Cisco Wireless LAN Security

WLAN: Elements and Characteristics

The basic elements in a WLAN domain are as follows:

• The wireless client, also known as the STA (station) or supplicant, is usually a card or embedded chip in a device. These devices include PCs, PDAs, tablets, or smart phones. They communicate over a radio link.

• The access point (AP) is the receiving (or sending, depending on the context) end of the radio link, and it has the capability to reach back to the LAN. The AP, obviously, has a range called the coverage area (actually, it is three-dimensional and should be called coverage volume). The coverage area could overlap or be disjointed between the APs. The AP’s signal strength and antenna characteristics usually determine the coverage area. The antenna determines ...