Lenovo ThinkPad T520 (English) User Guide - Page 67

Connecting to the network Your computer has one or more network adapters for connecting to the Internet and to your company's wired LAN or wireless LAN network. Note: Some models come with a built-in wireless WAN card enabling you to establish wireless connections over remote public or private networks. Access Connections is a connectivity assistant program for creating and managing location profiles. Each location profile stores all the network and Internet configuration settings needed for connecting to a network infrastructure from a specific location such as a home or an office. Your modem enables you to connect to your network or the Internet from almost anywhere. If your network has a phone line or lines dedicated to dial-up clients, you can use a modem to establish a connection to the LAN. If your network does not have dial-up networking capability (and many do not), you might be able to access some information and e-mail over the Internet. Ethernet connections You can connect to your network or a broadband connection, such as DSL or CATV, by use of the Ethernet feature built into your computer. This feature enables you to do 1Gbps half or full duplex data transmission. To connect to a network via Ethernet, you can use Access Connections. Note: Your computer might have both a modem connector and an Ethernet connector. Be sure to connect your cable to the correct one. Wireless connections Wireless connection is the transfer of data without the use of cables by means of radio waves only. Depending on the frequency used for data transmission, the area covered, or the type of the device used for data transfer, the following categories of wireless networks may be available to you: Wireless LAN A wireless local area network covers a relatively small geographic area, such as an office building or a house. Devices based on the 802.11 standards can connect to this network. Wireless WAN A wireless wide area network covers a broader geographic area. Cellular networks are used for data transmission, and access is provided by a wireless service carrier. Bluetooth One of a number of technologies used to create a wireless personal area network. Bluetooth can connect devices a short distance from one another, and is commonly used for connecting peripheral devices to a computer, transferring data between hand-held devices and PC, or remotely controlling and communicating with devices such as mobile phones. WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) This long-range wireless data transmission technology based on the 802.16 standard is expected to provide the user a "last mile" broadband connectivity similar to that provided by cable or ADSL, but without the need to physically connect a cable to the PC. Chapter 2. Using your computer 49