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To set up an Infrastructure network operating with standard protocols, do the following:

Set all wireless stations to connect in Infrastructure mode.

Set all stations to use the same network name (or SSID).

Set all wireless Access Points to use the same network name (or ESSID).

Set all stations to disable the WEP encryption key, or set all stations to use an identical
WEP encryption key as used by the Access Point.

Set up wireless channels used by individual Access Points. (It is not necessary to set
channels on the stations as the stations will automatically scan through all channels for the
nearest Access Point.)

Service Set Identification (SSID)

The Service Set Identification (SSID) is a thirty-two alphanumeric character (maximum) string
identifying the wireless local area network. Some vendors refer to the SSID as network name. For
stations to communicate with each other, all stations must be configured with the same SSID.

A wireless LAN consisting of nodes operating in Ad-hoc configuration without an Access
Point is called a Basic Service Set (BSS). All nodes in a BSS must use the same Basic Service
Set ID (BSSID).

In an infrastructure configuration with Access Points, multiple BSS can be configured to form
an Extended Service Set (ESS). In this configuration, the Access Points are configured with the
same Extended Service Set ID (ESSID). Wireless clients configured with the same ESSID can
freely roam from one Access Point domain to another and still maintain seamless connection to
the network.

In this configuration, network packets are directly sent and received by the intended
transmitting and receiving stations. As long as the stations are within range of one another, this
is the easiest and least expensive way to set up a wireless network. 

To set up an Ad-Hoc workgroup operating with standard protocols, do the following:

Set all stations to connect in Ad-Hoc mode (or Peer-to-Peer workgroup mode).

Set all stations to use the same network name (or SSID).

Set all stations to use the same wireless channel for communication.

Set all stations to disable the WEP encryption key, or set all stations to use an identical
WEP encryption key.

Infrastructure Mode

With a wireless Access Point, you can put the wireless LAN into Infrastructure mode. It
provides wireless connectivity to multiple wireless network devices within a fixed range or area
of coverage, interacting with a wireless node 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.

20

Cable/DSL
Modem

Desktop (or Notebook) PC 
with 

MA111 802.11b 

Wireless USB Adapter

MR814 Cable/DSL 802.11b
4-port Wireless Router

Desktop PC with
Ethernet connection

Macintosh computer with
Ethernet connection

Notebook PC with

MA401 802.11b
Wireless PC Card

Internet

Desktop (or Notebook) PC 
with 

MA111 802.11b 

Wireless USB Adapter

19

Notebook PC 
with MA111 
802.11b Wireless 
USB Adapter

Notebook PC 
with MA111 
802.11b Wireless 
USB Adapter

Notebook PC 
with MA111 
802.11b Wireless 
USB Adapter

Ad-Hoc

Summary of Contents for MA111

Page 1: ...User s Guide 802 11b Wireless USB Adapter 2 4 GHz MA111 ...

Page 2: ... GearBox for Wireless USB Adapter CD into the CD ROM drive 1 1 2 LED Activity Meaning of LED Activity Steady Green The MA111 has a connection with an access point or another 802 11b device Blinking The MA111 is trying to establish a connection If it keeps blinking for a while check your configuration or try moving to a different location where the wireless signal quality is better Introduction Con...

Page 3: ...k Next to continue Install Shield will start copying files onto your system 11 Click Finish to complete installing the Configuration Utility 4 3 The Autostart Wizard screen will appear as shown here 4 Click the Install Driver Utility option 5 If the Autorun wizard does not automatically start go to your Windows Start menu and choose Run and type D Setup exe D represents your CD ROM drive letter an...

Page 4: ...B Adapter and the Found New Hardware Wizard dialog box will appear 3 Follow the on screen instructions to install the driver for the MA111 802 11b Wireless USB Adapter For Windows 98 ME users once the Please insert the disk labeled Windows 98 ME CD ROM and then click OK window appears enter the path corresponding to the appropriate drives and click OK Usually these files can be found at C Windows ...

Page 5: ...good communication with an Access Point and the signal is strong N A The Wireless PC Card has communicated successfully with another wireless node Yellow Green Configuring the MA111 Wireless USB Adapter NETGEAR s wireless Configuration Utility program will help you learn more about your wireless network so that you can customize it to better suit your networking needs The Configuration Utility pro...

Page 6: ... will display a Wireless Network Connection message similar to the one shown here Click anywhere on the message or on the icon 2 The Windows XP Wireless Network Configuration window will be displayed and look similar to this Click the Advanced button 3 The Wireless Networks Advanced Configuration window will be displayed 4 Uncheck the option Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings 5 ...

Page 7: ...at the wireless node is communication with the associated access point or another wireless node Link Quality Indicates the SSID and MAC address of the associated Access Point when the MA111 802 11b Wireless USB Adapter is configured in Infrastructure mode Indicates the network mode of the MA111 802 11b Wireless USB Adapter Infrastructure or 802 11 Ad Hoc Indicates the wireless channel currently in...

Page 8: ...transmitting station sends out the actual packet as soon as it has waited for the silence period With the CSMA CA transmission mechanism the transmitting station sends out a RTS packet to the receiving station waits for the receiving station to send back a CTS packet before sending the actual packet data The default value for RTS Threshold is 2432 actual packet data The default value for RTS Thres...

Page 9: ...ta encryption for the wireless node If you disable the data encryption by unchecking the box then no encryption method will be used this is also called Open System data encryption To enable encryption is to use the Shared Key data encryption method Create with Passphrase A Passphrase is use to automatically generate the WEP hexadecimal numbers for the key If your wireless network Access Point uses...

Page 10: ...ckly set up a small wireless workgroup and allows workgroup members to exchange data or share printers as supported by Microsoft Networking in the various Windows operating systems Some vendors also refer to ad hoc networking as peer to peer workgroup networking 18 3 3 To display Access Points around the working environment select the Re Scan button In addition to showing the MAC Address of each A...

Page 11: ... stations As long as the stations are within range of one another this is the easiest and least expensive way to set up a wireless network To set up an Ad Hoc workgroup operating with standard protocols do the following Set all stations to connect in Ad Hoc mode or Peer to Peer workgroup mode Set all stations to use the same network name or SSID Set all stations to use the same wireless channel fo...

Page 12: ... encryption is utilized when the wireless nodes or access points are configured to operate in Shared Key authentication mode There are three shared key methods implemented in NETGEAR 802 11b solutions the standard based 64 bit WEP data encryption and 128 bit WEP data encryption The 64 bit WEP data encryption method allows for a five character 40 bits input Additionally 24 factory set bits are adde...

Page 13: ... associated to any Access Point properly You may not have configured the wireless parameters of the wireless nodes to be the same as the Access Point The Access Point may not be powered on The Access Point and the MA111 Wireless USB Adapter are not configured with the same wireless parameters Check the SSID and WEP encryption settings The Access Point may be out of range Try moving the system clos...

Page 14: ...tallation This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions may cause harmful interference to radio communications However there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception which can be determined b...

Page 15: ...r countries E mail support NETGEAR com www NETGEAR com 2003 NETGEAR Inc NETGEAR the Netgear logo The Gear Guy Auto Uplink and Everybody s Connecting are trademarks or registered trademarks of Netgear Inc in the United States and or other countries Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and or other countries Other brand and product names are t...

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