Importance of Wireless Technologies

Wireless connection to internet is very common these days. Often an external modem is connected to the Internet and other devices connect to it wirelessly. This Removed the need for last mile or first mile wiring. There are two ways of connecting to the Internet wirelessly – Wi-Fi and WiMAx. What are Basic Wireless Devices? 1. Wireless Access Points, 2. Wireless Network Interface Card (WNIC), 3. Wireless Antennas • Wireless Access Points In the wireless networks, you’ll find a central component such as a switch that’s there to connect hosts together and allow them to communicate with each other. Only that device is known as a wireless access point (AP) instead. • Wireless Network Interface Card (WNIC) Every host you want to connect to a wireless network needs a wireless network interface card (WNIC) to do so. Basically, a wireless NIC does the same job as a traditional Ethernet NIC, only instead of having a socket/port to plug a cable into; the wireless NIC has a radio antenna. It would be difficult to buy a laptop today without a wireless card already built in. Wireless Antennas Wireless antennas work with both transmitters and receivers. There are two broad classes of antennas on the market today: omnidirectional (or). Wireless access points have at least one antenna. Usually there’s two for better reception (referred to as diversity) and an Ethernet port to connect them to a wired network What do you mean by Wi-Fi? Wi-Fi is the acronym for wireless fidelity. Wi-Fi technology is used to achieve connection to the Internet without a direct cable between device and Internet Service Provider. Wi-Fi enabled device and wireless router are required for setting up a Wi-Fi connection. These are some characteristics of wireless Internet connection − • Range of 100 yards • Insecure connection • Throughput of 10-12 Mbps If a PC or laptop does not have Wi-Fi capacity, it can be added using a Wi-Fi card. Computer networks are an integral part of our personal and professional lives because we carry out lots of day-to-day activities through the Internet or local organizational network. The downside of this is that huge amount of data, from official documents to personal details, gets shared over the network. So it becomes necessary to ensure that the data is not accessed by unauthorized people. Practices adopted to monitor and prevent unauthorized access and misuse of network resources and data on them is called network security. A network has two components – hardware and software. Both these components have their own vulnerability to threats. Threat is a possible risk that might exploit a network weakness to breach security and cause harm. Examples of hardware threats include − • Improper installation • Use of unsecure components • Electromagnetic interference from external sources • Extreme weather conditions • Lack of disaster planning Hardware threats form only 10% of network security threats worldwide because the components need to be accessed physically. 90% threats are through software vulnerabilities. Here we discuss the major types of software security threats. Wireless Security • Open Access All Wi-Fi Certified wireless LAN products are shipped in “open-access” mode, with their security features turned off. While open access or no security may be appropriate and acceptable for public hot spots such as coffee shops, college campuses, and maybe airports, it’s definitely not an option for an enterprise organization, and likely not even adequate for your private home network. • SSIDs, WEP, and MAC Address Authentication SSID Authentication- Two types of authentication were specified by the IEEE 802.11 committee: open authentication and shared-key authentication. Open authentication involves little more than supplying the correct SSID—but it’s the most common method in use today. WEP Authentication- WEP is a type of shared-key authentication With shared-key authentication, the access point sends the client device a challenge-text packet that the client must then encrypt with the correct Wired Equivalency Privacy (WEP) key and return to the access point. Without the correct key, authentication will fail and the client won’t be allowed to associate with the access point. Without the correct key, authentication will fail and the client won’t be allowed to associate with the access point MAC Address Authentication- Last, client MAC addresses can be statically typed into each access point, and any of them that show up without that MAC addresses in the filter table would be denied access. Sounds good, but of course all MAC layer information must be sent in the clear—anyone equipped with a free wireless sniffer can just read the client packets sent to the access point and spoof their MAC address. Wireless technology offers speed, flexibility, and network efficiency. It has become a powerful tool for tech-savvy generation as it facilitates easy information sharing and boosts productivity. Benefits of Wireless networking. 1. Increased Mobility: Wireless networks allow mobile users to access real-time information so they can roam around your company’s space without getting disconnected from the network. This increases teamwork and productivity company-wide that is not possible with traditional networks. 2. Installation Speed and Simplicity: Installing a wireless network system reduces cables, which are cumbersome to setup and can impose a safety risk, should employees’ trip on them. It can also be installed quickly and easily, when compared to a traditional network. 3. Wider Reach of the Network: The Wireless network can be extended to places in your organization that are not accessible for wires and cables. 4. More Flexibility: Should your network change in the future, you can easily update the wireless network to meet new configurations. 5. Reduced Cost of Ownership over Time: Wireless networking may carry a slightly higher initial investment, but the overall expenses over time are lower. It also may have a longer lifecycle than a traditionally connected network. 6. Increased Scalability: Wireless systems can be specifically configured to meet the needs of specific applications. These can be easily changed and scaled depending on your organization’s needs.