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Chapter 1 - Introduction
Wireless Operation
The SpaceLink 802.11g Access Point supports three modes of operation:
• Access Point: The SpaceLink 802.11g Access Point operates as a standalone device to provide network access to wireless mobile clients.
• Access Point Client: The SpaceLink 802.11g Access Point partners with another SpaceLink 802.11g Access Point to provide network access to wireless mobile clients.
• Wireless Bridge: The SpaceLink 802.11g Access Point communicates only with other SpaceLink Access Points that are set to Wireless Bridge
Mode. (SpaceLink Access Points set to Wireless Bridge mode cannot support wireless mobile clients.)
By default, the SpaceLink 802.11g Access Point operates in Access Point mode.
Access Point Mode
In “Access Point” mode, the SpaceLink 802.11g Access Point will operate as a MAC layer learning bridge and forward packets between wireless mobile clients and the Ethernet network.
A wireless LAN that uses the SpaceLink 802.11g Access Point in “Access
Point” mode generally consists of one or more 802.11b Access Points and one or more wireless mobile clients that have an 802.11b adapter installed.
The SpaceLink 802.11g Access Point maintains a table of MAC addresses, which it has learned are located either on the Ethernet network or on the radio network by monitoring the source address of packets it receives. For example, if the SpaceLink 802.11g Access Point receives a packet over its radio, it creates an entry in its table for the node that sent the packet and labels the entry as a member of the radio network. The SpaceLink 802.11g
Access Point removes an entry from the table after five minutes of inactivity.
When the SpaceLink 802.11g Access Point receives a packet from the
Ethernet network, it compares the packet’s destination address with the node addresses listed in its table. If the packet’s destination address is not in the table, the SpaceLink 802.11g Access Point will forward the packet to the wireless mobile clients. If the packet’s destination address is listed in the table as a member of the radio network, the SpaceLink 802.11g Access
Point will forward the packet to the wireless mobile clients. If the packet’s destination address is listed in the table as a member of the Ethernet network, the SpaceLink
ASUS SpaceLink 802.11g Access Point 11
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