Allied Telesis AT-WA7500 - Manual (Page 13)

AT-WA7500 User’s Guide
13
An access point can also be configured as a Wireless Access Point (WAP)
or repeater. A WAP is not connected to a wired LAN; it receives data from
wireless end devices and forwards the data to an access point (that is
connected to the wired LAN). A WAP is useful in areas that do not
support a wired network connection.
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.
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.