intro wifi
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AN INTRODUCTION TO W I RELESS-F I DELITY (WI-FI)
1.0 Scope:
Wi-Fi is a registered trademark by the Wi-Fi Alliance. The products tested and
approved as "Wi-Fi Certified" are interoperable with each other, even if they are from
different manufacturer. It is Short form for Wireless-Fidelity and is meant togenerically refer to any type of 802.11 network, whether 802.11b, 802.11a, dual-
band, etc.
2.0 General description of Wi-Fi Network:
A Wi-Fi network provides the features and benefits of traditional LAN technologies
such as Ethernet and Token Ring without the limitations of wires or cables. It provides
the final few metres of connectivity between a wired network and the mobile user
thereby providing mobility, scalability of networks and the speed of installation.
WIFI is a wireless LAN Technology to deliver wireless broad band speeds up to 54
Mbps to Laptops, PCs, PDAs , dual mode wifi enabled phones etc.
In a typical Wi-Fi configuration, a transmitter/receiver (transceiver) device, called the
Access Point (AP), connects to the wired network from a fixed location using standard
cabling. A wireless Access Point combines router and bridging functions, it bridges
network traffic, usually from Ethernet to the airwaves, where it routes to computers
with wireless adapters. The AP can reside at any node of the wired network and acts as
a gateway for wireless data to be routed onto the wired network as shown in Figure-1.
It supports only 10 to 30 mobile devices per Access Point (AP) depending on the
network traffic. Like a cellular system, the Wi-Fi is capable of roaming from the AP
and re-connecting to the network through another AP. The Access Point (or the antenna
attached to the Access Point) is usually mounted high but may be mounted essentially
anywhere that is practical as long as the desired radio coverage is obtained.
Figure -1: A typical Wi-Fi Network.
Like a cellular phone system, the wireless LAN is capable of roaming from the AP and
re-connecting to the network through other APs residing at other points on the wired
network. This can allow the wired LAN to be extended to cover a much larger area than
the existing coverage by the use of multiple APs such as in a campus environment asshown in Figure 2.
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Figure -2: Extending Wi-Fi coverage with multiple APs.
An important feature of the wireless LAN is that it can be used independent of a wired
network. It may be used as a stand alone network anywhere to link multiple computers
together without having to build or extend a wired network. Then a peer to peer
workgroup can be established for transfer or access of data. A member of the
workgroup may be established as the server or the network can act in a peer to peer
mode as Shown in Figure-3.
Figure-3: Wireless LAN workgroup.
End users access the Wi-Fi network through Wi-Fi adapters, which are implemented as
cards in desktop computers, or integrated within hand-held computers. Wi-Fi wireless
LAN adapters provide an interface between the client Network Operating System
(NOS) and the airwaves via an antenna. The nature of the wireless connection is
transparent to the NOS. Wi-Fi deals with fixed, portable and mobile stations and of
course, the physical layers used here are fundamentally different from wired media
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3.0 Wi-Fi Network Configuration:
3.1 A Wireless Peer-To-Peer Network: This mode is also known as ADHOC mode. Wi-
Fi networks can be simple or complex. At its most basic, two PCs equipped with
wireless adapter cards can set up an independent networkwhenever they are within
range of one another. This is called a peer-to-peer network. It requires no administration
or pre-configuration. In this case, each client would only have access to the resources of
the other client and not to a central server as shown in Figure-4.
Figure-4: A Wi-Fi Peer-To-Peer Network.
3.2 Client and Access Point:This is known as INFRASTUCTURE mode and is normally employed. However,
wireless gateway can be configured to enable peer to peer communication in this mode
as well.
In this mode, one Access Point is connected to the wired network and each client
would have access to server resources as well as to other clients. The specific number
client depends on the number and nature of the transmissions involved. Many real-
world applications exist where a single Access Point services from 15 to 50 client
devices as shown in Figure-5.
Figure-5: A Server and Clint Wi-Fi Network.
3.3 Multiple Access Points and Roaming:
Access points can be connected to each other through UTP cable or they can be
connected to each other over radio through wireless bridging. There is an option to
connect access points in a mesh architecture where in event of a fault in an access point
the network heals itself and connectivity is ensured through other access point. This
changeover takes place dynamically.
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Access Points have a finite range, of the order of 500 feet indoor and 1000 feet
outdoors. In a very large facility such as a warehouse, or on a college campus, it will
probably be necessary to install more than one Access Point. Access Point positioning
is done by a site survey. The goal is to blanket the coverage area with overlapping
coverage cells so that clients might range throughout the area without ever losing
network contact. The ability of clients to move seamlessly among a cluster of Access
Points is called roaming. Access Points hand the client off from one to another in a way
that is invisible to the client, ensuring unbroken connectivity as shown in Fig-6.
Figure-6: Multiple Access Points and Roaming.
3.4 Use of an Extension Point: To solve particular problems of topology, the network
designer some times uses Extension Points (EPs) to augment the network of Access
Points (APs). Extension Points look and function like Access Points, but they are not
tethered to the wired network as are APs. EPs function just as their name implies: they
extend the range of the network by relaying signals from a client to an AP or another
EP. EPs may be strung together in order to pass along messaging from an AP to far-
flung clients as shown in Figure-7.
Figure -7: Wi-Fi network with Extension Point (EP).
3.5 The Use of Directional Antennae: One last item of wireless LAN equipment to
consider is the directional antenna. Lets suppose you had a Wi-Fi network in your
building-A and wanted to extend it to a leased building-B, one mile away. One solution
might be to install a directional antenna on each building, each antenna targeting the
other.
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The antenna on A is connected to your wired network via an Access Point. The antenna
on B is similarly connected to an Access Point in that building, which enables Wi-Fi
network connectivity in that facility as shown in Figure-8.
Figure-8: A Wi-Fi network using Directional Antennae.
4.0 Benefits of Wi-Fi:
In a Wi-Fi users can access shared information without looking for a place to plug in,
and network managers can set up or augment networks without installing or moving
wires. Wi-Fi offers the following productivity, conveniences, and cost advantages over
traditional wired networks:
Mobility: Wi-Fi systems can provide LAN users with access to real-
time information anywhere in their organization. This mobility supports
productivity and service opportunities not possible with wired networks.
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: While the initial investment required
for Wi-Fi hardware can be higher than the cost of wired LAN hardware, overall
installation expenses and life-cycle costs can be significantly lower. Long-term
cost benefits are greatest in dynamic environments requiring frequent moves,
adds, and changes.
Scalability: Wi-Fi systems can be configured in a variety of
topologies to meet the needs of specific applications and installations.Configurations are easily changed and range from peer-to-peer networks
suitable for a small number of users to full infrastructure networks of thousands
of users that allows roaming over a broad area.
It offers much high speed upto 54 Mbps which is very much greater
than other wireless access technologies like CORDECT, GSM and CDMA.
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5.0 Limitation of Wi-Fi networks:
The key areas of limitation of Wi-Fi are:
Coverage: A single Access Point can cover, at best, a radius of only about 60 metres.
Hundreds of Access Points are necessary to provide seamless coverage in small area.
For 10 square kms area roughly 650 Access Points are required, where as CDMA 20001xEV-DO requires just 09 sites.
Roaming: It lacks roaming between different networks hence wide spread coverage by
one service provider is not possible, which is the key to success of wireless technology.
Backhaul: Backhaul directly affects data rate service provider used Cable or DSL for
backhaul. Wi-Fi real world data rates are at least half of the their theoretical peak rates
due to factors such as signal strength, interference and radio overhead .Backhaul
reduces the remaining throughput further.
Interference: Wi-Fi uses unlicensed spectrum, which mean no regulator recourse
against interference. The most popular type of Wi-Fi, 802.11b uses the crowded 2.4GHz band which is already used in Bluetooth, cordless phones and microwave ovens.
Security: Wi-Fi Access Points and modems use the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
Standards, which is very susceptible to hacking and eavesdropping.
Security: WEP( Wired Equivalent Privacy) is not very secure. WPA (WIFI Protected
Access) offers much better security with the help of dynamic key encryption and
mutual authentication.
Authentication, Authorization and Accounting: In a server based configuration
whenever a laptop enters into a wifi zone, a welcome page is sent to it. User enters
username and password. It is connected through the wireless gateway(router) to AAA,
LDAP servers. Once authenticated ,user can access sites of his choice. Prepaid and
postpaid customers can be billed.
6.0 Abbreviations:
1. LAN: Local Area Network.2. AP: Access Point.
3. EP: Extension Point.
4. ISM: Industrial scientific & medical
5. MAC: Media Access Control.
6. CSMA/CA: Carrier Sense multiple Access with Collision Avoidance.7. CDMA 2000 1x EV-DO: CDMA 2000 1x Evolution Version Data Only.
8. IEEE: Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers.
9. OSI: Open systems Interconnect.
10. WEP: Wireless Equivalent Privacy.
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