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Using your VAIO

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 (computer-to-computer), or you can communicate with an Access Point, which allows you to create a full infrastructure network (infrastructure).

* Depending on your model.

✍In some countries, using WLAN products may be restricted by the local regulations (e.g. limited number of channels). Therefore, before activating the WLAN functionality, read the Regulations booklet carefully. Channel selection is explained further in this manual (see How to select a Wireless LAN channel (page 39)).

WLAN uses the IEEE 802.11b/g standard, which specifies the used technology. The standard includes the encryption method: Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), which is a security protocol and WiFi Protected Access (WPA - Proposed jointly by the IEEE and Wi-Fi Alliance, WiFi Protected Access is a specification of standards based, interoperable security enhancements that increase the level of data protection and access control for existing WiFi networks. WPA has been designed to be forward compatible with the IEEE 802.11i specification. It utilizes the enhanced data encryption TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) in addition to user authentication using 802.1X and EAP (Extensible Authentication 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 those using the IEEE 802.11b or g standard cannot communicate because the frequencies are different. Wireless LAN devices using the IEEE 802.11g standard can only communicate with a device using the IEEE 802.11b standard, not with the a standard.

IEEE 802.11b: The standard speed is 11 Mbps, or about 30 to 100 times faster than a standard dial up.

IEEE 802.11g: The standard speed is 54 Mbps, or about 5 times faster than a Wireless LAN device using the IEEE 802.11b standard.