16
Wireless LAN
(wireless network - abbreviation = WLAN)
Your PC may contain a wireless LAN module (optional). This module allows you to set up a
wireless-based network, and to connect to an existing wireless network. It works according
to the IEEE802.11a+b+g standard.
WLAN technology allows users to set up wireless connections inside a local area (e.g. in
a company or campus building, or in a public building such as an airport). WLANs can be
used in temporary offices, in locations where it is not possible to set up extensive cable
installations, or to extend an existing LAN so that users in different parts of a building can
work at different times.
There are two different ways to operate a WLAN:
In fixed WLANs, wireless stations (devices with radio network cards or external modems)
set up connections with wireless access points, which act as bridges between the stations
and the existing network backbones.
In Peer-to-Peer (ad hoc) WLANs several users can set up a temporary network within a
limited area such as a conference room, without using access points, and providing there
is no need to use network resources.
In 1997 the IEEE confirmed the standard 802.11 for WLANs; this set a data transfer rate
of from 1 to 2 Mbit/s (Megabits per second). Under 802.11a+b+g, the new governing
standard, the maximum data transfer rate is 54 Mbit/s over a frequency band of 2.4 or 5
GHz (Gigahertz).
Introduction
