Wireless Metropolitan Area Network

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Sign for the Wireless Metropolitan Area Network in Bad Waldsee (bottom right)

Wireless Metropolitan Area Network ( WMAN ) refers to a larger regional radio network that consists of several access nodes and is z. B. can extend over one or more districts, an entire city or a region. It is larger than a WLAN because it does not consist of a single WLAN hotspot , but rather forms entire WLAN hotzones with many access points at different locations that work in conjunction with one another in order to enable the WLAN users connected to it to have an optimal wireless network connection. WMANs are logistically structured in a very similar way to cellular networks for making calls. The operator (s) of a WMAN is called a " Wireless Internet Service Provider " (WISP), provided they also offer one or more Internet gateways. Many such WMANs have emerged around the world in recent years to offer citizens fast Internet access. They are often the only alternative in north-eastern Germany, where until today there are often no DSL offers (for which a copper cable is necessary) due to the fiber optic cable laid.

technology

Due to the drastic drop in the price of the hardware required in recent years, they are almost always implemented in the IEEE 802.11 standard . Another standard specially developed for such applications is IEEE 802.16, known as WiMAX .

In WMANs, so-called wireless bridges with direct connections (point-to-point, PtP) or point-to-multipoint (PtMP) connections are often used to connect the various local networks (LAN) with each other via WLAN - a leased line, so to speak . Network technologies such as VPN and VLAN are also often used in WMANs. In a shorter period of time, access points with WDS technology ( Wireless Distribution System ) are increasingly being used, which can then work simultaneously as an access point and a wireless bridge. By using different radio network technologies, WMANs can sometimes have highly complex properties and structures.

Examples

An example of a WMAN is the Würmtal Wireless Network in the Würmtal region , on the south-western outskirts of the Bavarian capital, Munich . The Würmtal Wireless Network is one of the oldest radio network infrastructures in Germany and with currently over 80 network nodes, distributed in the three districts of Munich, Starnberg and Fürstenfeldbruck, also one of the largest WMANs in Germany with a decentralized, self-sufficient network infrastructure based on the principle of the Internet . Nevertheless, the Würmtal Wireless Network is not a meshed network .

See also

Web links