User's Manual

WF-100 CompactFlash Wireless LAN Card User Manual
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2.2 Infrastructure Topology
Infrastructure mode of network operation requires the presence of an access point at least. In
this mode, all wireless LAN client devices need to build the communication with the access
point first and then access to a wired LAN such as Ethernet. Therefore, an integrated wireless
and wired LAN is called an infrastructure configuration. A group of wireless LAN client users
and an access point construct a Basic Service Set (BSS). Each wireless LAN client device in
this BSS can talk to any device in the wired LAN infrastructure via the access point. In this
infrastructure configuration, wireless LAN systems will extend the accessibility to the wired
LAN. On the other hand, infrastructure mode also supports roaming capability for mobile
wireless LAN users. More than one BSS can be configured as an Extended Service Set
(ESS). The continuous network allows wireless LAN users to roam freely within an ESS. The
premise to build an ESS is that all wireless LAN client devices and access points within the
ESS must be configured with the same ESS ID.