Wireless Lan - MAXDATA Multimedia Notebook Computer User Manual

WIRELESS LAN

(wireless network- abbreviation = WLAN)
Your Notebook contains a Wireless LAN module of the type „Intel Pro
®
Wireless Mini PCI" . This module allows you to set up a wireless-based net-
work, and to connect with an existing wireless network. It works according
to the IEEE802.11b+g standard.
WLAN technology allows users to set up wireless connections inside a
local area (e.g. in a company or campus building, or in a public building
such as an airport). WLANs can be used in temporary offi ces, in locations
where it is not possible to set up extensive cable installations, or to extend
an existing LAN so that users in different parts of a building can work at
different times.
There are two different ways to operate a WLAN.
In fi xed WLANs, wireless stations (devices with radio network cards or
external modems) set up connections with wireless access points, which
act as bridges between the stations and the existing network backbone. In
Peer-to-Peer (ad hoc) WLANs several users can set up a temporary network
within a limited area such as a conference room, without using access
points, and providing there is no need to use network resources.
In 1997 the IEEE confi rmed the standard 802.11 for WLANs; this set a data
transfer rate of from 1 to 2 Mbit/s (Megabits per second). With 802.11b+g,
the new governing standard, the maximum data transfer rate is 54 Mbit/s
over a frequency band of 2.4 GHz (Gigahertz).
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