Wired and Wireless Connections

Devices can join a network in two main ways. A wired connection uses a physical cable. A wireless connection uses radio waves travelling through the air, so no cable is needed between the device and the network.

Ethernet is the usual standard for wired connections in a local area network, so a fixed computer can connect to a wall socket with an Ethernet cable. Wi-Fi lets a device join a network without a cable, so it suits devices that move around. Bluetooth is a wireless connection used for short-range links between a device and something close by, such as a printer.

Many networks use both

Networks often mix wired and wireless connections because different devices have different needs. In a bike repair workshop, a till computer that stays by the counter could use an Ethernet cable, while a tablet carried around the workshop could join the same network by Wi-Fi. The workshop still has one network; only the way each device connects is different.

Connection type is separate from network size

Wired and wireless describe how a device connects, not how large the network is. A local area network covering a single room can be fully wired, fully wireless or a mixture of the two.