Wi-Fi (Windows Embedded CE 6.0)

1/6/2010

Wi-Fi is a wireless technology based on the IEEE 802.11 standard. IEEE 802.11 defines the physical layer and media access control (MAC) sub-layer for wireless communications.

Two operating modes are defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard: infrastructure mode and ad hoc mode. In infrastructure mode, wireless and possibly wired clients communicate with each other through a wireless access point (AP). The wireless client uses the wireless AP to access the resources of a wired network. The wired network can be an organization intranet or the Internet, depending on the placement of the wireless AP.

In ad hoc mode, wireless clients communicate directly with each other without the use of a wireless AP or a wired network. Ad hoc mode connects wireless clients together when there is no wireless AP present, when the wireless AP rejects an association due to failed authentication, or when the wireless client is explicitly configured to use ad hoc mode.

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See Also

Other Resources

Networking - Wireless
Wi-Fi Standards