad hoc and infrastructure.
Infrastructure Mode
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.