ZyXEL Communications P-3202HN-Ba, User Manual

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Chapter 8 Wireless LAN
IAD User’s Guide
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• The WDS screen lets you set up a Wireless Distribution System, in which the
IAD acts as a bridge with other ZyXEL access points ( Section 8.8 on page 86 ).
• The Advanced Setup screen lets you change the wireless mode, and make
other advanced wireless configuration changes ( Section 8.9 on page 88 ).
You don’t necessarily need to use all these screens to set up your wireless
connection. For example, you may just want to set up a network name, a wireless
radio channel and some security in the General screen.
8.2 What You Need to Know
Wireless Basics
“Wireless” is essentially radio communication. In the same way that walkie-talkie
radios send and receive information over the airwaves, wireless networking
devices exchange information with one another. A wireless networking device is
just like a radio that lets your computer exchange information with radios
attached to other computers. Like walkie-talkies, most wireless networking
devices operate at radio frequency bands that are open to the public and do not
require a license to use. However, wireless networking is different from that of
most traditional radio communications in that there a number of wireless
networking standards available with different methods of data encryption.
Wireless Network Construction
Wireless networks consist of wireless clients, access points and bridges.
• A wireless client is a radio connected to a user’s computer.
• An access point is a radio with a wired connection to a network, which can
connect with numerous wireless clients and let them access the network.
• A bridge is a radio that relays communications between access points and
wireless clients, extending a network’s range.
Traditionally, a wireless network operates in one of two ways.
• An “infrastructure” type of network has one or more access points and one or
more wireless clients. The wireless clients connect to the access points.
• An “ad-hoc” type of network is one in which there is no access point. Wireless
clients connect to one another in order to exchange information.
Network Names
Each network must have a name, referred to as the SSID - “Service Set
IDentifier”. The “service set” is the network, so the “service set identifier” is the
network’s name. This helps you identify your wireless network when wireless