Datasheet

Minasi c01.tex V3 - 05/29/2008 9:45pm Page 10

10 CHAPTER 1 WHY NETWORK?

cause security breaches that you wouldn’t experience when using wired connections. As shown

in Figure 1.2, the WAP provides a bridge between the wired and wireless connections on your

network.

Figure 1.2

Creating a diagram of

your network is impor-

tant if you want to get

good results.

Computer System

Network Interface

Card (NIC)

Connector

Network Ready Device

Network Interface

Card (NIC)

Connector

Wireless

Access

Point

(WAP)

Wireless

Devices

Computer System

Network Interface

Card (NIC)

Connector

Cables

Switch or Hub

Internet

Connector

Internet Connection

Connector

Router

Clients and Servers Must Speak the Same Protocols

But simply being connected to the same wire isn’t enough — we need a common communications

language. If I were to pick up a phone and dial some number in Beijing, I’d have a physical connec-

tion with whatever poor soul picked the phone on the other end — but that would be the extent

of our interaction. In the same way, computer networks need to agree on things like, ‘‘What’s the

biggest block of data that I can ever send you?’’ and ‘‘How shall I acknowledge that I actually got

that block of data?’’ or ‘‘Should I bother acknowledging receipt of data at all?’’ and hundreds of