Asus WL-320gE - Manual (Page 25)

3. Software
ASUS 802.11g Access Point 2
Chapter 3 - Software Configuration
Access Point
3.5 Access Point Mode
In “Access Point” mode, the ASUS 802.11g AP will operate as a MAC layer
learning bridge and forward packets between wireless mobile clients and
the Ethernet network.
A wireless LAN that uses the ASUS 802.11g AP in “Access Point” mode
generally consists of one or more 802.11g/b Access Points and one or more
wireless mobile clients that have an 802.11g/b adapter installed.
The ASUS 802.11g AP maintains a table of MAC addresses, which it has
learned are located either on the Ethernet network or on the radio network
by monitoring the source address of packets it receives. For example, if the
ASUS 802.11g AP receives a packet over its radio, it creates an entry in its
table for the node that sent the packet and labels the entry as a member of
the radio network. The ASUS 802.11g AP removes an entry from the table
after five minutes of inactivity.
When the ASUS 802.11g AP receives a packet from the Ethernet network,
it compares the packet’s destination address with the node addresses listed
in its table. If the packet’s destination address is not in the table, the ASUS
802.11g AP will forward the packet to the wireless mobile clients. If the
packet’s destination address is listed in the table as a member of the radio
network, the ASUS 802.11g AP will forward the packet to the wireless
mobile clients. If the packet’s destination address is listed in the table as a
member of the Ethernet network, the ASUS 802.11g AP will not forward
the packet to the wireless mobile clients. The ASUS 802.11g AP applies the
same principles to determine if a packet received over its radio should be
forwarded to the Ethernet network.
The ASUS 802.11g AP forwards all broadcast packets to wireless mobile
clients. Given this, the ASUS 802.11g AP can only support a limited amount
of network traffic. It is recommended that you only use the ASUS 802.11g
AP on networks that contain less than 512 nodes.
The number of wireless mobile clients that can be supported by the ASUS
802.11g AP depends on the amount of information that each client exchanges
with the network. Therefore, the number of clients that can be supported by
one ASUS 802.11g AP will vary based on the applications in use and how
frequently network information is accessed.