Allied Telesis AT-WA7501 - Manual (Page 14)

Chapter 1: Getting Started
14
On the left, this illustration shows the ways you can manage and configure
the access point, and on the right, it shows the access point’s general
multiport bridge architecture.
Figure 1. Access Point Architecture
Access points are multiport (Ethernet-to-wireless) bridges, and because
wireless end devices operate similarly to other Ethernet devices, all your
existing Ethernet applications will work with the wireless network without
any special networking software. Any access point, except the root access
point, can concurrently receive hello messages on its Ethernet port, its
radio port, and its IP tunnel port. However, an access point can use only
one port to attach to the network. Port priorities are structured as follows:
1. Ethernet
2. IP tunnel
3. Radio
Unlike the physical Ethernet and radio ports, the IP tunnel port does not
have its own output connector. It is a logical port that provides IP
encapsulation services for frames that must be routed to reach their
destinations. Once frames are encapsulated, they are transmitted or
received through the Ethernet or radio port.
Wireless end devices may use power management to maintain battery life.
These end devices periodically wake up to receive frames that arrived
while their radio was powered down. The access point automatically
Management and Configuration
MIB
DHCP
TCP/IP
TFTP HTTP Telnet
File
System
Configuration
Settings
Configuration Port
RS-232 Connector
Forwarding
Database
Spanning
Tree
Wireless ARP
Server
Bridging
Ethernet
Port
Radio
Port 1
Radio
Port 2
IP
Port
Ethernet
Connection
Antenna
Connection
Antenna
Connection
Multiport Bridge
DHCP
Agent