Your organization has been using an 802.11g wireless access point, but you’ve recently acquired a company that has older laptops with 802.11b wireless capabilities. What’s the best way to integrate these older laptops into your newer wireless network?
A) Replace all of the 802.11b hardware with updated 802.11g adapters.
B) Do nothing. The 802.11b adapters will interoperate just fine with a properly configured 802.11g access point.
C) Download updated drivers for the 802.11b adapters.
D) Configure the 802.11g wireless access point to operate only in 802.11b mode.
E) Buy enough microwave popcorn to keep the network unusable for everyone.
The answer: B) Do nothing. The 802.11b adapters will interoperate just fine with a properly configured 802.11g access point.
When the 802.11g standards committee started working on the specification, they made it backwards-compatible with 802.11b. With this consideration in place, older wireless devices can simultaneously interoperate with the newer wireless technology.
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Want to know more? Watch “Wireless Networks.”Wireless networking technology has become a normal part of our home and mobile networks. In this video, you’ll learn about 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, and some of the encryption technologies associated with wireless networks. |