802.11 NIC - 14 Sep 2004

Once again, Cisco Systems has proven itself to be a clear favorite of Windows IT Pro readers--this time in the wireless NIC product group--as the Cisco Aironet 802.11 Wireless CardBus Adapter garnered 30 percent of the vote to win the award for Best 802.11 NIC. The adapter has three main hardware components: a radio, a radio antenna (each adapter uses a different type of antenna), and two LEDs. The Cisco Aironet 802.11 Wireless CardBus Adapter also has two basic software components: a driver and client utilities. You can use the adapter in two different LAN configurations: an ad hoc (peer-to-peer--P2P) wireless LAN, in which all devices that have an adapter communicate directly with one another, and a wireless infrastructure with workstations that access a wireless LAN. The latter configuration requires Access Points (APs) on the LAN and is especially suited to portable or mobile workstations.