Wireless Local Area Network

What is a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)?

Definition and meaning of Wireless Local Area Network

A wi-fi Neighborhood Area Network (WLAN) is a Wireless Distribution Method for 2 or more gadgets. WLANs use excessive-frequency radio waves and often consist of an Access point to the Internet. A WLAN allows customers to move across the coverage viciNity, regularly a home or small workplace, while keePing a Network connection.

A WLAN is sometimes called a nearby region wireless commUnity (LAWN).

What Does Wireless Local Area Network Mean?

WLAN ought to no longer be confused with the Wi-Fi Alliance’s Wi-Fi trademark. First of all, despite the fact that some may additionally use the terms “Wi-Fi” and “WLAN” intercHangeably, there are a few semantic differences in play. Where “Wi-Fi connection” refers to a given wireless connection that a Device uses, the WLAN is the community itself, which is unique.

Also, “Wi-Fi” isn't a technical term, but is described as a superset of the IEEE 802.Eleven standard and is from time to time used interchangeably with that preferred. However, no longer every Wi-Fi device actually receives Wi-Fi Alliance certification, even though Wi-Fi is used by Greater than seven-hundred million people through approximately 750,000 Internet connection warm spots. The warm spots themselves additionally represent WLANs, of a selected type.

WLANs and Access Points

Every Component that connects to a WLAN is considered a station, and falls into considered one of categories: get right of entry to factors (APs) and customers.

• Access points or APs transmit and receive Radio Frequency alerts with devices able to obtain transmitted alerts; they typically Characteristic as Routers.
• Clients, on the other hand, may also include quite a few gadgets, which includes Computing device Computer Systems, Workstations, pc Computers, IP phones and other Mobile Phones and telephone devices.

All stations able to communicate with every different are called simple provider sets (BSSs), of which there are two kinds: impartial and infrastructure. Independent BSSs (IBSS) exist while two customers speak without the usage of APs, however can not hook up with another BSS. Such WLANs are referred to as a Peer-To-Peer or an ad-hoc WLANs. The second BSS is called an infrastructure BSS. It may additionally communicate with different stations however best in different BSSs and it need to use APs.

Emerging WLANs and the Ubiquity of WLANs

In the early Nineties, WLANs were very pricey, and have been best used when wired connections had been strategically impossible.

By the overdue Nineties, most WLAN answers and proprietary Protocols have been replaced with the aid of IEEE 802.Eleven requirements in diverse variations (versions “a” via “n”). WLAN prices additionally commenced to decrease notably.

As era improved, WLANs became less difficult and easier to Installation and administrate.

That caused the eMergence of the ISP WLAN, wherein many small nearby domestic networks are coordinated through the Internet Service Provider, and now not Engineered by means of the quit-person on-web site.

In those styles of ISP WLAN setups, the ISP’s Modem is the get right of entry to point. It’s also the router. All that the customer has to do is plug in the WiFi router, use provided security Passwords, and Join home gadgets to the house WLAN.

You may want to call this “wi-fi nearby area community as a Carrier” (WLANaaS) or consult with a “plug-and-play” or abstracted wireless local region Network Model. In any case, it’s in the end very handy for the household.

Although ISPs don’t normally market it their merchandise as domestic LANs, that’s what they are. Some kinds of ISP services talk about using the Modem as a “Gateway” to the Internet, which implies that your WLAN is on the alternative aspect of that gateway.

Users of domestic WLANs are greater frequently connecting gadgets which includes telephones, televisions, Computers and printers to advanced WLAN sySTEMs in which the ISP will offer a few Form of dashboard visualization for the WLAN in question.

There’s additionally been some innovation toward peer-to-peer WLANs that paintings with out a defined get admission to factor. In different phrases, all the devices are independently operated to network collectively. This demanding situations the traditional idea that the WLAN changed into manufactured from get admission to points and customers, as discussed above. At the equal time, within the Client/Server Architecture, wherein a similar technique is used to engineer Internet services, peer-to-peer systems also are challenging that traditional Construct as nicely.

As the IoT paves the manner for superior connectivity, the WLAN provides that “Subnetwork” and the benefit of nearby Wi-Fi operation.

What does WLAN stand for?

When we refer to WLAN as an acronym of Wireless Local Area Network, we mean that WLAN is formed by taking the initial letters of each significant word in Wireless Local Area Network. This process condenses the original phrase into a shorter, more manageable form while retaining its essential meaning. According to this definition, WLAN stands for Wireless Local Area Network.

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