Wireless Fidelity(Wi-Fi): Technology And Applications

Presented by:

Anirban Das Purboday Ghosh Sayantan Mitra

Table of Contents:
Introduction A Brief Historical Background A Basic Wireless LAN Network Wi-Fi Network Topologies Internationally Accepted Standards of Wi-Fi Advantages Of Wifi Limitations Of Wifi Security And Wifi: An Overview Applications Cost Where To Start Wi-Max: The Next Frontier For Wireless Networks

Wi-Fi: Technology And Applications

Introduction
Wi-Fi is an abbreviation for Wireless Fidelity and a catch all phrase for the several different standards and recommendations that comprise wireless networking. Wi-Fi enables the user to deploy a computer network without needing to run cable throughout the facility.

A Brief Historical Background

802.11 technology has its origins in a 1985 ruling by the US Federal Communications Commission that released the ISM band for unlicensed use. In 1991, NCR Corporation with AT&T Corporation invented the precursor to 802.11 intended for use in cashier systems. The first wireless products were under the name WaveLAN. Vic Hayes has been called the "father of Wi-Fi In 1999, the Wi-Fi Alliance was formed as a trade association to hold the Wi-Fi trademark under which most products are sold. The key technologies behind Wi-Fi were developed by the radio astronomer John O'Sullivan The term Wi-Fi, first used commercially in August 1999. The yin-yang Wi-Fi logo indicates the certification of a product for interoperability.

A Basic Wireless LAN Network

Components Of a Wireless Network

Access Points NICs Network Interface Cards

PCMCIA USB PCI CompactFlash

Other Wireless Devices

Bridges and Routers Print Servers

PCs, Laptops, PDAs

Components Of A Wireless Network(contd..)

Stations A station (STA) is a network node that is equipped with a wireless network device. A personal computer with a wireless network adapter is known as a wireless client. Wireless clients can communicate directly with each other or through a wireless access point (AP). Wireless clients are mobile. Wireless APs A wireless AP is a wireless network node that acts as a bridge between STAs and a wired network. The wireless AP is similar to a cellular phone network's base station. Wireless clients communicate with both the wired network and other wireless clients through the wireless AP. Ports A port is a channel of a device that can support a single point-topoint connection. A typical wireless AP has multiple ports and can simultaneously support multiple wireless connections.

Wi-Fi Network Topologies

Ad-hoc Mode : Peer-to-Peer based topology. Infrastructure Mode : Access Point based topology.

Ad-hoc Mode
Peer-to-peer setup where clients can connect to each other directly. Generally not used for business networks. Its set up for a special purpose and for a short period of time.

Infrastructure Mode
There is an Access Point (AP), which becomes the hub of a star topology. Any communication has to go through AP. If a Mobile Station (MS), like a computer, a PDA, or a phone, wants to communicate with another MS, it needs to send the information to AP first, then AP sends it to the destination MS. Multiple APs can be connected together and handle a large number of clients. Used by the majority of WLANs in homes and businesses.

Access Point

Internationally Accepted Standards Of Wi-Fi

IEEE has devised a set of universally accepted standards for Wi-Fi networks which are collectively known as the 802.11x Protocol.

Standards (contd..)
Protocol Release date Frequency (GHz) Band width (MHz ) Data Rate per Stream (Mbit/s ) Up to 54 Up to 11 Range (feet)

802.11a 802.11b

June 1997 Sep 1999

5 2.4

20 20

50-75 100-150

802.11g
802.11n

June 2003

2.4

20
20/40

Up to 54

100-150

Oct 2009 2.4/5

Up to >150 72.2 for 20 MHz & 150 for 40 MHz

Comparitive Features Of Various Protocols

802.11b is the most widely used wireless protocol. 802.11a uses 5GHz Frequency band which is less crowded than 2.4 GHz band. Hence it allows more channels, reducing radio and microwave interference. Cost of 802.11a is more than 802.11b 802.11a is not backward compatible with 802.11b. 802.11g is backward compatible with 802.11b and is used in modern laptops.

Advantages of Wi-Fi
Mobility: Wi-Fi systems can provide LAN users with access to realtime information anywhere in their organization Installation Speed and Simplicity: Installing a Wi-Fi system can be fast and easy and can eliminate the need to pull cable through walls and ceilings. Installation Flexibility: Wireless technology allows the network to go where wire cannot go. Reduced Cost-of-Ownership: Long term cost is lesser than wired networks. Speed: It offers much high speed up to 54 Mbps which is very much greater than other wireless access technologies like CORDECT, GSM and CDMA.

Limitations Of Wi-Fi
Limited Coverage: 300 ft. effective range from access point.

1400 ft maximum range.

Interference: Structural Interference as well as interference from other wireless devices. Security: Wi-Fi Access Points and modems use the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) Standards, which is very susceptible to hacking and eavesdropping. Backhaul: Backhaul generally refers to the side of the network that communicates with the global Internet. Backhaul reduces the remaining throughput further.

Applications Of Wi-Fi
Any application currently used on a traditional wired network can be used on a wireless network. New applications may be available or can be developed to take advantage of wireless, such as Wireless PDA access to a card catalog.

Security And Wi-Fi: An Overview

Wireless networks are inherently vulnerable to security breaches and violation of privacy. Wired Equivalency Privacy(WEP) was the security standard for WLAN. It was succeeded by the first version of Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), which uses Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) encryption and is a step up from WEP.

Security(contd)
To keep the network private and secure, one or both of the following methods can be used:
Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2 (WPA2) is the successor to WEP and WPA, and is now the recommended security standard for Wi-Fi networks. It uses either TKIP or Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption, depending upon what you choose at setup. AES is considered the most secure.

Media Access Control (MAC) address filtering restricts the number of machines which can connect to the router based in the hardware MAC address.

Cost
802.11b Wireless Access Points start around $130.00 for basic connectivity and run up to $500.00 for more management features.
802.11b Network Interface Cards (NICs) cost between $50-$100 and come in USB, PCI, PCMCIA and CompactFlash versions.

Where to Start
Evaluate the need. Assess current security and future needs. Assess the environment. Choose a standard. Ask for help.

Wi-Max: The Next Frontier For Wireless Networks

Wi-MAX is an acronym that stands for World-wide Interoperability for Microwave Access and this technology is designed to accommodate both fixed and mobile broadband applications. Wi-MAX occupies a somewhat middle ground between Wi-Fi and 3G technologies when compared in the key dimensions of data rate, coverage, QoS(Quality of Service), mobility, and price.

Thank You for your patience.