<s>
A	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
network	B-Protocol
interface	I-Protocol
controller	I-Protocol
(	O
WNIC	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
network	B-Protocol
interface	I-Protocol
controller	I-Protocol
which	O
connects	O
to	O
a	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
,	O
such	O
as	O
Wi-Fi	O
or	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
,	O
rather	O
than	O
a	O
wired	O
network	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
Token	B-Device
Ring	I-Device
or	O
Ethernet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
interface	O
controller	O
may	O
be	O
implemented	O
as	O
an	O
expansion	B-Device
card	I-Device
and	O
connected	O
using	O
PCI	B-Protocol
bus	I-Protocol
or	O
PCIe	O
bus	O
,	O
or	O
connected	O
via	O
USB	B-Protocol
,	O
PC	B-Architecture
Card	I-Architecture
,	O
ExpressCard	B-Device
,	O
Mini	O
PCIe	O
or	O
M.2	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
low	O
cost	O
and	O
ubiquity	O
of	O
the	O
Wi-Fi	O
standard	O
means	O
that	O
many	O
newer	O
mobile	O
computers	O
have	O
a	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
interface	O
built	O
into	O
the	O
motherboard	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
is	O
usually	O
applied	O
to	O
IEEE	O
802.11	O
adapters	O
;	O
it	O
may	O
also	O
apply	O
to	O
a	O
NIC	O
using	O
protocols	O
other	O
than	O
802.11	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
one	O
implementing	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
802.11	O
WNIC	O
can	O
operate	O
in	O
two	O
modes	O
known	O
as	O
infrastructure	O
mode	O
and	O
ad	B-Protocol
hoc	I-Protocol
mode	I-Protocol
:	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
infrastructure	O
mode	O
network	O
the	O
WNIC	O
needs	O
a	O
wireless	B-Device
access	I-Device
point	I-Device
:	O
all	O
data	O
is	O
transferred	O
using	O
the	O
access	O
point	O
as	O
the	O
central	O
hub	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
wireless	O
nodes	B-Protocol
in	O
an	O
infrastructure	O
mode	O
network	O
connect	O
to	O
an	O
access	O
point	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
nodes	B-Protocol
connecting	O
to	O
the	O
access	O
point	O
must	O
have	O
the	O
same	O
service	B-General_Concept
set	I-General_Concept
identifier	I-General_Concept
(	O
SSID	O
)	O
as	O
the	O
access	O
point	O
,	O
and	O
if	O
a	O
kind	O
of	O
wireless	O
security	O
is	O
enabled	O
on	O
the	O
access	O
point	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
WEP	B-Protocol
or	O
WPA	O
)	O
,	O
they	O
must	O
share	O
the	O
same	O
keys	O
or	O
other	O
authentication	O
parameters	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
an	O
ad	B-Protocol
hoc	I-Protocol
mode	I-Protocol
network	O
the	O
WNIC	O
does	O
not	O
require	O
an	O
access	O
point	O
,	O
but	O
rather	O
can	O
interface	O
with	O
all	O
other	O
wireless	O
nodes	B-Protocol
directly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
the	O
nodes	B-Protocol
in	O
an	O
ad	O
hoc	O
network	O
must	O
have	O
the	O
same	O
channel	O
and	O
SSID	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
IEEE	O
802.11	O
standard	O
sets	O
out	O
low-level	O
specifications	O
for	O
how	O
all	O
802.11	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
operate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wireless	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
standards	O
(	O
may	O
include	O
standards	O
such	O
as	O
802.11b	O
,	O
802.11g	O
,	O
802.11n	O
,	O
etc	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
802.11g	O
offers	O
data	O
transfer	B-Device
speeds	I-Device
equivalent	O
to	O
802.11a	O
up	O
to	O
54	O
Mbit/s	O
and	O
the	O
wider	O
range	O
of	O
802.11b	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
backward	O
compatible	O
with	O
802.11b	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
cards	O
do	O
not	O
implement	O
any	O
form	O
of	O
the	O
802.11	O
standard	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Large	O
electrical	O
appliances	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
refrigerators	O
,	O
fuse	O
boxes	O
,	O
metal	O
plumbing	O
,	O
and	O
air	O
conditioning	O
units	O
can	O
impede	O
a	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
signal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Popular	O
example	O
of	O
FullMAC	O
chips	O
is	O
the	O
one	O
implemented	O
on	O
the	O
Raspberry	B-Operating_System
Pi	I-Operating_System
3	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
's	O
mac80211	B-Application
framework	O
provides	O
capabilities	O
for	O
SoftMAC	O
devices	O
and	O
additional	O
capabilities	O
(	O
such	O
as	O
mesh	O
networking	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
known	O
as	O
the	O
IEEE	O
802.11s	O
standard	O
)	O
for	O
devices	O
with	O
limited	O
functionality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FreeBSD	B-Operating_System
also	O
supports	O
SoftMAC	O
drivers	O
.	O
</s>
