What happens to many people is that they're just about to purchase some
wireless equipment, and then they have a sudden realisation -- they
have no idea how their network layout is going to work with a wireless
connection. Well, there are a few things you need to think about when
you decide how you're going to connect up your computers with all that
great new wireless gear.
Ad-hoc Networks Explained
Ad-hoc networks are the ones your wireless devices create more-or-less
on their own -- they are also known as peer-to-peer networks. In an
ad-hoc network, each computer on the network acts as an equal 'peer',
with each one sending data to any other. This arrangement is most often
used in place of a real LAN, to allow employees in a company, for
example, to exchange files. You can create ad-hoc wireless networks
between any computers that have wireless equipment -- access to the
Internet is not required.
These networks work using something called an 'SSID' (Service Set
Identifier). Essentially, this is the network's name, decided on the
computer that was the first to connect to the network (yes, a network
consisting of just itself). The other computers that connect to the
network can then simply connect by finding the network with the name
(SSID) they want.
This is powerful. You can put your wireless-enabled laptop next to a
friend's, and the two computers can create a little network for
themselves on the fly. Thanks the way wireless networking works, they
keep the connection even if you move them around -- the only thing that
will force the computers to disconnect from each other is if they go
out of range. For many people, this spells the end of messing around
with CDs and floppy disks -- they can finally use their laptop just
like a briefcase, carrying everything from one place to another.
Arriving somewhere with your laptop and being automatically included in
the wireless network also gives you access to shared resources, such as
printers. Imagine being able to take your computer to somewhere where
there's a printer, press print, collect the document and walk away
again. Ad-hoc networking makes this a reality.
Access Points
An access point, on the other hand, is a way of connecting your ad-hoc
wireless network to a real, wired network. Note that this network could
just be a LAN, or it could be the entire Internet. There are hardware
access points and software ones, with either kind allowing you to
connect your wireless device to a wired network. Internet Connecting
Sharing, for example, is a software access point to the Internet, while
a wireless router is a wired one. If you have wireless access at your
office, the chances are it is provided as a wireless access point to
the wired network, to let people bring in wireless devices and connect
them to the office LAN.
A network that contains an access point is sometimes called an
'infrastructure' network, as opposed to an ad-hoc one. It's worth
remembering, though, that part of the infrastructure network still
consists of the ad-hoc network between the computers -- they can still
communicate just the same as they could before.
If you think about it, you can see that the access point structure
allows you to create a series of networks, all interconnected. The
Internet, in this scheme, is just another wired network. You can
connect your wired network to the Internet, connect your wireless
network to an access point to your wired network -- whatever you want.
The string of networks is potentially never-ending, with wired networks
being able to break out into wireless ones as often as they need to.
This concept is sometimes called lilypad networking, because it lets
your computer be like a frog, hopping from lilypad to lilypad. Even
though the whole area of the water isn't covered with lilypads, the
frog can still get through -- and you can make wireless networks work
the same way.
Researched, Supplied and Written by Lee Asher of Eclipse Domain Services.
Suppliers of All Your Website Needs. Great Rates and Serious Options
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
