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The Lab's Wireless Access points provide backbone support to the RoamAbout equipt laptops. The Access Point itself acts as a bridge between the wired 10 Mbps Ethernet and the Wireless Local Area Network. In the CWINS lab the Access Point is connected to a switch which in turn interfaces to the local Ethernet via a Router. A digital RoamAbout radio adapter provides coverage on the wireless side. If multiple Access Points are setup the laptops are allowed to Roam between coverage areas. When a laptop starts to recieve a weak signal from the current access point it goes into a promiscuous mode where it atempts to find a stronger signal from another access point. In this way a laptop may be carried around campus with continuous network connectivity. |