Accessing Wireless Networks

Wireless networks are becoming more prevalent as many organizations find it useful to give individuals wireless Internet access in such places as schools, libraries, coffeehouses, and other businesses and institutions. When a wireless Macintosh is properly configured, it can automatically sense and connect to such wireless networks.

Clients establish relationships with wireless networks through a process called association. The association process is rather complex on a detailed technical level, but from the client's point of view, it's actually pretty simple. Here's an overview of what's happening behind the scenes:

1.
The client sends a probe (association request) spanning the entire wireless frequency band (all ...

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