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A wireless LAN (WLAN) is a flexible data communication system implemented as an extension to, or as an alternative for, a wired LAN within a building or campus. Using electromagnetic waves, WLANs transmit and receive data over the air, minimizing the need for wired connections. Thus, WLANs combine data connectivity with user mobility, and, through simplified configuration, enable movable LANs.

Over the last seven years, WLANs have gained strong popularity in a number of vertical markets, including the health-care, retail, manufacturing, warehousing, and academic arenas. These industries have profited from the productivity gains of using hand-held terminals and notebook computers to transmit real-time information to centralized hosts for processing. Today WLANs are becoming more widely recognized as a general-purpose connectivity alternative for a broad range of business customers. The U.S. wireless Lan market is rapidly approaching $1 billion in revenues.
 

Applications for Wireless LANs

Wireless LANs frequently augment rather than replace wired LAN networks-often providing the final few meters of connectivity between a backbone network and the mobile user. The following list describes some of the many applications made possible through the power and flexibility of wireless LANs:

Doctors and nurses in hospitals are more productive because hand-held or notebook computers with wireless LAN capability deliver patient information instantly.
Consulting or accounting audit engagement teams or small workgroups increase productivity with quick network setup.
Network managers in dynamic environments minimize the overhead of moves, adds, and changes with wireless LANs, thereby reducing the cost of LAN ownership.
Training sites at corporations and students at universities use wireless connectivity to facilitate access to information, information exchanges, and learning.
Network managers installing networked computers in older buildings find that wireless LANs are a cost-effective network infrastructure solution.
Retail store owners use wireless networks to simply frequent network reconfiguration.
Trade show and branch office workers minimize setup requirements by installing preconfigured wireless LANs needing no local MIS support.
Warehouse workers use wireless LANs to exchange information with central databases and increase their productivity.
Network managers implement wireless LANs to provide backup for mission-critical applications running on wired networks.
Senior executives in conference rooms make quicker decisions because they have real-time information at their fingertips.

Benefits of WLANs

The widespread strategic reliance on networking among competitive businesses and the meteoric growth of the Internet and online services are strong testimonies to the benefits of shared data and shared resources. With wireless LANs, users can access shared information without looking for a place to plug in, and network managers can set up or augment networks without installing or moving wires. Wireless LANs offer the following productivity, service, convenience, and cost advantages over traditional wired networks:

Mobility-Wireless LAN systems can provide LAN users with access to real-time information anywhere in their organization. This mobility supports productivity and service opportunities not possible with wired networks.
Installation Speed and Simplicity-Installing a wireless LAN system can be fast and easy and can eliminate the need to pull cable through walls and ceilings.
Installation Flexibility-Wireless technology allows the network to go where wire cannot go.
Reduced Cost-of-Ownership-While the initial investment required for wireless LAN hardware can be higher than the cost of wired LAN hardware, overall installation expenses and life-cycle costs can be significantly lower. Long-term cost benefits are greatest in dynamic environments requiring frequent moves, adds, and changes.
Scalability-Wireless LAN systems can be configured in a variety of topologies to meet the needs of specific applications and installations. Configurations are easily changed and range from peer-to-peer networks suitable for a small number of users to full infrastructure networks of thousands of users that allows roaming over a broad area.