Wireless Area Networks Essay -- Technology Technological Essays

Wireless Area Networks Wireless technology has become an increasingly crucial part of today's world. From health care and retail to academia across the world, wireless systems are improving the rate and ease with which data is sent and received. Two specific examples of the wireless technology used today personally and professionally are local area networks (LAN) and personal area networks (PAN). A wireless local area network, or LAN is a flexible data communications system implemented as an augmentation to, or an alternative for a, wired local area network. These networks rely on electromagnetic airwaves to transmit and receive over a defined area, usually a few hundred feet. (Yahoo-wireless) In most cases, a wireless transmitter will be connected directly to a wired land network using Ethernet cables. Once the network feed has been connected to the transmitter, and a constant power supply is established, a steady stream of radio, or infrared waves with be produced (both are electromagnetic waves). The vast majority of wireless LAN systems tend to rely on radio waves as the carries for their signals, because infrared waves tend to have a shorter distance at which they are able to transmit, and are more easily interrupted. Radio waves, or radio carriers as they are referred to, transfer data through modulations of the carrier signal. The addition of d ata to a radio carrier causes the signal to occupy more than a single frequency. Once data is imprinted onto the radio signal it is a simple reversal of the transmitting process that allows the information to be decoded by a receiving station. (Rho Wireless) Radio waves offer another benefit to the wireless system in... ...ta instantaneous and without the hindrance of cables. Whether or not wireless systems are practical or necessary in a given situation is a matter of personal opinion. However, one cannot dispute the success these systems have had in numerous professional and personal areas and it is very likely that usage of LAN and PAN wireless systems will increase dramatically in the near future as technology continues to advance and evolve. Bibliography Rho Wireless. Wireless Local Area Networks. Oct. 20, 2003. Oct. 25, 2003. www.rhowireless.com/lans.htm Bluetooth Corporation. Bluetooth. 2003. Oct. 20, 2003. www.bluetooth.com Yahoo Wireless. Wireless LAN. 2003. Oct. 20, 2003. www.wireless-lan.com Home Networking Internet Sharing. Home help-802.11b. 2001. Oct. 22, 2003. www.homehelp.com/802.11b/index.asp Wireless Area Networks Essay -- Technology Technological Essays Wireless Area Networks Wireless technology has become an increasingly crucial part of today's world. From health care and retail to academia across the world, wireless systems are improving the rate and ease with which data is sent and received. Two specific examples of the wireless technology used today personally and professionally are local area networks (LAN) and personal area networks (PAN). A wireless local area network, or LAN is a flexible data communications system implemented as an augmentation to, or an alternative for a, wired local area network. These networks rely on electromagnetic airwaves to transmit and receive over a defined area, usually a few hundred feet. (Yahoo-wireless) In most cases, a wireless transmitter will be connected directly to a wired land network using Ethernet cables. Once the network feed has been connected to the transmitter, and a constant power supply is established, a steady stream of radio, or infrared waves with be produced (both are electromagnetic waves). The vast majority of wireless LAN systems tend to rely on radio waves as the carries for their signals, because infrared waves tend to have a shorter distance at which they are able to transmit, and are more easily interrupted. Radio waves, or radio carriers as they are referred to, transfer data through modulations of the carrier signal. The addition of d ata to a radio carrier causes the signal to occupy more than a single frequency. Once data is imprinted onto the radio signal it is a simple reversal of the transmitting process that allows the information to be decoded by a receiving station. (Rho Wireless) Radio waves offer another benefit to the wireless system in... ...ta instantaneous and without the hindrance of cables. Whether or not wireless systems are practical or necessary in a given situation is a matter of personal opinion. However, one cannot dispute the success these systems have had in numerous professional and personal areas and it is very likely that usage of LAN and PAN wireless systems will increase dramatically in the near future as technology continues to advance and evolve. Bibliography Rho Wireless. Wireless Local Area Networks. Oct. 20, 2003. Oct. 25, 2003. www.rhowireless.com/lans.htm Bluetooth Corporation. Bluetooth. 2003. Oct. 20, 2003. www.bluetooth.com Yahoo Wireless. Wireless LAN. 2003. Oct. 20, 2003. www.wireless-lan.com Home Networking Internet Sharing. Home help-802.11b. 2001. Oct. 22, 2003. www.homehelp.com/802.11b/index.asp