Lg Electronics LW1100N Manuel D’Utilisation

Page de 39
 
 
LG GoldStream
 
 
Page 6 of 39
to several hundred feet. The access point (or the antenna attached to the access point) 
is usually mounted  high but may be mounted essentially anywhere that is practical as 
long as the desired radio coverage is obtained. 
End users access the WLAN through wireless LAN adapters, which are implemented as 
PC cards in notebook  computers, or use PCI adapters in desktop computers. WLAN 
adapters provide an interface between the client network operating system (NOS)  and 
the airwaves (via an antenna). The nature of the wireless connection is transparent to 
the NOS. 
 
1.2 
Wireless LAN Standard and Structure 
 
¦  Wireless LAN Standard – IEEE802.11b 
The widespread acceptance of WLANs  depends on industry standardization to ensure 
product compatibility and reliability among  the various manufacturers. The Institute of 
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) ratified the original 802.11 specifications in 
1997 as the standard for wireless LANs. That version of 802.11 provides for 1 Mbps and 
2 Mbps data rates and a set of fundamental signaling methods and other services. The 
most critical issue affecting WLAN demand has been limited throughput. The data rates 
supported by the original 802.11 standard are too slow to support most general business 
requirements and have slowed adoption  of WLANs. Recognizing the critical need  to 
support higher data-transmission rates, the  IEEE recently ratified the 802.11b standard 
(also known as 802.11 High Rate) for transmissions of up to 11 Mbps. 
With 802.11b, WLANs will be able to achieve  wireless performance and throughput 
comparable to wired Ethernet. Outside of the standards bodies, wireless industry leaders 
have united to form the Wire-less Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA). 
WECA’s mission is to certify cross-vendor  interoperability and compatibility of IEEE 
802.11b wireless networking products and to  promote that standard for the enterprise, 
the  small business, and the home. Members  include WLAN semiconductor 
manufacturers, WLAN providers, computer system vendors, and software makers. 
 
¦  Wireless LAN Network Equipment 
802.11 defines two pieces of equipment, a  wireless  station, which is usually a PC 
equipped with a wireless network interface card (NIC), and an access point (AP), which 
acts as a bridge  between the wireless and wired networks. An  access point usually