Introduction

As we all know, home computing has been popular for quite some time now so it is fairly common to find that a home has a need for a computer network similar to one offered in a small business setting. Networking is not just something that is done for fun - rather it becomes very useful to share resources such as printers, drive space and other services, thereby cutting down on complexity and reducing costs, both of which are helpful to the home user or business owner. The only real obstacle to a small network can be the physical aspect of it - how to lay the CAT-5 cabling so that it is not too obtrusive. This can often be quite a task if one has to network computers on different floors of a building or even in adjacent rooms.

Enter wireless networking. The original specs were limited somewhere around 2Mbps, quite a drop from the rating of 100Mbps for 100baseTX. 802.11b, when it debuted, increased bandwidth ratings to 11Mbps but with WEP enabled the actual throughput dropped much lower. For many users, especially those with laptops/notebooks, this was adequate for most network services such as listening to MP3s from a shared drive or browsing the Internet, but for many people not interested in portable computing this kind of bandwidth drop was not worth the convenience of going wireless.

But some of you may have heard of 802.11a, one of the newer wireless standards. This standard specifies operation in the 5GHz frequency range, as opposed to 802.11b's 2.4GHz operation, and has a rated bandwidth of, get this, 54Mbps! However, there are some drawbacks. First of all, 802.11a is *not* backwards compatible with 802.11b, so if you have an existing wireless network and wish to upgrade to 802.11a, you'll have to upgrade every wireless device in your network. However, there will be some dual-mode products coming out soon, such as Access Points that support both 802.11b and 802.11a. In addition, you can expect the prices to be higher than those of 802.11b-only products, so keep that in mind.

Today, I'll be looking at D-Link's 802.11a offering in the form of three of their products: The AirPro 5GHz Wireless Access Point, the AirPro 5GHz Wireless PCI Adapter and the AirPro 5GHz Wireless CardBus Adapter. All of these products, when used together with each other, support up to 72Mbps of bandwidth using D-Link's proprietary "Turbo" mode, bringing this wireless network's bandwidth close to that of 100baseTX. When used with other 802.11a products they will only operate up to the specified 54Mbps rating.

Specifications

Because all of these products are made by D-Link and are 802.11a compliant, they share some common features listed below. In addition, it appears that all of these 802.11a products are driven by Atheros chipsets.

Common Features:

• 802.11a compliant
• Eight non-overlapping channels available to users
• Supports 64,128, 152-bit WEP data encryption
• Supports data rates of 6, 9, 12 18, 24, 36, 48, and 54 Mbps
• Up to a rate of 72 Mbps in "turbo" mode
• Operating Frequency: 5.150-5.350 GHz
• Support Ad-Hoc and Infrastructure modes
• Uses OFDM.
• All have a 3-year warranty

AirPro 5GHz Wireless Access Point:

• Ports: (1) 10/100Base-T Ethernet RJ45; (1) RS-232 DB9 (serial); (1) Power 5V DC, 2.5A
• Web-Based interface for managing and configuring device
• Supports an Access Control list, limiting access to only certain MAC addresses.
• Dimensions: 9.25" x 6.38" x 1.63" (LxWxH)
• LEDs: Power, Ethernet Link/Activity, Wireless Activity
• Dual 5dBi dipole antennas with diversity
• MTBF: > 30,000 hours

AirPro 5GHz Wireless PCI Adapter:

• PCI 2.2 compliant, 32-bit interface
• Integrated dual diversity antennas with 1.5dBi gain
• Works with Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP
• LEDs: Power, Link
• MTBF: > 30,000 hours

AirPro 5GHz Wireless CardBus Adapter:

• Adapter Type: PC Card Type II
• Works with Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP
• Current Consumption: Sleep mode - <40mW; Transmit mode - 1650mW; Receive mode - 1250mW
• LEDs: Power, Link
• MTBF: > 30,000 hours
• Dimensions: 4.64" x 2.13" x 0.2" (LxWxH)

Here's a little blurb from D-Link on what their "Turbo" mode of operation is:

"Turbo mode will allow transmission on 2 channels, which will improve data rate (up to 72 Mbps). This is proprietary to D-Link products. This setting must be the same on the access point and clients or you will not be able to communicate with each other."

Also, some info on OFDM:

"All products use OFDM: Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing, an FDM modulation technique for transmitting large amounts of digital data over a radio wave. OFDM basically splits the radio signal into multiple smaller sub-signals that are then transmitted simultaneously at different frequencies to the receiver. OFDM reduces the amount of crosstalk in signal transmissions. 802.11a and the upcoming 802.11g WLAN technology uses OFDM."

The DWL-5000AP

An Access Point will be the central part of your wireless network should you want to integrate it with an existing wired network. This means that when your wireless clients are operating in infrastructure mode, all wired communication will take place through the Access Point, as it serves as a sort of hub. This contrasts with Ad-Hoc mode, where an Access Point is not needed; in this mode of operation, wireless clients communicate directly with one another and this mode does not support integration with a wired network.

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The DWL-5000AP comes well-packaged and is secured in its bubble wrap within a carton ensuring that it doesn't get bumped around during transportation, damaging its antennae (or antennas). Upon taking it out of the packaging I was surprised at how light it was; looking back on this I guess I shouldn't have, as many other networking devices with plastic cases are also very light. I would have liked it to have a metal case or at least a metal base as that would have given it a studier feel and also would have made it less prone to sliding around on a surface. On the other hand, feet are included that can be installed on the base to increase traction between it and the surface it is on.

Indicator LEDs.

Console connector, RJ45 jack to wired network and DC input.

Feet, console cable and power cable.

The unit itself is also unremarkable, with the requisite LEDs present on the front including power, wired network activity and wireless activity. On the back, is the connector for a console cable, an RJ-45 jack for connection to your wired LAN and the DC power input. It was very nice of D-Link to include the console cable, as if for some reason you cannot connect to the web-interface of the Access Point, you will have a backup option available without having to buy the cable. As a downside, a CAT5 cable for connection of this AP to your wired network was not included. Seeing as how D-Link included a console cable, I would've liked them to include a CAT5 cable as well.

One thing to note is that this AP is only 802.11a compatible, so it will only work with 802.11a network adapters. 802.11b wireless devices will *not* work with this AP. Because of this, buying this AP only makes sense if you're building a new wireless network based on 802.11a. However, D-Link has released a dual-protocol AP, the DWL-6000AP, that does support both 802.11a and 802.11b clients simultaneously.

Power supply.

Manual, quick install guide and video and documentation CDs.

Another nice detail is that the power supply or AC-DC adapter is not in the plug that connects to the outlet. Instead, a regular power cable runs from the power supply to the outlet, preventing a cumbersome block from blocking access to outlets. I would also surmise that this allows for easier usage with other AC voltages as the power supply can accept different voltages should one change the type of power cable used. Also included was an extensive manual with many coloured screenshots to show the user exactly how to setup this Access Point for use in their network. It was very well written and easy to understand. For those of us who can skip the verbose explanations and prefer only the bare minimum details needed to get this unit running, a quick-install guide is provided with all the necessary info. Also included is a CD with documentation and a CD with a video demonstration of installation. I definitely have to commend D-Link on their documentation here, as they've appealed to users on all levels, making sure that those new to networking get all the instruction they need, and those experienced are not slowed down by one manual that is too wordy.

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