wireless 802,11 b router -- radio path through router?

I was trying to figure out how 802.11b works with routers? If I two
laptops with wireless cards and an access point, does the data between
the two laptops go through the access point? Or do they talk
directly?

If they go through the access point it seems you could talk over a
larger distance, i.e. Router/Access point in the middle of the circle?

Thanks,
Jon

Jon.boston typed this:

> I was trying to figure out how 802.11b works with routers? If I two
> laptops with wireless cards and an access point, does the data between
> the two laptops go through the access point? Or do they talk
> directly?
>
> If they go through the access point it seems you could talk over a
> larger distance, i.e. Router/Access point in the middle of the circle?
>
> Thanks,
> Jon

Believe Ad Hoc is PC to PC (not sure that "if" a router was present it
would still be direct though) - the 'infrastructure' based ROUTER
present connection (to my knowledge) indicates that signals and
connections run THROUGH the router/access point. And the distances
are not totally spherical (there are 'signal' parameters that conform
the area more parabollically [sp]) - but you can have the distances
"added" up through the router. Just my understanding. HTH.

--
Rich "Doc" Colley

mailto: pc-dc-(E-Mail Removed)

If you are in infrastructure mode then it goes though the access point,
which means in theory, yes - one could be 500' west, one could be 500' east,
and the two could 'talk'.

Dont confuse physical layer with network transport and protocols.... just
like saying do two computers talk to each other if they are wired through a
hub - YES , they talk 'directly' to each other, but the 'signal' is carried
on the wire through the hub and out to the other computer.

"Jon.boston" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) m...
> I was trying to figure out how 802.11b works with routers? If I two
> laptops with wireless cards and an access point, does the data between
> the two laptops go through the access point? Or do they talk
> directly?
>
> If they go through the access point it seems you could talk over a
> larger distance, i.e. Router/Access point in the middle of the circle?
>
> Thanks,
> Jon