2.1 Wireless LAN Infrastructure Devices

2.1 Wireless LAN Infrastructure Devices Proper WLAN infrastructure design requires understanding and deploying QoS (Quality of Service) on the wireless network to ensure end-to-end data / video/voice quality on the entire network. Like a traditional wired LAN, WLAN is a grouping of computers and peripheral devices that share a common communications backbone. As per the name itself, a WLAN allows users to connect to the LAN through radio transmission. The below mentioned are the most common components of a WLAN.

Access point - The access point is an external device which is used for linking a wireless network to a wired LAN. Effectively it increases the range of wireless network and also provides additional network management and security features.

PCI Adapter - To get wireless connectivity for a desktop computer an external module called PCI wireless adapter card can be plugged in to the empty slot.

Router – A router is a device used for sharing a single Internet connection across multiple computers. This is ideal in the home or office where

providing the security sequence. Modern access points come with built-in encryption. The enabling of the built-in security known as Wireless Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is sufficient for their home or small to medium office WLAN for many users. WEP uses 64- and 128-bit encryption and is the cipher scheme designated for use in 802.11b networking. WEP encrypts the data transmitted over a WLAN, protecting the communication between the client and access point. When combined with traditional security measures (password protection, authentication, encryption, virtual private networks), WEP can be very effective. The first generation encryption scheme WEP are easy to crack but the second and third generation schemes, WPA(wi-fi protected access) and WPA2(wi-fi protected access 2), are considered secure if a strong enough password or passphrase is