Distance limitations dictate that clients must be no more than a few hundred feet - approximately 230 feet, or 70 meters - from the closest AP. To create a WLAN, enterprises, small businesses and home owners can purchase Wi-Fi-certified access points ( APs) and clients - such as laptops, phones and printers - that transmit data using specific radio frequencies. Common Wi-Fi capabilities include orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing ( OFDM) and multiple input, multiple output.
The Wi-Fi Alliance, an industry consortium that promotes interoperability in heterogeneous WLANs, tests Wi-Fi products for each 802.11 standard - from the first 802.11b specification to the most recent 802.11ax, or Wi-Fi 6 - to ensure they correctly support each version's subset of features. Originally designed in 1997, Wi-Fi is a wireless network technology based on the IEEE 802.11 group of standards. A WLAN uses radio frequency technology to take the place of wires to interconnect networked nodes. Any WLAN needs proper design, and it needs to respect other WLANs in the same space.A WLAN is a group of devices wirelessly linked together within a relatively small space, like a corporate campus, single office building or home. Just like two Wi-Fi networks in the same space can ruin each other's day, the same is true with two lighting WLANs, two alarm WLANs or two of any other type of WLAN that may be using the same frequencies. Remember, Wi-Fi is in 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.īut, if I try to run two concurrent WLANs of any one type, I'm asking for trouble. If I fire up my best commercial-grade Wi-Fi tools, I won't see the lighting or alarm WLANs because they are both in different frequency ranges. Wi-Fi is a type of WLAN, and when we discuss multiple, colocated WLANs, we should consider how they might interact. Hopefully, this clarifies the differences between WLAN vs. It's safe to say Wi-Fi is pretty much the only WLAN these days that services human clients directly, although in-building cellular may qualify as well, while most other WLANs likely service headless client device nodes.
The alarm system has its own WLAN story as well, using its own spectrum. While a Wi-Fi AP bridges 802.11 to 802.3, in this case, the system uses its own hub to connect back to the LAN. In this case, the company uses frequencies around 430 MHz to connect switches, light fixtures and controllers to form a WLAN in a given space. But the important nuance is Wi-Fi is not the only type of WLAN.Ĭonsider my aforementioned lighting control project. Each version of the 802.11 standard is written for compatibility with 802.3 Ethernet - the most common LAN type - given that Wi-Fi typically extends the edge of the LAN.Īccess points (APs) act as Layer 2 bridges between 802.11 and 802.3 standards in enterprise networks, and wireless routers in a home network have an AP built in under the hood. Through the years, we've seen different evolutions of Wi-Fi, culminating in the new 802.11ax standard. Wi-Fi is the wireless standard 802.11 and nothing else. They loosely define the network geographic borders and let us know that radio frequency takes the place of wiring. Not much to it, huh? The important aspects are local and wireless. This brings us to my generic definition of a WLAN: A WLAN is a LAN that uses radio technology instead of wiring to interconnect networked nodes. In each case, some form of router sat between the LAN and whatever proprietary wireless transceivers were in play. Upon hearing WLAN was involved, I thought: "Oh, boy, we may not want critical services on Wi-Fi." In this Venn diagram, explore the difference between WLAN and Wi-Fi.īut, after digging into the product literature, I learned that these WLANs used different radio technologies and had nothing to do with Wi-Fi.
Each used WLAN for its wireless connections. Recently, I consulted on requests for proposals and implementation projects involving lighting control and building alarm systems. To illustrate the difference between WLAN vs. A WLAN can be built on various wireless technology. The terms WLAN and Wi-Fi are often linked and used interchangeably, but problems arise with that habit. Add a W to LAN, and we have a wireless LAN. Local generally means a network that is contained within a building or campus, representing a geographical or functional construct. To tackle the generic WLAN construct, we first need to review what is meant by local area network. In particular, let's explore the difference between WLAN vs. Even without these wireless network topologies, there can be enough to keep straight under the simple heading of WLAN. Forget, though, about wireless personal area networks, like Bluetooth, and wireless WANs and their respective network devices.