Wireless Network Devices
After you have defined the data format and the radio links, the next step is to set up a network structure. How do computers use the radios and the data format to actually exchange data?
Wi-Fi networks include two categories of radios: network adapters and access points. A network adapter is connected to a computer or some other device, such as a printer, that exchanges data with a wireless network. An access point is the base station for a wireless network, and is a bridge between the wireless network and a traditional wired network.
Network Adapters
Wi-Fi network adapters can take several physical forms:
- Plug-in PC Cards that fit the PCMCIA sockets in most laptop computers
To bypass the internal shielding in most computers, ...
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