TP Link Technologies WN323G 54M Wireless USB Adapter User Manual
TP-Link Technologies Co., Ltd. 54M Wireless USB Adapter
User Manual
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TL-WN323G
54M Wireless USB Adapter
REV: 1.0.0
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COPYRIGHT & TRADEMARKS
Specifications are subject to change without notice. is a registered trademark of
TP-LINK TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD. Other brands and product names are trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective holders.
No part of the specifications may be reproduced in any form or by any means or used to make any
derivative such as translation, transformation, or adaptation without permission from TP-LINK
TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD. Copyright © 2008 TP-LINK TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
All rights reserved.
http://www.tp-link.com
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FCC STATEMENT
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device,
pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection
against harmful interference in a residential installation. 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 by turning the equipment off
and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following
measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver
is connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/ TV technician for help.
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two
conditions:
1) This device may not cause harmful interference.
2) This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.
Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance
could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
FCC RF Radiation Exposure Statement
This device has been tested for compliance with FCC RF Exposure (SAR) limits in the typical
laptop computer configuration and this device can be used in desktop or laptop computers with
side mounted PCMCIA slots. This device cannot be used with handheld PDAs (personal digital
assistants). This device and its antenna must not be co-located or operated in conjunction with
any other antenna or transmitter.
CE Mark Warning
This is a class B product. In a domestic environment, this product may cause radio interference, in
which case the user may be required to take adequate measures.
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National Restrictions
2400.0-2483.5 MHz
Country Restriction Reason/remark
Bulgaria General authorization required for outdoor use and
public service
France
Outdoor use limited to 10
mW e.i.r.p. within the band
2454-2483.5 MHz
Military Radiolocation use. Refarming of the 2.4 GHz band
has been ongoing in recent years to allow current relaxed
regulation. Full implementation planned 2012
Italy If used outside of own premises, general authorization is
required
Luxembourg None General authorization required for network and service
supply(not for spectrum)
Norway Implemented This subsection does not apply for the geographical area
within a radius of 20 km from the centre of Ny-Ålesund
Russian Federation Only for indoor applications
Note: Please don’t use the product outdoors in France.
CONTENTS
Package Contents .................................................................................................... 1
Chapter 1. Introduction ........................................................................................ 2
1.1 Conventions............................................................................................................... 2
1.2 Overview of the product ............................................................................................. 2
1.3 Features..................................................................................................................... 2
1.4 LED Status................................................................................................................. 2
Chapter 2. Installation Guide ............................................................................... 3
2.1 Hardware Installation ................................................................................................. 3
2.2 Software Installation................................................................................................... 3
2.2.1 Overview .......................................................................................................... 3
2.2.2 Software Installation for Windows XP............................................................... 3
Chapter 3. Configuration...................................................................................... 7
3.1 Set Wizard ................................................................................................................. 7
3.2 General Status........................................................................................................... 9
3.3 Profile Management................................................................................................. 10
3.3.1 Add or Edit a Configuration Profile ................................................................. 11
3.3.2 Remove a configuration profile....................................................................... 16
3.3.3 Duplicate a configuration file .......................................................................... 17
3.3.4 Set default configuration profile...................................................................... 17
3.4 Available Network .................................................................................................... 17
3.5 Advanced................................................................................................................. 18
3.6 Status....................................................................................................................... 19
3.7 Statistics .................................................................................................................. 20
3.8 Wi-Fi Protected Setup.............................................................................................. 21
3.8.1 PIN Method .................................................................................................... 22
3.8.2 PBC Method................................................................................................... 24
Appendix A: Specifications................................................................................... 26
Appendix B: Glossary............................................................................................ 27
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Package Contents
The following items should be found in your box:
¾ One TL-WN323G 54M Wireless USB Adapter
¾ Quick Installation Guide
¾ One Resource CD for TL-WN323G, including:
• Wireless Utility and Drivers
• User Guide
• Other Helpful Information
) Note:
Make sure that the package contains the above items. If any of the listed items are damaged or
missing, please contact with your distributor.
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Chapter 1. Introduction
Thank you for choosing TL-WN323G 54M Wireless USB Adapter.
1.1 Conventions
The ‘Adapter’ and ‘USB Adapter’ mentioned in this User guide both stand for TL-WN323G 54M
Wireless USB Adapter without any explanations.
1.2 Overview of the product
The TL-WN323G 54M Wireless USB Adapter will provide you the flexibility to place your PC in the
most convenient location available, without the cost of running network cables.
The Adapter's auto-sensing capability allows high packet transfer rate of up to 54Mbps for
maximum throughput, or dynamic range shifting to lower speeds due to distance or operating
limitations in an environment with a lot of electromagnetic interference. It can also interoperate
with all 11Mbps wireless (802.11b) products. Your wireless communications are protected by up
to 128-bit WEP and WPA encryption for high security.
1.3 Features
¾ Complies with IEEE802.11g, IEEE802.11b standards
¾ Supports WPA/WPA2 data security, IEEE802.1x authentication, TKIP/AES encryption,
64/128-bit WEP encryption
¾ Supports 54/48/36/24/18/12/9/6Mbps or 11/5.5/2/1Mbps wireless LAN data transfer rates
¾ Provides USB interface
¾ Supports Ad-Hoc and Infrastructure modes
¾ Supports roaming between access points when configured in Infrastructure mode
¾ Easy to configure and provides monitoring information
¾ Supports Windows 98, ME, 2000, 2003, XP, Vista, XP64
¾ Internal Antenna
1.4 LED Status
The LED on the top of this card indicates Link/Act status. It blinks at red light when sending and
receiving data.
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Chapter 2. Installation Guide
2.1 Hardware Installation
There are two ways to install the Adapter:
1. Plug the Adapter directly to the USB port on your computer.
2. Connect the Adapter and your computer with the extension USB cable attached in package.
) Note:
Once the Adapter is firmly in place, the Found New Hardware Wizard screen will pop up.
2.2 Software Installation
2.2.1 Overview
The Adapter’s Setup Wizard will guide you through the installation of the Utility and drivers.
Before installing the software, please plug the adapter into your PC. After that, you will be
prompted “Found New Hardware Wizard”, click the Cancel button, and run the Setup Wizard
program on the CD-ROM.
The Setup steps for Windows 2000, XP and Vista are very similar, so the following installation
guide takes Windows XP for example.
2.2.2 Software Installation for Windows XP
Step 1: When Found New Hardware Wizard is prompted, click Cancel. Then insert the
Resource CD into your CD-ROM drive, and open the folder named TL-WN323G. To
continue, choose the proper folder according to your operating system and double-click
Setup.exe to load the following screen. Click Cancel to end the installation in the screen.
Otherwise, the installation will continue.
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Figure 2-3
Step 4: The following screen for installing will appear. To exit the Installation, click Cancel.
Figure 2-4
) Note:
During the installation, a warning box about Windows Logo testing (shown in Figure 2-5) may pop
up, please click Continue Anyway to continue the installation since our drivers have been tested
thoroughly and are able to work with the operating system.
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Figure 2-5
Step 5: Click the Finish button to complete.
Figure 2-6
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Chapter 3. Configuration
The Wireless USB Adapter TL-WN323G can be configured by REALTEK RTL8187B Wireless
LAN Utility. This chapter describes how to configure your TL-WN323G Wireless USB Adapter for
wireless connectivity on your Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and use the data security
encryption features.
After Installing the Adapter, the Adapter’s tray icon will appear in your system tray. It appears
at the bottom of the screen, and shows the signal strength using color and the received signal
strength indication (RSSI).
If the icon is gray, there is no connection.
If the icon is red, there is poor signal strength and the RSSI is less than 5dB.
If the icon is yellow, there is poor signal strength and the RSSI is between 5dB and 10dB.
If the icon is green, there is good signal strength and the RSSI is between 10dB and 20dB.
If the icon is green, there is excellent signal strength and the RSSI is more than 20dB.
Double-click the icon and the REALTEK RTL8187B Wireless LAN Utility will run. You can also run
the utility by clicking the Start>Programs>RTWCU>REALTEK RTL8187B Wireless LAN Utility.
The utility provides an integrated and easy tool to:
¾ Display current status information
¾ Edit and add configuration profiles
¾ Display current statistics information
The sections below take Windows XP for example to introduce these above capabilities.
3.1 Set Wizard
Choose the menu Set Wizard on the top of the utility screen; you can select the operation mode
for the adapter (we select the infrastructure mode for example).
Step 1: Select Station [infrastructure] (show in Figure 3-1). Then click Next.
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Figure 3-1
Step 2: Click Refresh button to update the wireless network (show in Figure 3-2). Then select
the wireless network and click Next.
Figure 3-2
Step 3: After that, select the network authentication and data encryption, click OK. Then the
adapter can connect the specific wireless network.
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Figure 3-3
) Note:
During the connection, if the screen prompts "Unsecured network", click OK to continue.
3.2 General Status
Choose the tab General as shown in Figure 3-4, the left filed displays the type of the adapter, the
right field displays the status about the connection, including Status, Speed, Type, SSID, Signal
Strength, Link Quality and other IP information.
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Figure 3-4
¾ Signal Strength - This shows the strength of the wireless signal.
¾ Link Quality - This shows the quality of the wireless connection.
¾ ReNew IP - Click the button to get the IP address from the AP.
¾ Show Tray Icon - Select the option to display the icon on the bottom of the desktop.
¾ Disable Adapter - If you select the option, the adapter can’t work.
¾ Radio Off - If you select the option, the wireless function will be ineffective.
Click Close to close the screen.
3.3 Profile Management
Click the tab Profile as shown in Figure 3-5 to add, remove, edit, duplicate or set default for a
profile.
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Figure 3-5
3.3.1 Add or Edit a Configuration Profile
Click the button Add or Edit (you should select an existed profile first to edit it) on the screen
above, you can configure the profile as shown in Figure 3-6.
We add a new profile and configure it for example here.
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Figure 3-6
¾ Profile Name - Please enter the Profile name which identifies the configuration profile. This
name must be unique. Note that the profile names are not case-sensitive.
¾ Network Name (SSID) - Please enter the IEEE 802.11 wireless network name. This field has
a maximum limit of 32 characters.
) Note:
The Profile Name and Network Name are necessary for the profile, you must configure it.
¾ Channel - If you want to use the specific channel to connect to the wireless network, select
the option “This is a computer-to-computer (ad-hoc) network; wireless access points are not
used.” If you don't select the option, the system will search the available channel to connect.
¾ Wireless network security - This configure the security for the adapter.
) Note:
You should configure the security for the adapter according with the wireless network that you
want to connect. If the wireless network takes some security measure, you should configure the
same security for the adapter accordingly. If the wireless network doesn’t take security measure,
you don’t need to configure the security for the adapter.
• Network Authentication - Select which mode the Wireless USB Adapter uses to
authenticate to an access point. These modes are: Open System, Shared key,
WPA-PSK, WPA2-PSK, WPA 802.1X, WPA2 802.1X, WEP 802.1X.
• Data encryption - Select the corresponding data encryption for the authentication.
These encryptions are: Disabled, WEP, TKIP and AES.
) Note:
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1) Select different authentications and data encryptions, the security configuration is
different.
2) When you select channel manually, the available network authentication are Open
System, Shared key and WPA-None.
3) The RTWCU does not support WPA 802.1x authentication in Windows Vista, while the
Windows Zero Config Tools may satisfy your need.
• ASCII - Select this option, you can enter any ASCII characters to compose the
password.
• PASSPHRASE - Select this option, you can enter the characters from 0~9 to compose
the password.
• Key Index - Select the index of the password.
• Network Key & Confirm network key - The fields configure the network key. The two
should be the same.
¾ 802.1x configure - This configures the 802.1x security, it is available when you select the
data encryption as WPA 802.1X, WPA2 802.1X or WEP 802.1X.
• EAP TYPE - Select the EAP type for the 802.1x configuration, the options are: GTC, TLS,
LEAP, TTLS, PEAP.
• Tunnel - Select the tunnel: MD5, GTC, TLS, MSCHAP-V2. The option is necessary for
the EAP type of TTLS and PEAP.
• Username - Enter the username for authentication. The option is necessary for the EAP
type of TTLS and PEAP.
• Identity - Enter the identity for the authentication.
• Password - Enter the password for the authentication. The option is necessary for the
EAP type of LEAP, TTLS and PEAP.
• Certificate - Select the certificate you apply.
1. Open System authentication
When you select the Open System as the authentication, the Disabled and WEP can be available
for the data encryption. If you select Disabled, you don’t need to configure any passwords. If you
select WEP, you can configure the password as follows.
For example: If the wireless network takes Open System authentication, WEP data encryption,
the password is 64bit with the value of 0123456789. The index is 1.
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Figure 3-7
Step 1: Select the “Open System” as the Network Authentication.
Step 2: Select the “WEP” as Data encryption.
Step 3: Select the type for the password, you can select the ASCII or PASSPHRASE. For ASCII,
you can enter any characters in the keyboard; For PASSPHRASE, you can enter the
characters from 0 to 9.
Step 4: Select “64 Bits” as the Key Length, then enter “0123456789” as the password value.
Step 5: Select the Key index “1”, and click the OK to save the configuration.
2. Shared Key authentication
When you select the Shared Key as the authentication, the only available data encryption is
WEP.
) Note:
The configuration for Shared Key authentication and Open System are similar, you can refer to
the Open System authentication to configure it.
3. WPA-PSK authentication
When you select the WPA-PSK as the authentication, the available data encryptions are TKIP
and AES. Please select the one according your need.
For example: If the wireless network takes WPA-PSK authentication, TKIP data encryption, the
network key is 0123456789. You can configure it for adapter as follows.
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Figure 3-8
Step 1: Select the “WPA-PSK” as the Network Authentication.
Step 2: Select the “TKIP” as Data encryption.
Step 3: Enter the Network key and confirm it.
Step 4: Click the OK to save the configuration.
4. WAP2-PSK authentication
When you select the WPA2-PSK as the authentication, the available data encryptions are TKIP
and AES. Please select the one according your need.
) Note:
The configuration for WPA2-PSK and WPA-PSK are similar, you can refer to WAP-PSK
authentication to configure it.
5. WPA 802.1x
When you select the WPA 802.1x as the authentication, the available data encryptions are TKIP
and AES. For the authentication, you should configure the 802.1x security. Select the EAP Type
and configure the corresponding options.
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Figure 3-9
) Note:
Select different EAP types, the configuration are different.
6. WPA2 802.1x
When you select the WPA2 802.1x as the authentication, the available data encryptions are TKIP
and AES. For the authentication, you should configure the 802.1x security.
) Note:
The configuration for WPA2 802.1x and WPA 802.1x are similar, you can refer to WPA 802.1x
authentication to configure it.
7. WEP 802.1x
When you select the WEP 802.1x as the authentication, the only available data encryption is
WEP.
) Note:
The configuration for WEP 802.1x authentication and WPA 802.1x are similar, you can refer to
WPA 802.1x authentication to configure it.
3.3.2 Remove a configuration profile
Follow the steps below to delete a configuration profile.
Step 1: Go to the Profile tab (shown in Figure 3-10).
Step 2: Select the profile name in the Profiles List.
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Step 3: Click Remove.
Figure 3-10
3.3.3 Duplicate a configuration file
Follow the steps below to change the name of a configuration profile.
Step 1: Go to the Profile tab (shown in Figure 3-10).
Step 2: Select the profile name in the Profiles List.
Step 3: Click Duplicate, and then enter the new name for the configuration profile.
3.3.4 Set default configuration profile
Follow the steps below to select a configuration profile as default. Once the adapter wants to
connect a wireless network, it will select the default profile to connect firstly.
Step 1: Go to the Profile tab (shown in Figure 3-10).
Step 2: Select the profile name in the Profiles List.
Step 3: Click Set Default.
3.4 Available Network
Click the tab Profile as shown in Figure 3-11 to view the wireless networks. You can follow the
steps below to accede to a specific network.
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Figure 3-11
Step 1: Click Refresh to refresh the list at any time.
Step 2: Highlight a network name and click Add to Profile to connect to an available network.
Fill in the Profile name and click OK to create the new configuration profile for that
network.
3.5 Advanced
Click the tab Advanced as shown in Figure 3-12 to make further advanced configuration.
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Figure 3-12
¾ Power Save Mode - Select the power save mode.
• None - Turns power saving off, thus powering up the Wireless USB Adapter
continuously for a short message response time.
• Min - Normal mode uses max when retrieving a large number of packets, then switches
back to power save mode after retrieving the packets.
• Max - Selects max mode to let the access point buffer incoming messages for the
Wireless USB Adapter. The Adapter will detect the access point if any messages are
waiting periodically.
¾ Wireless Mode - Select the wireless mode for the network: 802.11b, 802.11g/b. The
Wireless USB Adapter must match the wireless mode of the access point with which it
associates.
Click Set Defaults to restore the configuration to defaults.
Click Apply to make all the configurations to be effective.
3.6 Status
Click the tab Status as shown in Figure 3-13 to view the information about the connection.
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Figure 3-15
) Note:
The Wi-Fi Protect Setup function takes effect only when the adapter and the AP (the adapter
wants to connect) must support the Wi-Fi function first. Or else, the adapter can’t connect the AP.
3.8.1 PIN Method
Step 1: Click the Pin Input Config (PIN) button in Figure 3-15, and then the following dialog box
will pop up.
I. If you have specified your AP to connect, please click No to load the screen as Figure 3-17.
II. If you want to get a list of the available AP, click Yes. And then all the available AP will be
displayed in the following screen. Highlight the AP name as you need, and click Select button.
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Figure 3-16
Step 2: After that, the PIN Code displays on the screen (shown in Figure 3-17). Now, you should
enter the pin code into your AP.
Figure 3-17
Step 3: Finally, the adapter will create the profile and connect to the AP automatically. You can
see the status screen as follow. This is a new connection for Wi-Fi network.
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Figure 3-18
3.8.2 PBC Method
Step 1: Click the Push Button Config (PBC) button in Figure 3-15, and then the following
screen will appear.
Figure 3-19
Step 2: Meanwhile, push the PBC button on the AP and the adapter will create the profile and
connect to the AP automatically.
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Step 3: Finally, you can see the status screen as below. This is a new connection for Wi-Fi
network.
Figure 3-20
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Appendix A: Specifications
General
Interface A-type USB 2.0 Connector
Standards IEEE 802.1b; IEEE 802.1g
Operating System Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP, 2003, 64bit XP, Vista
Transmission Distance In door up to 100m, out door up to 300m (It is limited to the
environment).
Safety & Emission FCC, CE
Frequency 2.4 ~ 2.4835 GHz
Spread Spectrum Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
Wireless
Radio Data Rate 54/48/36/24/18/12/9/6 Mbps 11g OFDM,11/5.5/2/1 Mbps 11b
DSSS,(Auto Rate Sensing)
Modulation 11g OFDM , 11b CCK/DSSS
Media Access Protocol CSMA/CA with ACK
Transmit Power Typical 13dBm, 16dBm(Max)
Data Security WPA; 64/128 bit WEP; TKIP/AES; IEEE 802.1X authentication
Physical Environmental
Working Temperature 0℃~40℃ (32℉~104 )℉
Storage Temperature -40℃~70℃ (-40℉~158 )℉
Humidity 10%~90% RH, Non-condensing
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Appendix B: Glossary
¾ 802.11b - The 802.11b standard specifies a wireless product networking at 11 Mbps using
direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) technology and operating in the unlicensed radio
spectrum at 2.4GHz, and WEP encryption for security. 802.11b networks are also referred to
as Wi-Fi networks.
¾ 802.11g - specification for wireless networking at 54 Mbps using direct-sequence
spread-spectrum (DSSS) technology, using OFDM modulation and operating in the
unlicensed radio spectrum at 2.4GHz, and backward compatibility with IEEE 802.11b devices,
and WEP encryption for security.
¾ Ad-hoc Network - An ad-hoc network is a group of computers, each with a Wireless USB
Adapter, connected as an independent 802.11 wireless LAN. Ad-hoc wireless computers
operate on a peer-to-peer basis, communicating directly with each other without the use of an
access point. Ad-hoc mode is also referred to as an Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS) or
as peer-to-peer mode, and is useful at a departmental scale or SOHO operation.
¾ DSSS (Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum) - DSSS generates a redundant bit pattern for all
data transmitted. This bit pattern is called a chip (or chipping code). Even if one or more bits
in the chip are damaged during transmission, statistical techniques embedded in the receiver
can recover the original data without the need of retransmission. To an unintended receiver,
DSSS appears as low power wideband noise and is rejected (ignored) by most narrowband
receivers. However, to an intended receiver (i.e. another wireless LAN endpoint), the DSSS
signal is recognized as the only valid signal, and interference is inherently rejected (ignored).
¾ FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) - FHSS continuously changes (hops) the
carrier frequency of a conventional carrier several times per second according to a
pseudo-random set of channels. Because a fixed frequency is not used, and only the
transmitter and receiver know the hop patterns, interception of FHSS is extremely difficult.
¾ Infrastructure Network - An infrastructure network is a group of computers or other devices,
each with a Wireless USB Adapter, connected as an 802.11 wireless LAN. In infrastructure
mode, the wireless devices communicate with each other and to a wired network by first
going through an access point. An infrastructure wireless network connected to a wired
network is referred to as a Basic Service Set (BSS). A set of two or more BSS in a single
network is referred to as an Extended Service Set (ESS). Infrastructure mode is useful at a
corporation scale, or when it is necessary to connect the wired and wireless networks.
¾ Spread Spectrum - Spread Spectrum technology is a wideband radio frequency technique
developed by the military for use in reliable, secure, mission-critical communications systems.
It is designed to trade off bandwidth efficiency for reliability, integrity, and security. In other
words, more bandwidth is consumed than in the case of narrowband transmission, but the
trade off produces a signal that is, in effect, louder and thus easier to detect, provided that the
receiver knows the parameters of the spread-spectrum signal being broadcast. If a receiver is
not tuned to the right frequency, a spread-spectrum signal looks like background noise.
There are two main alternatives, Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and Frequency
Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS).
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¾ SSID - A Service Set Identification is a thirty-two character (maximum) alphanumeric key
identifying a wireless local area network. For the wireless devices in a network to
communicate with each other, all devices must be configured with the same SSID. This is
typically the configuration parameter for a wireless PC card. It corresponds to the ESSID in
the wireless Access Point and to the wireless network name. See also Wireless Network
Name and ESSID.
¾ WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) - A data privacy mechanism based on a 64-bit or 128-bit or
152-bit shared key algorithm, as described in the IEEE 802.11 standard.
¾ Wi-Fi - A trade name for the 802.11b wireless networking standard, given by the Wireless
Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA, see http://www.wi-fi.net), an industry standards
group promoting interoperability among 802.11b devices.
¾ WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) - A group of computers and associated devices
communicate with each other wirelessly, which network serving users are limited in a local
area.
¾ WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) - A wireless security protocol use TKIP (Temporal Key
Integrity Protocol) encryption, which can be used in conjunction with a RADIUS server.