Dictionary · Networking Hardware
Wireless Access Point
WAP — Wireless Access Point
Wireless · Beginner
A device that bridges wireless clients onto a wired network. It advertises a network name and applies the wireless security method, while routing may happen elsewhere.
It is the radio station of the network. Phones associate with it, and it forwards their frames toward the switch or router. A home product often combines this job with routing.
Example: Three ceiling-mounted radios use the same network name and pass clients to one controller as people walk the building.
Common misconception
- The old initials also once named an unrelated mobile protocol. In a network closet, this term means the radio that clients join.