Characteristics Unique To Wireless Networking; Roaming - Intermec 6400 User Manual

SECTION 1 Introduction
The server communicates with the client by sending its
data to the access point. The access point then forwards
the server data to the client program via the 6400
computer's radio.
When access points are powered on, they begin
communicating with each other to facilitate the best
communication route from a wireless station to a server or
host. The wireless access point community establishes a
hierarchy called a spanning tree, a distributed data
structure that optimizes the forwarding of messages to
wireless stations.
The Enterprise Wireless LAN spanning tree dynamically
organizes the network into a loop free structure for efficient
message forwarding. For connectivity, there must be at
least one physical path (Ethernet or radio) to each node. If
multiple possible paths exist between nodes, the network
autoconfigures so the most efficient link is used. If a link is
lost, the network dynamically reconfigures to provide an
alternative path.
Characteristics Unique to Wireless
Networking
Characteristics unique to wireless networking include
roaming, out of range communications, and power
management.

Roaming

The 6400 computer's radio can connect to only one access
point at a time. As a user walks around with a 6400
computer, the computer's radio must detach from the
previous access point and attach to a new, physically closer
access point to maintain a communications link with good
signal quality. The process of detaching and attaching is
called roaming.
6400 Computer TCP/IP Client User's Guide 1-9