Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Wireless computers, such as laptops, can move from place to
place, and changes in location can affect whether they can re
ceive transmissions.
Because radio signals can be received by any listening device in
an area, some care may be appropriate to prevent sensitive data
from being received and used by unauthorized computers.
If a portable computer uses wireless technology to establish a
connection to the Internet through a stationary machine, then
the Internet connection may need to be transferred to another
stationary machine as the portable computer moves.
Let's consider some typical scenarios in a common wireless en
vironment, consisting of two stationary computers (S1 and S2) con
nected to the Internet, and two portable laptop computers (L1 and
L2). This configuration is shown in Figure 8.9.
In this configuration, both S1 and S2, the stationary computers,
have wireless transmitters, and the range of transmission is given by
the striped regions. Both can transmit to the region in the middle
where the stripes overlap. Thus, laptop L1 can receive transmissions
from S1, but not S2; laptop L2 can receive transmissions from both
S1 and S2.
Connection to
Internet
Connection to
Internet
L
L1
L1
S
S1
S1
S
SS2
L
LL2
Figure 8.9
A wireless network with two portable and two stationary computers.
