Computer network that links devices using wireless communication within a limited area
"WLAN" redirects here. For other uses, see WLAN (disambiguation).
Computer network types by scale
Nanoscale
Near-field (NFC)
Body
Personal (PAN)
Near-me
Local (LAN)
Storage (SAN)
Wireless (WLAN)
Virtual (VLAN)
Home (HAN)
Building
Campus (CAN)
Backbone
Metropolitan (MAN)
Municipal wireless (MWN)
Wide (WAN)
Cloud
Internet
Interplanetary Internet
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This notebook computer is connected to a wireless access point using a PC Card wireless card.An example of a Wi-Fi network
A wireless LAN (WLAN) is a wireless computer network that links two or more devices using wireless communication to form a local area network (LAN) within a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, campus, or office building. This gives users the ability to move around within the area and remain connected to the network. Through a gateway, a WLAN can also provide a connection to the wider Internet.
Wireless LANs based on the IEEE 802.11 standards are the most widely used computer networks in the world. These are commonly called Wi-Fi, which is a trademark belonging to the Wi-Fi Alliance. They are used for home and small office networks that link together laptop computers, printers, smartphones, Web TVs and gaming devices with a wireless router, which links them to the internet. Hotspots provided by routers at restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, libraries, and airports allow consumers to access the internet with portable wireless devices.
A wirelessLAN (WLAN) is a wireless computer network that links two or more devices using wireless communication to form a local area network (LAN) within...
A wirelessLAN controller (WLC) is a network device used to monitor and manage wireless access points in an organization. WLCs are connected to routers...
WirelessLAN (WLAN) channels are frequently accessed using IEEE 802.11 protocols. The 802.11 standard provides several radio frequency bands for use in...
macOS, or Microsoft Windows make it fairly easy to set up a PC as a wirelessLAN "base station" using Internet Connection Sharing, thus allowing all the...
and became operational in June 1971. The first commercial wireless network was the WaveLAN product family, developed by NCR in 1986. 1973 – Ethernet 802...
switched Ethernet LAN, where each client connects to a central network switch, and logically in a wirelessLAN, where each wireless client associates...
commercial LANs today. While optical fiber cable is common for links between network switches, use of fiber to the desktop is rare. In a wirelessLAN, users...
network, typically Ethernet, and the AP then provides wireless connections using wirelessLAN technology, typically Wi-Fi, for other devices to use that...
HiperLAN (High Performance Radio LAN) is a wirelessLAN standard. It is a European alternative for the IEEE 802.11 standards. It is defined by the European...
are provisioned with internet access by establishing a local area network (LAN) for the local devices with IP addresses reserved for private networks. A...
A wireless gateway routes packets from a wirelessLAN to another network, wired or wireless WAN. It may be implemented as software or hardware or a combination...
provide the protocol multiplexing function. In wireless communications, bit errors are very common. In wireless networks such as IEEE 802.11, flow control...
The WirelessLAN Interoperability Forum (WLIF) was a non-profit industry organization founded in 1996 to promote and certify wirelessLAN products. It...
function in a wired local area network, in a wireless-only LAN, or in a mixed wired and wireless network. Wireless routers typically feature one or more network...
is the name given to a series of wirelessLAN equipment sold by Buffalo Technology. Residential gateways WirelessLAN cards Many of Buffalo's residential...
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