Wireless Network Scenarios - Belkin F5D7130 User Manual

54Mbps Wireless Access Point User Manual

1.3 Wireless Network Scenarios

An AP is used as a bridge linking the wireless network to a wired
LAN and thus creating an Infrastructure network. According to the
scale of your network, you can install a single AP or multiple APs to
create a roaming wireless network.
The simplest Infrastructure network is depicted as the figure below
where a group of wireless clients and an AP composes a Basic
Service Set (BSS). As this 54Mbps AP is 802.11g and 802.11b
compliant, it is capable of linking both the 802.11g and 802.11b
wireless clients to your wired network.
Figure 1-1 Connecting to a single AP
For larger area, you can also choose to implement multiple APs to
extend the wireless service coverage area for seamless wireless
access. A group of wireless clients and multiple APs using the
same SSID form an Extended Service Set (ESS). The figure below
shows a typical roaming wireless network within which each AP
operates in an independent channel. But all the APs use an
identical SSID and security settings (if enabled).
For the mobile clients that want to wander across the different APs
but maintain the network connectivity at all times, they must
operate in Infrastructure mode and use the same SSID and
security settings (if enabled) with the APs. If the APs are "open",
that is, periodically broadcast their SSIDs to allow the wireless
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