NetComm NP642 - Manual (Page 5)

NP642 IEEE 802.11g PCI Adapter 5
YML785 Rev1
Wireless Terminology
Wireless Standards
802.11, 802.11b and 802.11g all refer to a series of standards which govern a
common method of creating wireless local area networks (WLANs).
802.11b and 11g are the most common WLAN types, with 11g being the later and
faster of the two standards with a maximum transmission rate of 54Mbps.
The NP642 is faster again as it is built around a processor which ‘turbo-charges’
transmission rates up to 108Mbps.
802.11g is ‘backward compatible’ with 802.11b, which means that the two
standards are able to communicate, albeit at the lower 11Mbps rate of the 11b
standard.
The NP642 can communicate with both kinds of device at their maximum rate,
and with other ‘turbo-charged’ devices at the much higher rate of 108Mbps.
Wireless Security Terms
The Advanced Features of the NP642 include the ability to select from several
types of Wireless Security.
WEP
WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy. Introduced
with 802.11b, WEP uses encryption to protect data
confidentiality by way of pre-shared keys (passwords or
pass-phrases) that are entered at both ends. Superseded by
WPA and 802.11i but still in use.