On 5 Dec 2005 at 0:48, JMB wrote:

> I went for a Linksys (wrt54g). It can work as 811.b or g but I have it
> set for g mode.

  802.11b and 802.11g both use the 2.4 GHz band, but they use it in
different ways -- with a clear signal, 802.11g allows up to 5 times as much
bandwidth.

  802.11b devices just do 802.11b.  802.11g devices offer two modes:  with
802.11b support, and without.  If 802.11b support is enabled, and an 802.11b
device links to the AP, the control signals which manage who gets to
broadcast and when are sent in 802.11b form, often slower than 802.11g.
This allows the 802.11b client to be told to stay off the air while a g
client is transmitting, even though the b client cannot actually decode the
g signal.

  Any wireless equipment you buy now should be g (or a), and so deploying g-
only mode is a good choice.  On campus, we have to support legacy/cheap b
client devices, and so that is not a viable option for us.

David Gillett

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