Technical specifications

Technical specifications vary from model to model.

For exact manufacturers' specifications please contact Source on 0845 130 0008 or
view the PDF brochures on the individual product pages listed above.

Frequently asked questions about wireless networks.

Are wireless networks safe?

Yes, wireless network technology is safe. It's safer than your mobile phone or your microwave oven.

When you use your microwave oven at home, it emits up to one complete watt (1000 milliwatts) of power into your kitchen. Your mobile phone can emit up to 400 milliwatts.

A wireless LAN network will emit only 100 milliwatts of power, and the access point is usually situated in the corner of a room, away from its users, or even on top of your premises. Remember, when in use your mobile phone is usually positioned next to your head!

What about interference?

The wireless technology solutions available through Source operate using Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) wireless medium, at the 2.4GHz ISM band frequency.

This means that the wireless units will not interfere with any other equipment in your establishment.

Indeed the NHS Security Division has approved the use of the Wavelength Solutions wireless network solutions in hospitals and other health authority buildings.

What are the standards?

Wireless networking hardware requires the use of underlying technology that deals with radio frequencies as well as data transmission.

The most widely used standard is 802.11b produced by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). This is a standard defining all aspects of Radio Frequency Wireless networking.

Can I mix wireless equipment from different vendors?

Because most wireless networking hardware vendors support the 802.11b standard they can interoperate.

However, we recommend verification as the standard is a fairly recent one, and does specify two different methods for wireless communications; Frequency Hopping (FH) and Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS), which are not interoperable.

Source will offer you advice and guarantees from the manufacturers that the hardware will interoperate and follows the IEEE standards.

If my computer is connected to a wireless LAN, can it communicate with computers on a wired LAN as well?

In order to connect your wired LAN with a wireless solutions you will require a 'bridge' between the wireless and wired network.

This can be accomplished either with a hardware access point or a software access point.

Hardware access points have an ethernet interface that enables the wireless network to communicate with a wired ethernet network.

If networking requirements go beyond just interconnecting an ethernet network to a small wireless network, a software access point may be the best solution.

A software access point does not limit the type or number of network interfaces you use. It may also allow considerable flexibility in providing access to different network types, such as different types of ethernet, wireless and token ring networks.

Such connections are only limited by the number of slots or interfaces in the computer used for this task.

Further to this the software access point may include significant additional features such as shared internet access, web caching or content filtering, providing significant benefits to users and administrators.