Wireless Local Area Network
For the last few years, wireless networking are getting more and more popular as the prices gets lower and lower. No messy wiring and mobility is the key to the success of wireless network. Addition of new PCs or notebooks into the current network does not required the staffs having to suffer from the sound of hammering and drilling for laying of new cables.
Wireless Networking is normally based on the following 3 areas
Ad-Hoc Design
Infrastructure Design
Bridging Design
Wireless Network Equipment.
What you needs to get when setting up a Wireless Network.
Access Point / Base Station / Bridge
Wireless Router
PCMCIA Wireless Adaptor
PCI PC Card
PCI Wireless Adaptor
USB Wireless Adaptor
Ad-Hoc Design
In Ad-Hoc design, users can share resources directly with other PCs without any traditional wired networking equipment. In this design, there is totally no wiring involved. All PCs, Printers, Gateway, Server etc are accessed and shared through the Wireless mode.
Infrastructure Design
In Infrastructure design, Access Points/ Base Stations are required. Infrastructure design is only required when there is a needs to connected the Wired LAN and Wireless LAN together as one. One of the reasons for this combination is to reuse previously invested IT equipments like the Print Server and Firewalls.
Bridging Design
Bridging is normally used to connect 2 or more Wired LAN together into 1 large network where tradition wiring is unable to achieve.
Wireless Network Equipment.
Access Point / Base Station / Bridge
From the diagram shown above, an access point is normally required when there is need to connect Wired LAN to Wireless LAN. Most Access Point in the current can also be configured as Bridge Mode for bridging purpose.
Wireless Router
Wireless Router in actually a combination of Access Point and Router. It is added into a network wireless access to Internet where the WAN connection is most likely TP cabling. With this equipment, users can easily hook their systems into the Internet.
PCMCIA Wireless Adaptor
PCMCIA Wireless Adaptors are widely used by the laptop users. Like all others PCMCIA cards, it must be insert into the PCMCIA Slot on the laptop, which actually take up the only slot in certain models of laptop thus disallowing user from using the slot for other purposes.
PCI PC Card
When wireless is first introduce, only the PCMCIA adaptors are available as the notebooks users are the prime targets. However, it is soon realise that PCs users also would like to have wireless as well. Hence, PCI PC Card is introduced to allow the PCMCIA adaptors to be use on the Desktop PCs.
PCI Wireless Adaptor
As the price of PCMCIA Card + PC Card is very high, several manufacturers began to come out with PCI Wireless Adaptor. These Adaptors normally sport an antennal for better signals and is much cheaper.
USB Wireless Adaptor
Like all USB products, the USB wireless adaptors are getting very popular with uses due to their price and ease of installation. It normal have a short cable attached to it allowing the users to position the adaptor to have the best signal. These USB adaptor can be install on any machine as long as the machine has USB support
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