Distributed access
F
igure 5 below shows an arrangement in which the functions of the central location are limited to account administration. Access control is devolved to the access point.
Figure 5: Elements of distributed access control
The observant reader will observe that LI has become very difficult. The central function has no knowledge of when an account is active. Such arrangements could support a pre-pay service, or an account-based service using cryptographic tickets11.
Other issues Service areas
Typically, an access point will serve a large public area, such as a railway station concourse or a hotel lobby. Sometimes a number of physical access points will be connected and operated in such a way as to appear as, logically, a single access point.
A hotel might have an AP in the lobby, but also wish to offer serviced in-room to its clientele. Usually, this will require extra access points whose cost would be paid for from the increase in revenue which extra coverage brings.
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