A lily pad network is a series of wireless access points spread over a large area, each connected to a different network and owned by different enterprises and people, providing hotspots where wireless clients can connect to the Internet without regard for the particular networks to which they link.
This is in contrast with wireless community networks, where the access points route traffic between them, as well as a corporate wireless LAN where several access points are connected to the corporate network, and the members of the organization are supposed to stick to their own network.
Unlike a traditional corporate wireless LAN, which allows access to other networks only via access points connected to the main corporate network, a lily pad does not restrict a network user to connecting only to their own network. In this way, a lily pad network enables the network users to roam over a large area while staying connected, without needing the overheads of the access points to route traffic between the individual networks.
Lily pad networks derive their name from their frog-like "hopping" facility, where mobile stations which roam over a large area are akin to frogs, hopping from lily pad to lily pad, and because of the technology, remaining continuously connected. Unlike typical wireless mesh networks, where each network client needs to manage their own network connection continuity, a lily pad network topology enables roaming by linking a number of wireless access points together.
A lily pad network is particularly suitable for mobile wireless network connectivity over a large geographic area, such as a combination of coffee houses, libraries, and other public spaces. In these locations wireless access infrastructure is available for configuring the lily pad network to provide "hot spots", allowing a mobile station to connect to the Internet for both surfing or VoIP.
A wireless LAN (WLAN) is a wireless computer network that links two or more devices using wireless communication to form a local area network (LAN) within a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, campus, or office building. This gives users the ability to move around within the area and remain connected to the network. Through a gateway, a WLAN can also provide a connection to the wider Internet.
A wireless network is a computer network that uses wireless data connections between network nodes.
A telecommunications network is a group of nodes interconnected by telecommunications links that are used to exchange messages between the nodes. The links may use a variety of technologies based on the methodologies of circuit switching, message switching, or packet switching, to pass messages and signals.
Wi-Fi is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves. These are the most widely used computer networks in the world, used globally in home and small office networks to link desktop and laptop computers, tablet computers, smartphones, smart TVs, printers, and smart speakers together and to a wireless router to connect them to the Internet, and in wireless access points in public places like coffee shops, hotels, libraries and airports to provide the public Internet access for mobile devices.
A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. The benefits of a VPN include increases in functionality, security, and management of the private network. It provides access to resources that are inaccessible on the public network and is typically used for remote workers. Encryption is common, although not an inherent part of a VPN connection.
In computer networking, a wireless access point (WAP), or more generally just access point (AP), is a networking hardware device that allows other Wi-Fi devices to connect to a wired network. As a standalone device, the AP may have a wired connection to a router, but, in a wireless router, it can also be an integral component of the router itself. An AP is differentiated from a hotspot which is a physical location where Wi-Fi access is available.
A wireless Internet service provider (WISP) is an Internet service provider with a network based on wireless networking. Technology may include commonplace Wi-Fi wireless mesh networking, or proprietary equipment designed to operate over open 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 4.9, 5, 24, and 60 GHz bands or licensed frequencies in the UHF band, LMDS, and other bands from 6 GHz to 80 GHz.
A wireless mesh network (WMN) is a communications network made up of radio nodes organized in a mesh topology. It can also be a form of wireless ad hoc network.
A hotspot is a physical location where people may obtain Internet access, typically using Wi-Fi technology, via a wireless local-area network (WLAN) using a router connected to an Internet service provider.
Voice over wireless LAN is the use of a wireless broadband network according to the IEEE 802.11 standards for the purpose of vocal conversation. In essence, it is voice over IP (VoIP) over a Wi-Fi network. In most cases, the Wi-Fi network and voice components supporting the voice system are privately owned.
Wireless security is the prevention of unauthorized access or damage to computers or data using wireless networks, which include Wi-Fi networks. The term may also refer to the protection of the wireless network itself from adversaries seeking to damage the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the network. The most common type is Wi-Fi security, which includes Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). WEP is an old IEEE 802.11 standard from 1997. It is a notoriously weak security standard: the password it uses can often be cracked in a few minutes with a basic laptop computer and widely available software tools. WEP was superseded in 2003 by WPA, or Wi-Fi Protected Access. WPA was a quick alternative to improve security over WEP. The current standard is WPA2; some hardware cannot support WPA2 without firmware upgrade or replacement. WPA2 uses an encryption device that encrypts the network with a 256-bit key; the longer key length improves security over WEP. Enterprises often enforce security using a certificate-based system to authenticate the connecting device, following the standard 802.11X.
IEEE 802.11u-2011 is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11-2007 standard to add features that improve interworking with external networks.
A computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. The computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are made up of telecommunication network technologies, based on physically wired, optical, and wireless radio-frequency methods that may be arranged in a variety of network topologies.
In a hierarchical telecommunications network, the backhaul portion of the network comprises the intermediate links between the core network, or backbone network, and the small subnetworks at the edge of the network.
Intel vPro technology is an umbrella marketing term used by Intel for a large collection of computer hardware technologies, including VT-x, VT-d, Trusted Execution Technology (TXT), and Intel Active Management Technology (AMT). When the vPro brand was launched, it was identified primarily with AMT, thus some journalists still consider AMT to be the essence of vPro.
Mobile VoIP or simply mVoIP is an extension of mobility to a Voice over IP network. Two types of communication are generally supported: cordless/DECT/PCS protocols for short range or campus communications where all base stations are linked into the same LAN, and wider area communications using 3G/4G protocols.
In computing, a wireless intrusion prevention system (WIPS) is a network device that monitors the radio spectrum for the presence of unauthorized access points (intrusion detection), and can automatically take countermeasures (intrusion prevention).
Split tunneling is a computer networking concept which allows a user to access dissimilar security domains like a public network and a local LAN or WAN at the same time, using the same or different network connections. This connection state is usually facilitated through the simultaneous use of a Local Area Network (LAN) Network Interface Card (NIC), radio NIC, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) NIC, and VPN client software application without the benefit of access control.
A mobile virtual private network is a VPN which is capable of persisting during sessions across changes in physical connectivity, point of network attachment, and IP address. The "mobile" in the name refers to the fact that the VPN can change points of network attachment, not necessarily that the mVPN client is a mobile phone or that it is running on a wireless network.
IEEE 802.11k-2008 is an amendment to IEEE 802.11-2007 standard for radio resource measurement. It defines and exposes radio and network information to facilitate the management and maintenance of a mobile Wireless LAN. IEEE 802.11k was incorporated in IEEE Std 802.11-2012; see IEEE 802.11.
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