Summary

This chapter introduced the value of mobility in today's information-driven society. The desire for access to information anywhere and anytime has been and will continue to be a key driver for wireless communications technologies in both the business and personal arena. This chapter provided a structured approach to understanding WLANs from a technological point of view by introducing the OSI framework. The framework not only helps you understand how WLANs position themselves next to other internetworking technologies, but also aids the introduction of key technical aspects that are specific to WLANs. Key components such as multiaccess, multiplex, duplex, and access technologies were touched upon. In addition, the impact of internal and environmental effects such as power, attenuation, distortion, and noise on actual WLAN throughputs was discussed. Finally, this chapter untangled the IEEE 802.11 alphabet soup by providing a high-level overview of the main substandards and their respective differences.