Wireless Access Point WAP

A wireless access point (WAP) lets wireless devices join a network without a cable. It sends and receives data to and from nearby devices as radio waves, then passes that data on to the rest of the network.

Most WAPs are connected by a cable to a switch. The radio waves carry data only over the short hop between the wireless device and the WAP; from the WAP onwards the data travels down the cable into the switch, which forwards it to the intended device. The WAP is therefore the link between the wireless part of the network and the cabled part.

Access to the network, not the internet

A WAP gives wireless devices access to the rest of the local area network (LAN) — for example, a tablet sending a photo to a desktop computer that is cabled into the switch. That is all it does on its own: it does not provide an internet connection. Reaching the internet needs a router further along, connecting the LAN to another network.

Coverage is limited

Radio signals only reach so far and are weakened by thick walls and floors, so a single WAP covers a limited area. In a large building, one WAP would leave some rooms with a weak or missing signal, so several WAPs are placed around the building, each cabled back to a switch. A device connects to whichever WAP gives it the strongest signal.

Worked example: a sports centre has a reception area, a gym and a swimming pool building. One WAP in reception gives a good signal at the front desk but a poor one in the pool building, so a second WAP is fitted there and cabled to the same switch. Staff on a tablet can now stay connected with the network as they move around the centre.