Sony Notebook
User Guide
Using your notebook
53
Using Wireless LAN (WLAN)
Thanks to Sony’s Wireless LAN (WLAN), all your digital devices with built-in WLAN functionality
communicate freely with each other through a powerful network. A WLAN is a network in which a mobile
user can connect to a local area network (LAN) through a wireless (radio) connection. So there is no need
anymore to pull cables or wires through walls and ceilings.
The Sony WLAN supports all normal Ethernet activities, but with the added benefits of mobility and
roaming. You can still access information, internet/intranet and network resources, even in the middle of a
meeting, or as you move from one place to another.
You can communicate
without an Access Point
, this means that you can communicate between a limited
number of computers (
ad-hoc
), or you can communicate through
an Access Point
, which allows you to
create a full infrastructure network (
infrastructure
).
✍
In some countries, using WLAN products may be restricted by the local regulations (e.g. individual licence, limited number of channels). Therefore,
before activating the WLAN functionality, read the
Wireless LAN Regulation
leaflet carefully.
WLAN uses the IEEE 802.11b standard, which specifies the used technology. The standard includes the encryption method:
Wired Equivalent
Privacy
(WEP), which is a security protocol. Data encryption protects the vulnerable wireless link between clients and Access Points. Besides that,
there are other typical LAN security mechanisms to ensure privacy, such as: password protection, end-to-end encryption, virtual private networks, and
authentication.
Wireless LAN devices using the IEEE 802.11a standard and the ones using the IEEE 802.11b standard cannot communicate because the frequencies
are different.
The standard access is 11 Mbps, or about 30 to 100 times faster than a standard dial up.
