Wireless access point
lastmod 2026-03-31created 2021-01-226 edits
A wireless access point (WAP) is a device in a computer network that lets wireless devices connect to wired devices using the related Wi-Fi standards. A WAP is usually connected to a router over the wired network and can relay data between wireless devices, such as computers and printers, and wired devices on the network. When Bluetooth is used to connect wireless equipment, the connection is usually 1:1, so in that case the equipment is called 1:1 short-range wireless communication equipment rather than a wireless access point. This is because a typical wireless access point is used for 1:many connections.
Wireless security includes WPA-PSK, WPA2, IEEE 802.1x/RADIUS, WDS, WEP, TKIP, and CCMP (AES) encryption.
See also
- Wireless network
- AutoAP
- wifi
- HostAP
- Hostapd - User space daemon software that lets a network interface card act as an access point and authentication server.
- Router:CreateRouter - How to turn anything into a router