A WLAN can be either an extension to a current wired network or an alternative to it. WLANs have data transfer speeds ranging from 1 to 54 Mbps, with some companies offering proprietary 108Mbps solutions. A WLAN signal can be broadcast to cover an area ranging in size from a small office to a large campus. Most commonly, a WLAN access point provides access within a radius of 65 to 300 feet. It should be noted that the IEEE 802.11 are the standards that most of the modern wireless LANs are based on. WLAN types includes:
- Private home or small business WLAN: A home or business WLAN employs one or two access points to broadcast a signal around a 100- to 200-foot radius. You can find equipment for installing a home WLAN in many retail stores.
- Enterprise class WLAN: An enterprise-class WLAN employs a large number of individual access points to broadcast the signal to a wide area. The access points have more features than home or small office WLAN equipment, such as better security, authentication, remote management.
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