-- Compex Waveport Wireless LAN Kit (C-Kit 811WL)
-- Price: ~ $229.99 USD
-- 09.14.2001
-- By: GideonX
-- Page: 1 2
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One of the hottest networking items as of late is
the use of a wireless solution. How many times have you been
locked down to a desk because your Cat-5 network cable could not
extend far enough? I've been there and back, wrecking my
brains out on how to position these cables in the exact spot that I
want. So instead, we are going to go wireless!
Since this is a 'new' technology, there are still
some kinks to work out. A reluctance with many people when
mentioning wireless is security. How secure is wireless
communications? Can there be a possibility of your information
be plucked right of the air? The current wiresless standard,
(IEEE 802.11) provides a more secure means in which to communicate
without wires that is handled at 11Mbps.
Today we will focus on the Compex
Waveport Wireless LAN Kit. It utilizes the new IEEE 802.11
standard, which provides a lot more security. What the new
standard gives us, is the use of "wired equivalent
privacy" or more simply WEP.
WEP is successful due to the fact that it is based
on 64bit keys and RC4 encryption algorithm. Sounds like a lot
of mumbo jumbo right? To put it in more simpler terms, if the
user does not have the right 'key', he or she will not be able to
enter into the network and pass along traffic. Kind of like a
key/lock combination on a physical door.
What this kit provides is an easy
solution in sharing your connection without any wires. Included
in this kit are two (2) Wireless PCMCIA cards and one (1) PCI PCMCIA
Adapter. Drivers are included and are supported under
Win9X/2000.
Here are some of the key features and
benefits of the C-Kit right off of Compex's
site:
- Wireless network in a box
- Industry-leading 11Mbps wireless LAN standard
- Supports 1/2/5.5/11Mbps wireless connectivity
- Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum radio technology
- Utilizes 2.4GHz ISM band
- Bundled with Compex's SoftBridge for connectivity between your
wired and wireless networks
- Supports 64-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption
- Supports open system and shared key authentication
- 3.8Mbps throughput
- Transmission speed auto fall-back at poor reception
- 50~70 feet coverage in semi-open office environment (@11Mpbs)
So what exactly sets this kit
apart? Upon immediate inspection, there is no need for a
wireless base. Normally, a base is needed so these individual
portable machines that have these wireless network interface cards (NICs),
can communicate. Kind of like a central headquarter where they
all go to. Since the Compex kit doesn't utilize a base, how does
it communicate then? Through the use of a host.
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