1
I NTRODUCTION
3Com wireless technology brings the benefits of a local area network (LAN) to
your office without the restraints and expense of network wiring. If your office
already has an Ethernet LAN, the 3Com 11 Mbps Wireless LAN can extend the
network without adding more wires.
How Does a Wireless
LAN Work?
In a traditional LAN, computers communicate through wires. Instead of wires, a
wireless LAN uses radio signals to communicate.
Network Association
Computers that are equipped for wireless LAN communication are called wireless
LAN
clients
. The wireless communication is called network
association
. Clients
associate through one or more
access points
, which are wireless base stations that
act as wireless hubs.
An access point can be connected to a wired network device such as an Ethernet
hub, switch, or router to give clients access to the wired network where they can
share files and printers and gain access to the Internet.
Roaming
If the office space is large, you can set up multiple access points on the same
network to increase coverage. When a wireless client begins to lose the signal as it
moves away from an access point, it can reassociate seamlessly with another
access point. This is called
roaming
.
Security
You can set up security to encrypt your wireless transmissions so that your data
cannot be deciphered if it is intercepted, and to prevent access to the network by
unauthorized clients.
Ad Hoc Networks
Wireless clients can associate among themselves at close range without an access
point by using
ad hoc
(temporary) networks. You may wish to set up an ad hoc
network, for example, if a group is working away from the office, or if a group in
the office needs to share files apart from the LAN.