NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card WG511U - Manual (Page 20)

User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U
3-2 Basic Setup
August 2004
• Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional, 2000, Me, 98SE or 98
• Some versions of Windows may ask for the original Windows operating system installation
files to complete the installation of the WG511U driver software.
Observing Location and Range Guidelines
Computers can connect over wireless networks indoors at a range which vary significantly based
on the physical location of the computer with the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card
32-bit CardBus WG511U. For best results, avoid potential sources of interference, such as:
• Large metal surfaces
• Microwaves
• 2.4 GHz Cordless phones
In general, wireless devices can communicate through walls. However, if the walls are constructed
with concrete, or have metal, or metal mesh, the effective range will decrease if such materials are
between the devices.
Two Basic Operating Modes
The WG511U Wireless PC Card can operate in the following two basic modes:
• Infrastructure Mode : An 802.11 networking framework in which devices and computers
communicate with each other by first going through an access point (AP). For example, this
mode is used when computers in a house connect to an Access Point that is attached to a router
which lets multiple computers share a single Cable or DSL broadband Internet connection.
• Ad-Hoc Mode : An 802.11 networking framework in which devices or computers
communicate directly with each other, without the use of an AP. For example, Ad-Hoc Mode
is used when two Windows computers are configured with file and print sharing enabled and
you want to exchange files directly between them.
Both of these configuration options are available with the WG511U Wireless PC Card.
Infrastructure configuration procedures for basic network connectivity are covered below.
Advanced infrastructure configuration procedures and ad-hoc configuration are covered in
Chapter 4, “Netgear Smart Wireless Wizard” of this manual.