CCNA® Cisco Certified Network Associate: Study Guide, Seventh Edition

Basic Wireless Devices

Though it might not seem this way to you right now, simple wireless networks (WLANs) are less complex than their wired cousins because they require fewer components. To make a basic wireless network work properly, all you really need are two main devices: a wireless access point and a wireless NIC. This also makes it a lot easier to install a wireless network, because basically, you just need an understanding of these two components in order to do so. Obviously, wireless networks are getting more and more advanced and complicated by the day, but let’s not worry about that right now.

Wireless Access Points

In the vast majority of wired networks, you’ll find a central component such as a switch that’s there to connect hosts ...