File
Server
Desktop PC
Switch
Notebook with Wireless
PC Card Adapter
Notebook with Wireless
PC Card Adapter
Access Point
<ESS>
<BSS1>
Seamless Roaming
PC with Wireless
PCI Adapter
TERMINOLOGY
Access Point—An internetworking device that seamlessly connects wired and wireless networks.
Ad Hoc—An ad hoc wireless LAN is a group of computers, each with LAN adapters, connected as an independent wireless LAN.
Backbone—The core infrastructure of a network. The portion of the network that transports information from one central location to another central location where it is unloaded onto a local system.
Base Station—In mobile telecommunications, a base station is the central radio transmitter/receiver that maintains communications with the mobile radiotelephone sets within its range. In cellular and personal communications applications, each cell or micro-cell has its own base station; each base station in turn is interconnected with other cells’ bases.
BSS—Basic Service Set. It is an access point and all the LAN PCs that are associated with it.
CSMA/CA—Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance.
EAP—Extensible Authentication Protocol, which provides a generalized framework for several different authentication methods.
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