◄Previous: 4.3 Regulation

# 4.4 An introduction to WiFi

WiFi (from 'Wireless Fidelity') is used to connect devices together in one of two network configurations known as 'ad hoc' and 'infrastructure'. We shall explain these terms shortly. (As a starting point, though, you could look up the terms 'ad hoc' and 'infrastructure' in your dictionary.)

In wireless LANs, nodes are usually referred to as stations – probably because each communicating device acts as a radio station with transmitter and receiver. These functions, and the necessary control functions, are provided by a wireless network interface card (wireless NIC) in a similar way to wired networks.

◄Contents►Next: 4.5 WiFi network structure

OpenLearn - IT: device to device communication
Except for third party materials and otherwise, this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence, full copyright detail can be found in the acknowledgements section. Please see full copyright statement for details.