about 802.11

hey all,
while going through 802.11b spec i came across ,something called contention window.What does it mean and what is its significance?

Hi there

There is two types of ways that Access Points and Clients can organise the order in which station can transmitt data without collisions. There is "Contention Period" where its a first come/first served with random backof slot times, if they support it there can be a "Contention-Free Period" where the Access Point will poll stations one at a time to transmitt data, if they support it the clients can get higher priority if they want. These are the only contention windows I have heard of.
Unless you have alot of clients I would not worry about it.

All the best
Dale