Wireless Networking

Wireless networking is the new face of networking. Wireless networking have been around for many years. Cell phones are also a type of wireless communication and are popular today for people talking to each other worldwide. Wireless networking are not only less expensive than more traditional wired networking but also much easier to install. An important goal of this site is to provide you adequate knowledge for installing a wireless network and get certified in wireless networks as well as. Perhaps you already useing wireless networking in your local coffee shop, at the airport, or in hotel lobbies, and you want to set up a small office or home network. You already know how great wireless networking is, so you want to enjoy the benefits where you live and work. It is truly transformational to one's lifestyle to decouple computing from the wires! If you are looking to set up a wireless network, you've come to the right place. We will show you the best way to set up wirless network easily. Many people are looking to find out how to use wireless networking at home. In this wireless networking section we provide An Absolute Beginner's Guide provides in the perfect format for easily learning what you need to know to get up to speed with wireless network without wasting a lot of time. The organization of this site, and the special elements that we have described in this section will help you get the information you need quickly, accurately, and with clarity. In this section you will find inspiration as well as practical information. we believe that Wireless networks is a modest technology that has the power to have a huge and positive impact.. This is wonderful material, and it's lots of fun! So what are you waiting for? It's time to Go for wireless networking.

Wireless Basic
Radio Frequency Transmission Factors
Radio frequencies (RF) are generated by antennas that propagate the waves into the air. Antennas fall under two different categories: directional and omni-directional. Directional antennas are commonly used in point-to-point configurations (connecting two distant buildings), and sometimes point-to-multipoint (connecting two WLANs). An example of a directional antenna is a Yagi antenna: this antenna allows you to adjust the direction and focus of the signal to intensify your range/reach. Omni-directional antennas are used in point-to-multipoint configurations, where they distribute the wireless signal to other computers or devices in your WLAN. An access

point would use an omni-directional antenna. These antennas can also be used for point-to-point connections, but they lack the distance that directional antennas supply

Three main factors influence signal distortion:

Absorption Objects that absorb the RF waves, such as walls, ceilings, and floors Scattering Objects that disperse the RF waves, such as rough plaster on a wall, carpet on the floor, or drop-down ceiling tiles Reflection Objects that reflect the RF waves, such as metal and glass

Responsible body
The International Telecommunication Union-Radio Communication Sector (ITU-R) is responsible for managing the radio frequency (RF) spectrum and satellite orbits for wireless communications: its main purpose is to provide for cooperation and coexistence of standards and implementations across country boundaries. Two standards bodies are primarily responsible for implementing WLANs:

IEEE defines the mechanical process of how WLANs are implemented in the 802.11 standards so that vendors can create compatible products. The Wi-Fi Alliance basically certifies companies by ensuring that their products follow the 802.11 standards, thus allowing customers to buy WLAN products from different vendors without having to be concerned about any compatibility issues.

Frequencies bands:
WLANs use three unlicensed bands:

900 MHz Used by older cordless phones 2.4 GHz Used by newer cordless phones, WLANs, Bluetooth, microwaves, and other devices 5 GHz Used by the newest models of cordless phones and WLAN devices 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz frequencies are referred to as the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) bands. 5 GHz frequency the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (UNII) band. Unlicensed bands are still regulated by governments, which might define restrictions in their usage.

A hertz (Hz) is a unit of frequency that measures the change in a state or cycle in a wave (sound or radio) or alternating current (electricity) during 1 second.

Transmission Method
Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) uses one channel to send data across all frequencies within that channel. Complementary Code Keying (CCK) is a method for encoding transmissions for higher data rates, such as 5.5 and 11 Mbps, but it still allows backward compatibility with the original 802.11 standard, which supports only 1 and 2 Mbps speeds. 802.11b and 802.11g support this transmission method. OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) increases data rates by using a spread spectrum: modulation. 802.11a and 802.11g support this transmission method. MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) transmission, which uses DSSS and/or OFDM by spreading its signal across 14 overlapping channels at 5 MHz intervals. 802.11n uses it. Use of 802.11n requires multiple antennas. WLAN Standards Standards Data Rate Throughput Frequency 802.11a 54 Mbps 23 Mbps 5 GHz 802.11b 11 Mbps 4.3 Mbps 2.4 GHz 802.11g 54 Mbps 19 Mbps 2.4 GHz 802.11n 248 Mbps (with 22 antennas) 74 Mbps 2.4 and/or 5 GHz 802.11a, b, and g 70250 14 MIMO

Compatibility Range (meters) Number of Channels Transmission

None

With 802.11g and the original With 802.11b 802.11 38140 Up to 23 DSSS 38140 3 DSSS/OFDM

35120 3 OFDM

Two 802.11 access modes can be used in a WLAN:

Ad hoc mode Infrastructure mode

Ad hoc mode is based on the Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS). In IBSS, clients can set up connections directly to other clients without an intermediate AP. This allows you to set up peer-to-peer network connections and is sometimes used in a SOHO. The main problem with ad hoc mode is that it is difficult to secure since each device you need to connect to will require authentication. This problem, in turn, creates scalability issues. Infrastructure mode was designed to deal with security and scalability issues. In infrastructure mode, wireless clients can communicate with each other, albeit via an AP. Two infrastructure mode implementations are in use:

Basic Service Set (BSS) Extended Service Set (ESS)

In BSS mode, clients connect to an AP, which allows them to communicate with other clients or LANbased resources. The WLAN is identified by a single SSID; however, each AP requires a unique ID, called a Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID), which is the MAC address of the APs wireless card. This mode is commonly used for wireless clients that dont roam, such as PCs. In ESS mode, two or more BSSs are interconnected to allow for larger roaming distances. To make this as transparent as possible to the clients, such as PDAs, laptops, or mobile phones, a single SSID is used among all of the APs. Each AP, however, will have a unique BSSID.

Coverage Areas
A WLAN coverage area includes the physical area in which the RF signal can be sent and received Two types of WLAN coverages are based on the two infrastructure mode implementations:

Basic Service Area (BSA) Extended Service Area (ESA)

The terms BSS and BSA, and ESS and ESA, can be confusing. BSS and ESS refer to the building topology whereas BSA and ESA refer to the actual signal coverage BSA With BSA, a single area called a cell is used to provide coverage for the WLAN clients and AP

ESA With ESA, multiple cells are used to provide for additional coverage over larger distances or to overcome areas that have or signal interference or degradation. When using ESA, remember that each cell should use a different radio channel.

Wireless Networking Security SSID and MAC Address Filtering

How an end user client with a WLAN NIC accesses a LAN

To allow clients to find the AP easily, the AP periodically broadcasts beacons, announcing its (SSID) Service Set Identifier, data rates, and other WLAN information. SSID is a naming scheme for WLANs to allow an administrator to group WLAN devices together. To discover APs, clients will scan all channels and listen for the beacons from the AP(s). By default, the client will associate itself with the AP that has the strongest signal. When the client associates itself with the AP, it sends the SSID, its MAC address, and any other security information that the AP might require based on the authentication method configured on the two devices. Once connected, the client periodically monitors the signal strength of the AP to which it is connected. If the signal strength becomes too low, the client will repeat the scanning process to discover an AP with a stronger signal. This process is commonly called roaming.

SSID and MAC Address Filtering

When implementing SSIDs, the AP and client must use the same SSID value to authenticate. By default, the access point broadcasts the SSID value, advertising its presence, basically allowing anyone access to the AP. Originally, to prevent rogue devices from accessing the AP, the administrator would turn off the SSID broadcast function on the AP, commonly called SSID cloaking. To allow a client to learn the SSID value of the AP, the client would send a null string value in the SSID field of the 802.11 frame and the AP would respond; of course, this defeats the security measure since through this query process, a rogue device could repeat the same process and learn the SSID value. Therefore, the APs were commonly configured to filter traffic based on MAC addresses. The administrator would configure a list of MAC addresses in a security table on the AP, listing those devices allowed access; however, the problem with this solution is that MAC addresses can be seen in clear-text in the airwaves. A rogue device can easily sniff the airwaves, see the valid MAC addresses, and change its MAC address to match

one of the valid ones. This is called MAC address spoofing.

WEP
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) was first security solutions for WLANs that employed encryption. WEP uses a static 64-bit key, where the key is 40 bits long, and a 24-bit initialization vector (IV) is used. IV is sent in clear-text. Because WEP uses RC4 as an encryption algorithm and the IV is sent in clear-text, WEP can be broken. To alleviate this problem, the key was extended to 104 bits with the IV value. However, either variation can easily be broken in minutes on laptops and computers produced today.

802.1x EAP
The Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) is a layer 2 process that allows a wireless client to authenticate to the network. There are two varieties of EAP: one for wireless and one for LAN connections, commonly called EAP over LAN (EAPoL). One of the concerns in wireless is allowing a WLAN client to communicate to devices behind an AP. Three standards define this process: EAP, 802.1x, and Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS). EAP defines a standard way of encapsulating authentication information, such as a username and password or a digital certificate that the AP can use to authenticate the user.802.1x and RADIUS define how to packetize the EAP information to move it across the network.

WPA
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) was designed by the Wi-Fi Alliance as a temporary security solution to provide for the use of 802.1x and enhancements in the use of WEP until the 802.11i standard would be ratified. WPA can operate in two modes: personal and enterprise mode. Personal mode was designed for home or SOHO usage. A preshared key is used for authentication, requiring you to configure the same key on the clients and the AP. With this mode, no authentication server is necessary as it is in the official 802.1 x standards. Enterprise mode is meant for large companies, where an authentication server will centralize the authentication credentials of the clients.

WPA2
WPA2 is the IEEE 802.11i implementation from the Wi-Fi Alliance. Instead of using WEP, which uses the weak RC4 encryption algorithm, the much more secure Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)counter mode CBC-MAC Protocol (CCMP) algorithm is used.

Types of Wireless Networks WLANS WPANS WMANS WWANS

A wireless network enables people to communicate and access applications and information without wires. This provides freedom of movement and the ability to extend applications to different parts of a building, city, or nearly anywhere in the world. Wireless networks allow people to interact with e-mail or browse the Internet from a location that they prefer. Many types of wireless communication systems exist, but a distinguishing attribute of a wireless network is that communication takes place between computer devices. These devices include personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptops, personal computers (PCs), servers, and printers. Computer devices have processors, memory, and a means of interfacing with a particular type of network. Traditional cell phones don't fall within the definition of a computer device; however, newer phones and even audio headsets are beginning to incorporate computing power and network adapters. Eventually, most electronics will offer wireless network connections. As with networks based on wire, or optical fiber, wireless networks convey information between computer devices. The information can take the form of e-mail messages, web pages, database records, streaming video or voice. In most cases, wireless networks transfer data, such as e-mail messages and files, but advancements in the performance of wireless networks is enabling support for video and voice communications as well.

Types of Wireless Networks

WLANS: Wireless Local Area Networks
WLANS allow users in a local area, such as a university campus or library, to form a network or gain access to the internet. A temporary network can be formed by a small number of users without the need of an access point; given that they do not need access to network resources.

WPANS: Wireless Personal Area Networks

The two current technologies for wireless personal area networks are Infra Red (IR) and Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15). These will allow the connectivity of personal devices within an area of about 30 feet. However, IR requires a direct line of site and the range is less.

WMANS: Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks

This technology allows the connection of multiple networks in a metropolitan area such as different buildings in a city, which can be an alternative or backup to laying copper or fiber cabling.

WWANS: Wireless Wide Area Networks

These types of networks can be maintained over large areas, such as cities or countries, via multiple satellite systems or antenna sites looked after by an ISP. These types of systems are referred to as 2G (2nd Generation) systems.

Comparison of Wireless Network Types

Type Coverage Performance Standards Wireless PAN Within reach of a person Moderate Bluetooth, IEEE 802.15, and IrDa Cable replacement for peripherals IEEE 802.11, Wi-Fi, and HiperLAN Applications

Wireless PAN

Within reach of a person

Moderate

Cable replacement for peripherals

Wireless LAN

Within a building or campus

High

Mobile extension of wired networks Fixed wireless between homes and businesses and the Internet Mobile access to the Internet from outdoor areas

Wireless MAN

Within a city High

Proprietary, IEEE 802.16, and WIMAX

Wireless WAN

Worldwide

Low

CDPD and Cellular 2G, 2.5G, and 3G