Applications; Wireless Lan - GE MDS iNET 900 Reference Manual

Invisible place holder
Figure 1-2. MDS P21 Protected Network Station
(incorporates two Transceivers, with Automatic Switchover)

1.3 APPLICATIONS

The following sections provide illustrations of typical transceiver instal-
lations. This is meant as an overview only. It is recommended that a net-
work manager be involved in all installation planning activities.

1.3.1 Wireless LAN

The wireless LAN is the most common application of the transceiver. It
consists of a central control station (Access Point) and one or more asso-
ciated Remote units, as shown in Figure 1-3 on Page 8. A LAN provides
communications between a central WAN/LAN and remote Ethernet
segments. The operation of the radio system is transparent to the com-
puter equipment connected to the transceiver.
The Access Point is positioned at a location from which it can commu-
nicate with all of the Remote units in the system. Commonly, this is a
high location on top of a building or communications tower. Messages
are exchanged at the Ethernet level. This includes all types of IP traffic.
A Remote transceiver can only talk over-the-air to an Access Point unit
(AP). Peer-to-peer communications between Remotes can only take
place indirectly via the AP. In the same fashion, an AP can only talk
over-the-air to associated Remote units. Exception: Two APs can com-
municate with each other "off-the-air" through their Ethernet connectors
using a common LAN/WAN.
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