Intermec 6710 - Manual (Page 34)

SECTION 2
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Features and Functional Overview
2-10 6710 Access Point User’s Guide
Configuration of individual radio options and the WLIF
wireless access point configuration are discussed in Section
4, “Configuration.”
OWL/IP Port
The OWL/IP port is a logical port used in installations
where the wireless infrastructure is required to operate
across multiple IP subnets; that is, in installations where
IP routers are used.
The OWL/IP port is an advanced capability that allows
stations supporting IP and nonroutable protocols such as
NNL (used in some terminal emulation installations) to
roam without losing connectivity when a wireless LAN
installation must extend over multiple IP subnets. In some
cases, OWL/IP may also provide connectivity in larger,
routed networks when roaming between IP subnets is not
required, but where it is desirable to configure a single
wireless network across router boundaries.
OWL/IP uses General Router Encapsulation (GRE), a
registered protocol from the TCP/IP protocol suite. GRE
allows frames destined for stations on a different IP subnet
to be encapsulated with an IP address that passes
transparently through routers. Encapsulation is also
sometimes referred to as tunneling.
To simplify configuration, OWL/IP functionality is treated
as an additional port within the access point architecture.
It is a logical port in that there is no physical radio or wired
LAN port associated with OWL/IP.
Encapsulated frames may be sent through any of the three
physical ports. Access points separated by one or more
routers may be thought of as originating and receiving
nodes on the two sides of a tunnel that is established
through the router.