Wirless topology

5. Wirless topology

Wireless topologies seem odd at first because there are no physical wires to guide you to the actual topology shapes that they use. In fact, wireless topologies are implemented in a star, a mesh, or a cellular configuration. In the star configuration, the wireless topology is called a Basic Service Set (BSS). It consists of a wireless access point connected to a wired network, and it enables each wireless device to connect to the access point and through it to all other devices.

In the case of the mesh configuration, the wireless network, the Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS), enables each wireless device to connect to any other wireless device within range.

In the cellular topology, the wireless network, referred to as an Extended Service Set (ESS), consists of a series of overlapping wireless cells, each with its own WAP. Devices can actually move among cells and continue working seamlessly, regardless of which cell they happen to be in. It’s easiest to think of this as a radio station. Imagine you’re driving down a long road and you have your radio tuned to 95.5 FM. As you go along, you eventually fade out of 95.5 FM for one area, but you fade into 95.5 FM for the next area. If these two stations were playing the exact same program, you wouldn’t even know that you had changed from one to another.