Smart Phone and Next Generation Mobile Computing

Supporting Wireless Technologies 151

3.10 802.11 Wireless LANs

A wireless LAN is a local area network that utilizes radio frequency

communication to permit data transmission among fixed, nomadic,

or moving computers. Wireless LANs can be dividend into two oper-

ational modes: infrastructure mode and ad hoc mode, depending on

how the network is formed. Most wireless LANs operate in infras-

tructure mode. In many cases, a wireless LAN is used to avoid the

hassle of establishing a wired LAN (e.g., cabling in a multiroom build-

ing or a large open space such as a warehouse or a manufacturing

plant). Several computers are connected over the air to a central

access point that in turn links to the wired network. At the same

time, a laptop computer with a wireless ...