Linksys WCG200 User Guide - Page 7

Wireless-G Cable Gateway Chapter 1: Introduction Welcome The Linksys Wireless-G Cable Gateway is the all-in-one solution for Internet connectivity in your home. The Cable Modem function gives you a blazing fast connection to the Internet, far faster than a dial-up, and without tying up your phone line. How does the Wireless-G Cable Gateway do all of this? A gateway is a device that allows access to a cable Internet connection over a network. With the Gateway, this access can be shared to wireless clients at either up to 11Mbps for Wireless-B or up to 54Mbps for Wireless-G. In addition, the WPA standard provides greater security opportunities while the whole network is protected through a Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) firewall and NAT technology. The Gateway's firewall protects your network of PCs so users on the public, Internet side cannot "see" your PCs. This is how your local network remains private. The Gateway protects your network by inspecting the first packet coming in through the Cable port before delivery to the final destination in the local network. The Gateway inspects Internet port services like the web server, ftp server, or other Internet applications, and, if allowed, will forward the packet to the appropriate PC on the LAN side. All of these security features, as well as full configurability, are accessed through the easy-to-use browser-based utility. You can also connect your computer to the Wireless-G Cable Gateway via USB, or use the built-in 4-port 10/100 Ethernet Switch to start your home network. You can connect four PCs directly, or daisy-chain out to more hubs and switches to create as big a network as you need. But what does all of this mean? spi (stateful packet inspection) firewall: a technology that inspects incoming packets of information before allowing them to enter the network. firewall: Security measures that protect the resources of a local network from intruders. nat (network address translation): NAT technology translates IP addresses of a local area network to a different IP address for the Internet. lan (local area network): The computers and networking products that make up the network in your home or office. Networks are useful tools for sharing computer resources. You can access one printer from different computers and access data located on another computer's hard drive. Networks are even used for playing multiplayer video games. So, networks are not only useful in homes and offices, they can also be fun. PCs on a wired network create a LAN, or Local Area Network. They are connected with Ethernet cables, which is why the network is called "wired". PCs equipped with wireless cards and adapters can communicate without cumbersome cables. By sharing the same wireless settings, within their transmission radius, they form a wireless network. This is sometimes called a WLAN, or Wired Local Area Network. The access point bridges wireless networks of both 802.11b and 802.11g standards and wired networks. Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Welcome