Wireless networks have become very popular in the last decade, and it is now one of the most essential connectivities we need for our gadgets to stay connected. At a high level, a wireless network can be of the following types:
- Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN): Wireless devices stay within 5-10 meters of each other and can be built ad-hoc-based
- Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN): Wireless devices stay within 100 meters of each other
- Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN): Wireless devices stay less than 100 meters away from each other and within ~5 kilometers (3.1 miles), and usually provide coverage for a suburb or town
Figure 9.1: Types of Wireless Networks
Let's have a quick look at various WLAN standards. The IEEE 802.11 committee has been developing wireless LAN standards since the mid-1990s and has published...