Summary

Summary

Wireless LAN networking provides many benefits to network computing by eliminating the cost and effort required for traditional cabling and making network connectivity easier and more mobile. The standard for wireless LAN networking is the family of IEEE 802.11 specifications, which describe the PHY layer and MAC sublayer for wireless data encoding, signaling, and sending wireless frames. The most prevalent 802.11-based wireless LAN technology at the time of the publication of this book is 802.11b, which has a maximum bit rate of 11 Mbps and uses the S-Band ISM. IEEE 802.11 wireless LANs can be used in an infrastructure mode, in which wireless APs provide a bridge to a wired network, or an ad hoc mode, in which wireless clients form their own wireless network.