Configuring a wireless network in Windows XP

Advantages of a wireless network

A wireless network makes it possible to connect several devices or several computers in a network, without the use of wires. Thanks to wireless technologies, it is possible to access shared resources, particularly the internet, from several different locations: this is called "mobility".

WiFi network

WiFi technology (also called 802.11) is the most widely used wireless local area network technology. This technology makes it possible to connect computers over a distance of approximately three hundred feet at a shared speed ranging from a dozen Megabits per second (Mbps) to several dozen Mpbs.

WiFi technology offers two operating modes:

• "Ad hoc" mode, a peer-to-peer mode making it possible to connect two computers equipped with wireless adapters to one another;
• "Infrastructure" mode, making it possible to connect computers to a wired network using a device called an "access point", sometimes abbreviated AP.

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