Anybody reading this page would know what a wired network is. The cable running from the LAN card on the back of your machine, providing you with Internet access, also ties you down to that spot. Wouldn't it be convenient if your PC had no wires, if you could move it around without having to worry (or bother the system administrator) about reconnecting the whole mess again...
This is where Wireless Networks come to your rescue. You can have wireless LAN access, your devices can also now connect to each other wirelessly. This is the promise of wireless networks.The wireless market is growing at a rapid pace. A host of standards have come up to satisfy the needs of various customers. Standards exist for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), Metropolitan area Networks(WMAN) and Personal area Networks (WPAN). The WLAN standard is dominated by IEEEs 802.11 family of standards. The IEEE 802.11 standard defined the first WLAN standard which provided upto 2 Mbps data speeds. The 802.11b standard increased this speed upto 11 Mbps and its products were the first to hit the market. IEEE 802.11a was released simultaneously with 802.11b, and provided speeds upto 54 Mbps. IEEE 802.11a and 802.11b operate at different frequencies, so IEEE launched the 802.11g standard to provide higher speeds (54 Mbps) in the 802.11b spectrum. Security is a major concern in wireless networks, and a variety of methods exist to secure a wireless network, each with its own degree of success.In the WPAN arena, Bluetooth was the prevalent technology, but now it is being replaced by IEEE's 802.15 standard. Even in the WMAN area IEEE dominates with its 802.16 standard.

  [802.11a ]  [ 802.11b ]  [ 802.11g ]  [802.15 ]  [ 802.16 ]

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