Operation Manual
24
Wireless LAN
Wireless LANs, or Wireless Local Area Network (WLANs), have become an indispens-
able aspect of mobile computing. Today, most laptops have built-in WLAN cards. This
chapter describes how to set up a WLAN card with YaST, encrypt transmissions, and
use tips and tricks. Alternatively, you can congure and manage WLAN access with
NetworkManager. For details, refer to Chapter 25, Using NetworkManager (page 449).
24.1 WLAN Standards
WLAN cards communicate using the 802.11 standard, prepared by the IEEE organiza-
tion. Originally, this standard provided for a maximum transmission rate of 2 Mbit/s.
Meanwhile, several supplements have been added to increase the data rate. These sup-
plements dene details such as the modulation, transmission output, and transmission
rates (see Table 24.1, “Overview of Various WLAN Standards” (page 431)). Addition-
ally, many companies implement hardware with proprietary or draft features.
Table 24.1:
Overview of Various WLAN Standards
NoteMaximum
Transmission
Rate (Mbit/s)
Band (GHz)Name
Outdated; virtual-
ly no end devices
available
22.4802.11 Legacy
Wireless LAN 431