ActionTec 11 Mbps Wireless Access Point User Manual download pdf

the Internet. Will it deliver on the promise? Or will

errors in transmitting data symbols over RF waves

resemble static from a distant radio station? The an-

swer lies in the future, but read on to find out how

my first tests of 802.11a products turned out.

Actiontec Electronics (www.actiontec.com) re-

cently sent me a set of its brand-new 802.11a prod-

ucts, which are driven by chips from Atheros Com-

munications (www.atheros.com). As with all

802.11a devices, the products operate in the 5-GHz

frequency band. The IEEE 802.11a standard speci-

fies a maximum data rate of 54 Mbps, but Atheros

also supports a proprietary turbo mode that can de-

liver higher speeds. The company claims its latest of-

ferings can top 100 Mbps, and the implementation

that Actiontec uses presumably tops out at 72 Mbps.

Actiontec sent me both a wireless access point and

a PC Card for a notebook computer. The access

point is much like the first WLAN access point I test-

ed almost five years ago; it’s basically a simple bridge

between wired and wireless LANs. As the technolo-

gy matures, expect to see access points that include

router, firewall, Ethernet-switch, and other func-

tions of 2.4-GHz, 11-Mbps 802.11b products.

The products arrived with sparse documentation.

I found a brief set of instructions on how to config-

ure the access point, and the manual indicated that

the products should work out of the box for most in-

stallations. So I connected the 802.11a access point

via Ethernet to one of the ports on the Ethernet

switch that’s integrated in my Linksys (www.

linksys.com) 802.11b router.

Next, I turned to my Compaq (http://thenew.hp.

com) Evo notebook, which houses an 802.11b mod-

ule in the MultiPort slot in its lid (Reference 1). I

disabled the 802.11b module, powered down the

notebook, and removed the module from the Mul-

tiPort slot. Then, I inserted the Actiontec 802.11a PC

Card into the notebook’s PC Card slot and reboot-

ed the system. As the brief PC Card instructions

promised, Windows detected new hardware and

asked for the CD. Less than a minute later, installa-

tion was complete,and the notebook was restarting.

I fired up Internet Explorer and immediately

found myself at my home page. My cable modem

feeds the Linksys router, and the Actiontec bridge

connected the notebook to the router.

DOWN TO BUSINESS

With a connection up and running, I planned to

run a series of performance tests similar to those I

wrks

28 edn

September 26, 2002

www.edn.com

how it

Static symbol

By Maury Wright, Editor at Large

IN THE 802.11a WORLD,

FASTER ISN’T NECESSARILY BETTER.

orne like a badge of honor by

proponents of new IEEE 802.11a

WLAN (wireless-LAN) products, the

claim of a 54-Mbps data rate has set high

expectations. Indeed, many expect the

technology to carry multiple HDTV

video streams as effortlessly as it does the

trickle of data bits that creep from

Actiontec’s wireless access point bridges wired and wireless LANs.

1 2 3

Summary of Contents

Page 1 - Static symbol

the Internet. Will it deliver on the promise? Or willerrors in transmitting data symbols over RF wavesresemble static from a distant radio station? Th

Page 2 - DELIVER ON THE PROMISE?

30 edn|September 26, 2002www.edn.comran when comparing Ethernet, powerline network-ing, and 802.11b (Reference 2). Using Windows Ex-plorer and my stop

Page 3 - OFDM PHYSICAL LAYER

32 edn|September 26, 2002www.edn.comI expected that I’d be able to change the IP addressif I could get to the Actiontec configuration page. SoI discon

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ActionTec 11 Mbps Wireless Access Point User Manual

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