Wireless Enters the Picture

While wireless networking technologies will be discussed in more detail in a later lesson, it is important to understand how rapidly these technologies are affecting the networking arena. Today, many LANs, MANs, and PANs are going wireless. For example WLANs, or Wireless Local Area Networks, are becoming more common in places from coffee shops to our home to our businesses and schools. A WLAN has the same purpose of a LAN; however, computers are connected to one another by wireless networking rather then cords. Aside from this, WLANs use the same protocols of a regular LAN. In many of these environments neither wired or wireless is the standard, but rather a mix of the two methods. Although less common then WLANs, MANs are also going wireless. Many cities are piloting projects to implement wireless community networks, providing access to shared services, such as an internet connection, anywhere in the city, wirelessly.