NETGEAR MA101 - Manual (Page 44)

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Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) data encryption is utilized when the wireless
nodes or access points are configured to operate in Shared Key authentication
mode. There are two shared key methods implemented in most commercially
available products, 64-bit and 128-bit WEP data encryption.
The 64-bit WEP data encryption method, allows for a five-character (40-bit)
input. Additionally, 24 factory-set bits are added to the forty-bit input to generate
a 64-bit encryption key. The 24 factory-set bits are not user-configurable. This
encryption key will be used to encrypt/decrypt all data transmitted via the wireless
interface. Some vendors refer to the 64-bit WEP data encryption as 40-bit WEP
data encryption since the user-configurable portion of the encryption key is 40 bits
wide.
The 128-bit WEP data encryption method consists of 104 user-configurable bits.
Similar to the forty-bit WEP data encryption method, the remaining 24 bits are
factory set and not user configurable. Some vendors allow passphrases to be
entered instead of the cryptic hexadecimal characters to ease encryption key entry.
Wireless Channel Selection
IEEE 802.11 wireless nodes communicate with each other using radio frequency
signals in the ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) band between 2.4 GHz and
2.5 GHz. Neighboring channels are 5 MHz apart. However, due to spread
spectrum effect of the signals, a node sending signals using a particular channel
will utilize frequency spectrum12.5 MHz above and below the center channel
frequency. As a result, two separate wireless networks using neighboring channels
(for example, channel 1 and channel 2) in the same general vicinity will interfere
with each other. Applying two channels that allow the maximum channel
separation will decrease the amount of channel cross-talk, and provide a
noticeable performance increase over networks with minimal channel separation.