A
athene
Unregistered / Unconfirmed
GUEST, unregistred user!
Wireless networks can be operated in two different modes—ad hoc and infrastructure. In the ad hoc mode, wireless clients communicate directly with each other, without the need of any supporting infrastructure. In the infrastructure mode, communication between clients is routed through an Access Point (AP), which is analogous to the base station in a cellular network. The ad hoc mode is used in situations where a temporary wireless network needs to be set up at short notice—a conference room, a battlefield, for example. The infrastructure mode is the more common of the two in corporate environments. In this mode, APs constantly broadcast identification beacons to advertise their presence to prospective wireless clients. These beacons contain a field known as the Service Set Identifier (SSID), which uniquely identifies the AP to the clients. Alternatively, a client may actively send out a probe request if itdo
es not receive an identification beacon from an AP in a predetermined interval of time. APs, on detecting probe requests, reply with probe responses (which contain their SSIDs) to inform the client of their presence. After having identified the optimal AP to associate with, based on signal strength, the client is now ready to perform connection initiation with the AP.
es not receive an identification beacon from an AP in a predetermined interval of time. APs, on detecting probe requests, reply with probe responses (which contain their SSIDs) to inform the client of their presence. After having identified the optimal AP to associate with, based on signal strength, the client is now ready to perform connection initiation with the AP.