User`s guide

Appendix
User’s Guide 9-26 BreezeNET PRO.11 Series
connected through some kind of backbone (called Distribution System or DS). This
backbone is typically Ethernet but, in some cases, might be wireless itself.
The whole interconnected wireless LAN, including the different cells, their
respective Access Points and the Distribution System, is seen as a single 802
network to the upper layers of the OSI model and is known in the Standard as the
Extended Service Set (ESS).
The following diagram shows a typical 802.11 LAN including the components
described above:
Figure 9-14. Typical 802.11 LAN
The standard also defines the concept of a Portal. A portal is a device that
interconnects between an 802.11 and another 802 LAN. This concept is an abstract
description of part of the functionality of a “translation bridge”.
Even though the standard does not necessarily require it, typical installations will
have the AP and the Portal on a single physical entity. This is also the case with
BreezeCOM’s AP which provides both functions.