Basic Hp Jetdirect Wireless Concepts; Wlan Communication Mode Topologies; Infrastructure Mode - HP jetdirect 175x Administrator's Manual

Basic HP Jetdirect Wireless Concepts

To assist in your installation of the HP Jetdirect wireless print
servers on an IEEE 802.11b wireless LAN, this section provides an
overview of some basic concepts that you may find helpful. For more
information, refer to the documentation provided with your
computer's wireless network interface card or with your Access
Point, and to the IEEE 802.11b standards and related sources.

WLAN Communication Mode Topologies

There are two basic wireless networking topologies: Infrastructure
Mode and Ad Hoc (Peer-to-Peer) Mode.

Infrastructure Mode

In Infrastructure Mode, all wireless communications from a
network device go through an Access Point. See Figure B.1.
Infrastructure Mode is referred to as a Basic Service Set (BSS). It
is sometimes called a "star topology", and even "enterprise mode"
because it is the preferred topology for large networks.
An Access Point is a network component that acts as a network hub,
bridge, or gateway to connect wireless devices to a wired network.
In some cases, an Access Point may be used as a simple repeater to
extend the range between wireless network devices. Because all
wireless traffic in Infrastructure Mode must go through an Access
Point, a key function is its ability to route traffic to all devices on a
network.
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