Using WLAN Software

WLAN software is a device that will allow you to establish and maintain connection between a wired and a wireless computer. In order for your computer to be able to use this system, you will need to obtain the right hardware which will be equipped with a network interface card. Also, if you might be looking to connect multiple computers to a particular software access point, you will need to have a card installed on each computer which wishes to establish a connection or bridge towards the wired unit. There are no limits to the number or type of network interfaces used, the only thing that will need to be considered is how many open slots or interfaces you will have, as some might at times be limited to ten computers, whilst others, which will tend to cost more, can run up to one hundred computers at a time.

A WLAN software radius server may also be of great benefit to you if you happen to be concerned about the security of your wireless system. However, many places these days also manage to enable areas with Wifi access, including some chain bookstores and fast food restaurants. Users will need to be aware, nevertheless, that the security levels of their internet connection might not be as strong as in other places such as work or at home. Most businesses sometimes choose to add a radius server along with their WLAN software therefore, in order to ensure that all confidential information is well protected.

A recent debate has been going on for some time now regarding WLAN versus Bluetooth. Many might feel that bluetooth is the better option as it can sometimes be less expensive, yet, it can also contain a few disadvantages when compared to WLAN and WLAN software. For example, Bluetooth is known to have a shorter range, so more access points will be needed within an office which might not be the case with WLAN, which is a point to consider when choosing between the two. However, Bluetooth is also better in many situations but mostly as an access point for WLAN..

No matter which configuration you decide to go with, if you have been looking for a WLAN software program to run computers quickly and easily, try to do some research first in order to ensure that the program that you are buying will be sufficient to meet all of your current and future needs. Indeed, if you overload a software access point, your computers will not work as quickly and efficiently, which might prove to be counterproductive to everything a business should be trying to do. Don’t let this happen to you, try to check for reviews and ask for recommendations before purchasing any kind of WLAN software, as the information you obtain will surely be of great use to you.


Greg Robertson is contributing editor at WebDesignArticles.net. This article may be reproduced provided that its complete content, links and author byline are kept intact and unchanged. No additional links permitted. Hyperlinks and/or URLs must remain both human clickable and search engine spiderable.

From The Server To The Web Browser: What Goes On?

Every time you click on a link in a web page or type a URL into your web browser you are in fact making a ‘request’ for a certain document. That request is carried out with the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and sent over the Internet all the way to the server which is keeping the document in question. If everything goes well the server responds by sending the document, which is usually a web page of text and graphics.

The HTTP is part of the Internet Protocol(IP) suite. It is used by the ‘client’ which here is the web browser in order to create a connection with the server which hosts a website in particular. The server waits for incoming requests by monitoring TCP port 80.

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is used to produce connections between two computers on the Internet so that they can exchange data. TCP has provisions for identifying the requesting computer and also for transmitting information with time stamps so that it can be gathered again in the correct order once it arrives to its destination.

There are many standardized uses for TCP ports. For example, TCP port 21 is usually reserved for FTP (File Transfer Protocol) in order to upload and download files. Port 80 is usually employed for HTTP.

If your server gets a request string on TCP port 80 in the shape of GET / HTTP/1.1 it will send a response code which will depend on whether the requested web page is available or not. A classic request goes like this:

GET /faq.html HTTP/1.1
Host: http://www.mywebsite.com

This will be a request for http://www.mywebsite.com/faq.html. The ‘Host’ needs to be specified in order to distinguish websites which are hosted on shared servers. If faq.html is available the server will then reply:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Mon, 12 October 2005 22:38:34 GMT
Server: Apache/1.3.27 (Unix)(Red-Hat/Linux)
Last-Modified: Wed, 08 Jan 2003 23:11:55 GMT

…followed by the actual web page.

HTTP/1.1 200 OK signifies that the web page you requested is available. Other codes can also be returned. For example, the code 404, signifies that the server cannot find the page you requested. The web page is sent through TCP as a set of data packets with a header each that will specify its destination and order in the data stream. The various packets can all take on various routes in order to reach their target. Each packet is sent through a router which polls other routers which are near by. However, if a connection with the first router is unavailable, the data will be sent through another one.

As the data is received, the client (web browser) will send back an acknowledgement. This will ensure that all the packets are received within the right amount of time. If they aren’t, they will be re-transmitted by the server. TCP will also check that the data is not damaged. The data will be rearranged in the right order thanks to the sequence number of each data packet. And there you go! Then the web page appears on your computer screen.

Also, the TCP connection can be kept alive for further requests from the client. This will enable several pages to be requested within a short span of time without causing the overhead to open and close TCP ports. The client or the server can end the connection any time by just closing it.


J. M. Stevens is contributing editor at WebDesignArticles.net. This article may be reproduced provided that its complete content, links and author byline are kept intact and unchanged. No additional links permitted. Hyperlinks and/or URLs must remain both human clickable and search engine spiderable.