The Basics of Wireless LAN Networking
We hear so much about wireless today that it can become confusing because the technology is being used in so many places in so many different ways.The majority of what we see advertised on TV and elsewhere is wireless phone technology.
But beyond the hype of connecting to the Internet and getting email via our cell phones is the explosion of wireless LANs .
How a Wireless LAN Works
A piece of computer hardware called an access point (it's like a hub or router) connects to your "wired network" through a data port or a hub/router. This hardware uses "radio frequency" (RF) technology to transmit the data through the air to your computers much like a radio works. Each computer has a "wireless" network card that receives and transmits data.
In a typical wireless LAN configuration, the wireless access point, often called a WAP (a transmitter/receiver device) connects to your wired network from a hub or data port using standard cabling.
The wireless access point receives, buffers, and transmits data between the wireless LAN and the wired network.
A single access point can support a group of users (varies by brand of "access point" ) and can function within a range of a few feet up toseveral hundred feet.
The access point (or the antenna attached to the access point) is usually mounted on the ceiling or high on a wall but may be placed anywhere as long as the desired radio coverage is obtained.
Users access the wireless LAN through wireless-LAN adapters, (cards in laptops, desktops or other devices.) These wireless LAN adapters provide an interface between the computer's network operating system (NOS) and the airwaves via an antenna.
The nature of the wireless connection is transparent to the operating system and the user.