ORiNOCO 802.11a/g ComboCard User Guide
The 802.11g standard has been in draft form since November 2001. 802.11g will deliver the
same 54 Mbps maximum data rate as 802.11a, yet it offers an additional and compelling
advantage—backward compatibility with 802.11b equipment. This means that 802.11b client
cards will work with 802.11g access points, and 802.11g client cards will work with 802.11b
access points. It should be noted that 802.11b products cannot be “software upgraded” to
802.11g, because 802.11g radios use a different chipset than 802.11b in order to deliver the
higher data rate. However, 802.11g products and 802.11b products can work in the same
network. Because 802.11g and 802.11b operate in the same unlicensed band, the two standards
share the same three channels, which can limit wireless capacity and scalability.
Since 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g are based on the same common standard (IEEE 802.11),
802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g devices have many of the same parameters. This user guide uses
the generic term 802.11 to refer to parameters that apply to 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g
devices.
In addition to supporting 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g modes, the ORiNOCO ComboCard
supports a fourth operating mode: 2XTM Turbo mode. 2X Turbo mode is an extension of the
802.11a standard that allows data rates of up to 108 Mbps. Note that 2X Turbo mode is not part of
the 802.11a standard (so devices using this mode from different vendors may not necessarily be
interoperable with each other), and 2X Turbo mode is not available in all countries.
An 802.11a device and an 802.11b/g device cannot communicate
with each other. Also, a device in 802.11a 2X mode and a device
operating in 802.11a mode (2X mode disabled) cannot
communicate.
1-4-2 Interoperability
The Wi-Fi standard certified at 5 GHz ensures the wireless interoperability with other Wi-Fi
(802.11a) certified devices.
The Wi-Fi standard certified at 2.4 GHz ensure the wireless interoperability with other Wi-Fi
(802.11b) certified devices.
1-4-3 Security
The ORiNOCO 802.11a/g ComboCard supports the following security standards (features vary
based on model):
Cisco Client Extension compatibility (including LEAP)
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption using 64 bit, 128 bit or 152 bit encryption
AES-CCM Encryption support
Support for Windows 802.1x supplicants
1-4-4 Differences Between Gold and Silver Models
The Silver model supports 64 bit and 128 bit WEP encryption; the Gold model supports 64
bit, 128 bit and 152 bit WEP encryption.
The Silver model supports two user profiles; the Gold model supports an unlimited number
of profiles.
The Gold model supports Transmit Power Control; the Silver model does not support
Transmit Power Control.
Chapter 1 Introduction 7
