Symbol Technologies WS 2000 - Manual (Page 12)

Access Ports
The 802.11b standard, also called Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), is backward compatible with
802.11. 802.11b uses complimentary code keying (CCK) modulation to provide higher data
speeds (up to 11 Mbps) with less multipath-propagation interference. 802.11b operates at
the 2.4 to 2.5 GHz range.
The WS 2000 Wireless Switch fully supports the 802.11b specification for association with
Symbol’s suite of compatible Access Ports and mobile units (MUs).
Specifically, the WS 2000 Wireless Switch supports the following features:
• Management frames: Part of a network packet, management frames provide hardware-
and software-specific information shared between the WS 2000 Wireless Switch,
Access Ports, and MUs to keep the network operating smoothly.
• Beacon and DTIM: A uniframe (single-direction) system packet broadcast by the WS
2000 Wireless Switch to keep the network synchronized. A beacon Includes the Net_ID
(ESSID), the Access Port address, the Broadcast destination addresses, a time stamp, a
DTIM (Delivery Traffic Indicator Maps) and the TIM (Traffic Indicator Message).
• Roaming Updates: Provides information to the Access Ports when an MU roams from
one Access Port to another.
• Power Save Polling (PSP): Helps extend battery life by allowing the radio in an Access
Port or MU to idle when not active.
• Voice Prioritization: The WS 2000 Wireless Switch uses a combination of data
classifiers, classification groups, and network input and output policies to prioritize
voice data.
• Rate Scaling: This feature seeks to connect MUs to the WS 2000 Wireless Switch (via
Access Port) at the highest possible rate, automatically scaling to a lower rate when
network traffic demands. As signal clarity increases, speed builds to an optimal rate.
• TX power setting: Optimizes the output power for any environment.
Access Ports
Access Ports are the Symbol devices that pick up wireless transmissions and translate them
into Ethernet frames that are sent to the wireless switch for processing and routing. The
packets destined for wireless networks are sent back to the Access Ports where they are
transmitted.
Access Ports may be connected directly to the WS 2000 Wireless Switch or through a PoE
(Power over Ethernet) hub connected to the WS 2000. Up to six Access Ports can be
connected to this wireless switch.
When an Access Port is attached to a switch, it sends out a “boot me” packet as a broadcast
message. This packet specifies the hardware model of the port and its MAC address. When
the WS 2000 Wireless Switch receives a “boot me” packet, it uploads the appropriate
firmware for the Access Port. Once complete, the Access Port becomes active.
For an Access Port to be adopted by the WS 2000 Wireless Switch, three things must be
configured:
1. The Country field in the System Settings screen must be set.
2. The Access Port’s MAC address must be set as one of the addresses that can be adopted
by one of the enabled WLANs. (see Step 4)
3. A WLAN that can adopt Access Port must be associated with an enabled subnet. (see
Step 5)
Copyright © 2004 Symbol Technologies, Inc. All Rights Reserved 12
WS 2000 Wireless Switch: 1.0 Date of last Revision: March 2004