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<H1><FONT size=3>Article may be of interest</FONT></H1>
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<H1>NetGear ships multi-standard WLAN card</H1>
<P class=byline>John Cox, Network World</P>
<P class=datesummary>04/03/2003 08:08:01</P>
<P class=storybody>Wireless LAN vendor NetGear this week begins shipping what it
says is the first network interface card that can run on three different kinds
of wireless LANs.
<P class=storybody>The WAG5111 is a PC Card adapter that has two radios: a
2.4-GHz radio for IEEE 802.11b and the not-yet-ratified 802.11g nets, and a
5-GHz radio for 802.11a. The lower frequency supports data rates of 11M bit/sec
for 11b and 54M bit/sec for llg, while the higher frequency runs the 11a data
rate of 54M bit/sec, and offers eight non-overlapping channels compared to three
for the lower-frequency standards.
<P class=storybody>With the card, enterprise wireless users can match the
frequency of whatever access points have been installed at work, at home, or in
a growing number of public access wireless hot spots in airports, cafes, and so
on. Most corporate wireless LANs use 11b, but 11a appears in areas with lots of
users or high bandwidth demands.
<P class=storybody>It's because of the co-existence of this mix of wireless LAN
standards that vendors are creating these dual-frequency, usually called
dual-mode, client cards.
<P class=storybody>The IEEE has not yet formally approved the 11g proposal as a
standard, but WLAN vendors have just started introducing access points and
adapters based on it. NetGear's PC card, as other brands, is based on the draft
11g standard, which is expected to be finalized later in 2003.
<P class=storybody>To complicate things even more, NetGear plans to issue new
firmware later this year to boost the 11g data rate to 108M bit/sec. But this
proprietary "turbo mode" will only work when both the clients and access points
are NetGear products with the new firmware.
<P class=storybody>The WAG 5111 uses 152-bit Wireless Equivalent Protocol (WEP)
encryption - but because of the known weaknesses of WEP, most enterprises are
unlikely to rely on this alone. NetGear will use the Wireless Protected Access
algorithms, which are early implementations of several important WEP
improvements and sponsored by the Wi-Fi Alliance. Eventually, NetGear will
incorporate into its products the much more powerful Advanced Encryption System
(AES).
<P class=storybody>The new card uses the Atheros AR5001X wireless LAN chipset.
According to NetGear, the Dual Band PC Card automatically roams among 802.11a,
802.11g, and 802.11b networks, while providing an option to only enable roaming
in either 802.11a or 802.11b/g networks. The 32-bit WAG511 CardBus adapter has a
program to simplify setup and use.
<P class=storybody>A separate included application, NetGear Wireless LAN
Manager, lets users set profiles for specific wireless LAN settings in different
locations, such as the home, corporate headquarters or a branch office. This
software also creates a listing of all available wireless access points in a
given area.
<P class=storybody>The WAG511 Dual Band 802.11a/b/g PC Card has a list price of
US$157, a three-year warranty, and round-the-clock technical
support</P></DIV></BODY></HTML>