What is WLAN ?
The term wireless means any technology which is used without any hard wired connection, such
as Bluetooth, GSM/GPRS, and 3G. Among all, the wireless technology broadly refers to the
WLAN, as is “Wireless Local Area Network ”, which links more than two devices without entangling
wires.
The wireless network enables you to surf the internet anywhere in the house. You can save both
the cost of extra Ethernet cables and times to set up the network. All you need to do is install the
adapter and upgrade your PC into the wireless network; you can then enjoy the benefit of it.
What is Wi-Fi ?
The Term “Wi-Fi ”, as short for ”Wireless Fidelity ”, is invented by the Wi-Fi Alliance, which is
intended to improve the interoperability of wireless local area network products.
“Wi- Fi ” was originally referring to the Wi -Fi Alliance and the Wi-Fi Certification applicable only to
802.11b standard. Today it is broadly referring to any of the IEEE 802.11 WLAN Standards,
including 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g, and the latest 802.11n standards. (See What are WLAN
standards?)
Wi-Fi Alliance and Wi-Fi Certified
The Wi-Fi Alliance is a nonprofit international association to certify a set of interoperable WLAN
products based on the IEEE802.11 standards.
Manufacturers that are members of Wi-Fi Alliance and whose products pass the interoperability
tests hold by the Wi- Fi Alliance will be approved as “Wi-Fi Certified ” and can mark their products
with the Wi-Fi logo. Meanwhile a user who carries a "Wi-Fi Certified" product can use any brand of
access point with any other brand of client hardware that also is certified.
What are WLAN standards ?
WLAN Standards is also known as the IEEE802.11 technologies developed by the IEEE (Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc), which specifies an over-the-air interface between the
client and base station or two wireless clients. According to different encryption and data rate,
IEEE802.11 technologies mainly consist of 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g, and 802.11n.
802.11b
The 802.11b specification was the first widely accepted wireless networking standard. It operates
in the 2.4 GHz ISM band, and has a maximum speed of 11Mbps within the range up to 50 meters.
Since 802.11b operates at the frequency of 2.4GHz as the common channel frequency, it can be
interfered with obstacles like microwave or cordless phones.