Ip Configuration By Dhcp; Wireless Networking; Wireless Network Configuration - NETGEAR MR814 Reference Manual

Reference Manual for the Model MR814 Wireless Router
When a PC accesses a resource by its descriptive name, it first contacts a DNS server to obtain the
IP address of the resource. The PC sends the desired message using the IP address. Many large
organizations, such as ISPs, maintain their own DNS servers and allow their customers to use the
servers to look up addresses.

IP Configuration by DHCP

When an IP-based local area network is installed, each PC must be configured with an IP address.
If the PCs need to access the Internet, they should also be configured with a gateway address and
one or more DNS server addresses. As an alternative to manual configuration, there is a method by
which each PC on the network can automatically obtain this configuration information. A device
on the network may act as a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server. The DHCP
server stores a list or pool of IP addresses, along with other information (such as gateway and DNS
addresses) that it may assign to the other devices on the network. The Model MR814 router has the
capacity to act as a DHCP server.
The Model MR814 router also functions as a DHCP client when connecting to the ISP. The router
can automatically obtain an IP address, subnet mask, DNS server addresses, and a gateway address
if the ISP provides this information by DHCP.

Wireless Networking

The Model MR814 router conforms to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
802.11b standard for wireless LANs (WLANs). On an 802.11b wireless link, data is encoded using
direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) technology and is transmitted in the unlicensed radio
spectrum at 2.5GHz. The maximum data rate for the wireless link is 11 Mbps, but it will
automatically back down from 11 Mbps to 5.5, 2, and 1 Mbps when the radio signal is weak or
when interference is detected.
The 802.11b standard is also called Wireless Ethernet or Wi-Fi by the Wireless Ethernet
Compatibility Alliance (WECA, see http://www.wi-fi.net), an industry standard group promoting
interoperability among 802.11b devices.

Wireless Network Configuration

The 802.11b standard offers two methods for configuring a wireless network - ad hoc and
infrastructure.
B-10 Network and Routing Basics