User`s guide

Chapter 6 Wireless
VMG8924-B10A and VMG8924-B30A Series User’s Guide
94
6.10.1 Wireless Network Overview
Wireless networks consist of wireless clients, access points and bridges.
• A wireless client is a radio connected to a user’s computer.
• An access point is a radio with a wired connection to a network, which can connect with
numerous wireless clients and let them access the network.
• A bridge is a radio that relays communications between access points and wireless clients,
extending a network’s range.
Traditionally, a wireless network operates in one of two ways.
• An “infrastructure” type of network has one or more access points and one or more wireless
clients. The wireless clients connect to the access points.
• An “ad-hoc” type of network is one in which there is no access point. Wireless clients connect to
one another in order to exchange information.
The following figure provides an example of a wireless network.
Figure 47 Example of a Wireless Network
The wireless network is the part in the blue circle. In this wireless network, devices A and B use the
access point (AP) to interact with the other devices (such as the printer) or with the Internet. Your
Device is the AP.
Every wireless network must follow these basic guidelines.
• Every device in the same wireless network must use the same SSID.
The SSID is the name of the wireless network. It stands for Service Set IDentifier.