Appendix B
Wireless Networking Basics
This chapter provides an overview of Wireless networking.
Wireless Networking Overview
The WG311 Wireless PCI Adapter conforms to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11b standard for wireless LANs (WLANs) and a product update will bring the WG311 into conformance to the 802.11g standard when it is ratified. On an 802.11b or g wireless link, data is encoded using
The 802.11 standard is also called Wireless Ethernet or
Infrastructure Mode
With a wireless Access Point, you can operate the wireless LAN in the infrastructure mode. This mode provides wireless connectivity to multiple wireless network devices within a fixed range or area of coverage, interacting with wireless nodes via an antenna.
In the infrastructure mode, the wireless access point converts airwave data into wired Ethernet data, acting as a bridge between the wired LAN and wireless clients. Connecting multiple Access Points via a wired Ethernet backbone can further extend the wireless network coverage. As a mobile computing device moves out of the range of one access point, it moves into the range of another. As a result, wireless clients can freely roam from one Access Point domain to another and still maintain seamless network connection.
Wireless Networking Basics |