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WLAN stands for Wireless Local Area Network, i.e. a cable-free 
network. The IEEE standard 802.11(Institute of Electrical and 
Electronics Engineers) for wireless LANs (WLANs) offers two 
configuration methods for wireless networks, the ad-hoc mode and 
the infrastructure mode. 
 

 

 

 
In an ad-hoc network, individual computers are connected to each 
other as required. In other words, there is no fixed structure or 
fixed points in the network. As a rule, any node may communicate 
with any other node. In this configuration there is no AccessPoint. 
This enables a small WLAN work group may be quickly 
established. The individual members of the group can exchange 
data with each other and share printers, as permitted by the 
Microsoft network functions of the various Windows operating 
systems. A few providers also refer to an ad-hoc network as a 
peer-to-peer network. In this configuration, data packets are 
transmitted directly from a transmitting to the corresponding 
receiving station. Insofar as the individual stations are located 
within its respective range, this is the most simple and least costly 
method of establishing a WLAN.