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Chapter 2: Planning Your Wireless Network
Network Topology
Wireless-G Broadband Router with 2 Phone Ports
Chapter 2: Planning Your Wireless Network
Network Topology
A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is exactly like a regular Local Area Network (LAN), except that each
computer in the WLAN uses a wireless device to connect to the network. Computers in a WLAN share the same
frequency channel and SSID, which is an identification name shared by the wireless devices belonging to the
same wireless network.
Ad-Hoc versus Infrastructure Mode
Unlike wired networks, wireless networks have two different modes in which they may be set up: infrastructure
and ad-hoc. An infrastructure configuration is a WLAN and wired LAN communicating to each other through an
access point. An ad-hoc configuration is wireless-equipped computers communicating directly with each other.
Choosing between these two modes depends on whether or not the wireless network needs to share data or
peripherals with a wired network or not.
If the computers on the wireless network need to be accessible by a wired network or need to share a peripheral,
such as a printer, with the wired network computers, the wireless network should be set up in Infrastructure
mode. The basis of Infrastructure mode centers around an access point or wireless router, such as the
Wireless-G Broadband Router with 2 Phone Ports, which serves as the main point of communications in a
wireless network. The Router transmits data to PCs equipped with wireless network adapters, which can roam
within a certain radial range of the Router. You can arrange the Router and multiple access points to work in
succession to extend the roaming range, and you can set up your wireless network to communicate with your
Ethernet hardware as well.
If the wireless network is relatively small and needs to share resources only with the other computers on the
wireless network, then the Ad-Hoc mode can be used. Ad-Hoc mode allows computers equipped with wireless
transmitters and receivers to communicate directly with each other, eliminating the need for a wireless router or
access point. The drawback of this mode is that in Ad-Hoc mode, wireless-equipped computers are not able to
communicate with computers on a wired network. And, of course, communication between the wireless-
equipped computers is limited by the distance and interference directly between them.
infrastructure: a wireless network
that is bridged to a wired network via
an access point
ssid: your wireless network’s name
ad-hoc: a group of wireless devices
communicating directly to each other
(peer-to-peer) without the use of an
access point
access point: a device that allows wireless-
equipped computers and other devices to
communicate with a wired network. Also used
to expand the range of a wireless network
adapter: a device that adds
network functionality to your PC
ethernet: IEEE standard network protocol that
specifies how data is placed on and retrieved
from a common transmission medium
network: a series of computers or devices
connected for the purpose of data sharing,
storage, and/or transmission between users