Filter
Top Products
21
Appendix A: Troubleshooting
Frequently Asked Questions
Wireless-G Range Expander
What is 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).
What is DSSS? What is FHSS? And what are their differences?
Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS) uses a narrowband carrier that changes frequency in a pattern
that is known to both transmitter and receiver. Properly synchronized, the net effect is to maintain a single
logical channel. To an unintended receiver, FHSS appears to be short-duration impulse noise. Direct Sequence
Spread Spectrum (DSSS) generates a redundant bit pattern for each bit to be transmitted. This bit pattern is
called a chip (or chipping code). The longer the chip, the greater the probability that the original data can be
recovered. Even if one or more bits in the chip are damaged during transmission, statistical techniques
embedded in the radio can recover the original data without the need for retransmission. To an unintended
receiver, DSSS appears as low power wideband noise and is rejected (ignored) by most narrowband
receivers.
Would the information be intercepted while transmitting on air?
Wireless networks feature two-fold protection. On the hardware side, as with Direct Sequence Spread
Spectrum technology, it has the inherent security feature of scrambling. On the software side, the wireless
series offers the encryption function (WEP) to enhance security and access control. Users can set it up
depending upon their needs.
Can Linksys Wireless products support file and printer sharing?
Linksys Wireless products can work with Netware, Windows NT/2000, or other operating systems to support
printer or file sharing.
What is WEP?
WEP is Wired Equivalent Privacy, a data privacy mechanism based on a 40-bit shared-key algorithm, as
described in the IEEE 802.11 standard.
What is a MAC Address?
The Media Access Control (MAC) address is a unique number assigned by the manufacturer to any networking
device, such as a network adapter, that allows the network to identify it at the hardware level. For all
practical purposes, this number is usually permanent. Unlike IP addresses, which can change every time a
computer logs on to the network, the MAC address of a device stays the same, making it a valuable identifier
for the network.