Some Basic Concepts

The Station: The station may be referred to as the network adapter, network interface card or an Access Point.

The Access Point: The Access Point is the device which has the ability to control the communication between stations.

Ad-hoc mode: On wireless computer networks, ad-hoc mode is a method for wireless devices to directly communicate with each other. Operating in ad-hoc mode allows all wireless devices within range of each other to discover and communicate in peer-to-peer fashion without involving central access points.

Infrastructure mode: Infrastructure mode wireless networking joins a wireless network to a wired ethernet network. Infrastructure mode wireless also supports central connection points for WLAN clients which are named as Access Point. Access point controls the communication between clients.

IEEE 802.11: This is the name of the working group in Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.,which focused on wireless networking.

Point to Point Links: A point to point link replaces a single communications cable.

Point to Multipoint Links: These systems have one base station, or access point, that controls communications with all of the other wireless nodes in the network. Signals converge at a single access point.

Wireless Mesh Networks

Wireless Mesh NETWORKS


Providing industrial-strength connectivity, this technology delivers self-configuring, scalable, and self-healing networks. And it’s aimed right at distributed data acquisition and control.

Robert Poor, Ember Corp.

Wireless systems for industry have mostly used cellular-phone-style radio links, using point-to-point or point-to-multipoint transmission. But research at MIT’s Media Lab in Cambridge, MA, indicated that traditional wireless formats have liabilities in industrial applications. These include rigid structure, meticulous planning requirements, and dropped signals.