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Focus on the SMC network EZ Connect Wireless PC Card
Author(s) -
Held Gilbert
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
international journal of network management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.373
H-Index - 28
eISSN - 1099-1190
pISSN - 1055-7148
DOI - 10.1002/nem.437
Subject(s) - computer science , focus (optics) , citation , degree (music) , wireless network , telecommunications , wireless , operations research , library science , mathematics , physics , acoustics , optics
T here are few things in life that most persons can immediately agree upon. Some of those things that most network managers and LAN administrators are in total agreement upon are products that boost organizational productivity. In this column we will briefly look at one such product, an 11 Mbps wireless LAN PC card manufactured by SMC Networks. In a previous Hardware Spotlight column I focused my attention upon the SMC Networks Barricade, a combined IEEE 802.11b access point, LAN switch, router and firewall. In this issue we will examine one of the products that provides the radio frequency (RF) link to the Barricade. Formerly referred to as the 2632W, the EZ Connect Wireless PC Card lives up to its name, being capable of a quick install and use in a range of Microsoft Windows-based systems, from Windows 95 and 98, to NT and Windows 2000. In fact, this author reached the height of ‘tech-heaven’, sitting on his deck using a Compaq notebook with an EZ Connect PC Card and microphone to initiate Net2Phone Internet telephone calls across the United States. In doing so my Compaq communicated via IEEE 802.11b direct sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) to an SMC Barricade wireless router located in my home that was in turn connected to a cable modem as well as my wired LAN. The distance between my deck and the Barricade router was approximately 100 feet and the clarity of the voice conversations was excellent. Similarly, surfing the Web, checking email, and performing other computerrelated tasks became a breeze since the umbilical cord of a wired connection was now eliminated. Figure 1 illustrates the SMC Networks EZ Wireless PC Card. This card fits into a PC Type II slot incorporated into all modern laptop and notebook computers. The trailing edge to the left of the label on the card represents a built-in antenna. The antenna area includes a small LED that when flashing indicates the card is browsing for an active access point and becomes solidly lit when a valid connection to an access point occurs. Installation