Basic Data Rate – Series 350 / Series 340 / PC4800
The Basic Data Rate is the data rate at which the Cisco Wireless LAN Adapter
will transmit and receive 802.11 management and control packets to/from Access
Points (Infrastructure Mode) or other Clients (Ad Hoc Mode). Due to the nature
of Radio Frequency (RF) communications, lower data rates will have greater
range. Thus, to increase the likelihood of a data packet being sent successfully,
you should select the 1 Mbps Basic Data Rate. This will give you the greatest
range for the 802.11 management packets, increasing the likelihood that Clients on
the other side of the cell will ‘hear’ your data packets and refrain from sending their own data packets, thus
avoiding a collision (and the need for a re-transmission, etc.).
However, if you configure your RF network to have a small cell size, you will
achieve higher throughput if you choose a higher Basic Data Rate.
Basic Data Rates for the PC4800 include 1 Mbps, 2 Mbps, 5.5 Mbps, and 11 Mbps.
The Basic Data Rate MUST match the Basic Data Rate of the Access Points
(Infrastructure Mode) or other Clients (Ad Hoc Mode) you wish to communicate with,
otherwise THE Cisco Wireless LAN Adapter WILL NOT ASSOCIATE TO THEM. Also, the Supported Data Rates must at least be a subset of the rates the other devices are using.