All you need to know about the differences and alikes of Wirless B and Wireless G:
IEEE 802.11
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IEEE 802.11, the Wi-Fi standard, denotes a set of Wireless LAN/WLAN standards developed by working group 11 of the IEEE LAN/MAN Standards Committee (IEEE 802). The term 802.11x is also used to denote this set of standards, and is not to be mistaken for any one of its elements. There is no single 802.11x standard. The term IEEE 802.11 is also used to refer to the original 802.11, which is now sometimes called "802.11legacy." For the application of these standards see Wi-Fi.
A Cisco Aironet 1200 Access Point
A Compaq 802.11b PCI cardThe 802.11 family currently includes six over-the-air modulation techniques that all use the same protocol, the most popular (and prolific) techniques are those defined by the b, a, and g amendments to the original standard; security was originally included, and was later enhanced via the 802.11i amendment. Other standards in the family (c–f, h–j, n) are service enhancement and extensions, or corrections to previous specifications. 802.11b was the first widely accepted wireless networking standard, followed (somewhat counterintuitively) by 802.11a and 802.11g.
802.11b and 802.11g standards use the 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band, operating under Part 15 of the FCC Rules and Regulations. The 802.11a standard uses the 5 GHz band. Operating in the 2.4 gigahertz frequency band, 802.11b and 802.11g equipment can incur interference from microwave ovens, cordless telephones, Bluetooth devices, and other appliances using the same 2.4 GHz band.
Which part of the radio frequency spectrum may be used varies between countries, with the strictest limitations in the USA. While it is true that in the USA 802.11a and g devices may be legally operated without a license, it is not true that 802.11a and g operate in an unlicensed portion of the radio frequency spectrum. Unlicensed (legal) operation of 802.11 a & g is covered under Part 15 of the FCC Rules and Regulations. Frequencies used by channels one (1) through six (6) (802.11b) fall within the range of the 2.4 gigahertz Amateur Radio band. Licensed amateur radio operators may operate 802.11b devices under Part 97 of the FCC Rules and Regulations that apply.
Contents [hide]
1 Protocols
1.1 802.11 legacy
1.2 802.11b
1.2.1 Channels and international compatibility
1.3 802.11a
1.4 802.11g
1.5 Non-Standard Channel Bonding
1.6 802.11n
2 Certification
3 Standards
3.1 Standard or Amendment?
4 Community networks
5 Security
6 See also
7 External links
8 References
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Protocols
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802.11 legacy
The original version of the standard IEEE 802.11 released in 1997 specifies two raw data rates of 1 and 2 megabits per second (Mbit/s) to be transmitted via infrared (IR) signals or in the Industrial Scientific Medical frequency band at 2.4 GHz. IR remains a part of the standard but has no actual implementations.
The original standard also defines Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) as the media access method. A significant percentage of the available raw channel capacity is sacrificed (via the CSMA/CA mechanisms) in order to improve the reliability of data transmissions under diverse and adverse environmental conditions.
At least five different, somewhat-interoperable, commercial products appeared using the original specification, from companies like Alvarion (PRO.11 and BreezeAccess-II), Netwave Technologies (AirSurfer Plus and AirSurfer Pro), Symbol Technologies (Spectrum24), and Proxim (OpenAir). A weakness of this original specification was that it offered so many choices that interoperability was sometimes challenging to realize. It is really more of a "meta-specification" than a rigid specification, allowing individual product vendors the flexibility to differentiate their products. Legacy 802.11 was rapidly supplemented (and popularized) by 802.11b. Widespread adoption of 802.11 networks only occurred after 802.11b was ratified and as a result few networks ran on the 802.11 standard.
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802.11b
The 802.11b amendment to the original standard was ratified in 1999. 802.11b has a maximum raw data rate of 11 Mbit/s and uses the same CSMA/CA media access method defined in the original standard. Due to the CSMA/CA protocol overhead, in practice the maximum 802.11b throughput that an application can achieve is about 5.9 Mbit/s over TCP and 7.1 Mbit/s over UDP.
802.11b products appeared on the market very quickly, since 802.11b is a direct extension of the DSSS (Direct-sequence spread spectrum) modulation technique defined in the original standard. Technically, the 802.11b standard uses Complementary code keying (CCK) as its modulation technique, which is a variation on CDMA. Hence, chipsets and products were easily upgraded to support the 802.11b enhancements. The dramatic increase in throughput of 802.11b (compared to the original standard) along with substantial price reductions led to the rapid acceptance of 802.11b as the definitive wireless LAN technology.
802.11b is usually used in a point-to-multipoint configuration, wherein an access point communicates via an omni-directional antenna with one or more clients that are located in a coverage area around the access point. Typical indoor range is 30 m at 11 Mbit/s and 90 m at 1 Mbit/s. With high-gain external antennas, the protocol can also be used in fixed point-to-point arrangements, typically at ranges up to eight kilometers (km) although some report success at ranges up to 80–120 km where line of sight can be established. This is usually done in place of costly leased lines or very cumbersome microwave communications equipment. Designers of such installations who wish to remain within the law must however be careful about legal limitations on effective radiated power.
802.11b cards can operate at 11 Mbit/s, but will scale back to 5.5, then 2, then 1 Mbit/s (a.k.a Adaptive Rate Selection), if signal quality becomes an issue. Since the lower data rates use less complex and more redundant methods of encoding the data, they are less susceptible to corruption due to interference and signal attenuation. Extensions have been made to the 802.11b protocol (e.g., channel bonding and burst transmission techniques) in order to increase speed to 22, 33, and 44 Mbit/s, but the extensions are proprietary and have not been endorsed by the IEEE. Many companies call enhanced versions "802.11b+". These extensions have been largely obviated by the development of 802.11g, which has data rates up to 54 Mbit/s and is backwards-compatible with 802.11b.
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Channels and international compatibility
802.11b and 802.11g divide the spectrum into 14 overlapping, staggered channels whose center frequencies are 5 megahertz (MHz) apart. It is a common misconception that channels 1, 6 and 11 (and, if available in the regulatory domain, channel 14) do not overlap and those channels (or other sets with similar gaps) can be used so that multiple networks can operate in close proximity without interfering with each other, but this statement is somewhat over-simplified. The 802.11b and 802.11g standards do not specify the width of a channel; rather, they specify the center frequency of the channel and a spectral mask for that channel. The spectral mask for 802.11b requires that the signal be attenuated by at least 30 dB from its peak energy at ±11 MHz from the center frequency, and attenuated by at least 50 dB from its peak energy at ±22 MHz from the center frequency.
Since the spectral mask only defines power output restrictions up to ±22 MHz from the center frequency, it is often assumed that the energy of the channel extends no further than these limits. In reality, if the transmitter is sufficiently powerful, the signal can be quite strong even beyond the ±22 MHz point. Therefore, it is incorrect to say that channels 1, 6, and 11 do not overlap. It is more correct to say that, given the separation between channels 1, 6, and 11, the signal on any channel should be sufficiently attenuated to minimally interfere with a transmitter on any other channel. However, this is not universally true; for example, a powerful transmitter on channel 1 can easily overwhelm a weaker transmitter on channel 6. In one lab test, throughput on a file transfer on channel 11 decreased slightly when a similar transfer began on channel 1, indicating that even channels 1 and 11 can interfere with each other to some extent.
Although the statement that channels 1, 6, and 11 are "non-overlapping" is incomplete, the 1, 6, 11 guideline has merit. If transmitters are closer together than channels 1, 6, and 11 (e.g. 1, 4, 7, and 10), overlap between the channels will probably cause unacceptable degradation of signal quality and throughput.
The channels that are available for use in a particular country differ according to the regulations of that country. In the United States, for example, FCC regulations only allow channels 1 through 11 to be used. In Europe channels 1-13 are licensed for 802.11b operation but allow lower transmitted power (only 100mW) to reduce the interference with other ISM band users.
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802.11a
The 802.11a amendment to the original standard was ratified in 1999. The 802.11a standard uses the same core protocol as the original standard, operates in 5 GHz band, and uses a 52-subcarrier orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) with a maximum raw data rate of 54 Mbit/s, which yields realistic net achievable throughput in the mid-20 Mbit/s. The data rate is reduced to 48, 36, 24, 18, 12, 9 then 6 Mbit/s if required. 802.11a has 12 non-overlapping channels, 8 dedicated to indoor and 4 to point to point. It is not interoperable with 802.11b, except if using equipment that implements both standards.
Since the 2.4 GHz band is heavily used, using the 5 GHz band gives 802.11a the advantage of less interference. However, this high carrier frequency also brings disadvantages. It restricts the use of 802.11a to almost line of sight, necessitating the use of more access points; it also means that 802.11a cannot penetrate as far as 802.11b since it is absorbed more readily, other things (such as power) being equal.
Different countries have different regulatory support, although a 2003 World Radiotelecommunications Conference made it easier for use worldwide. 802.11a is now approved by regulations in the United States and Japan, but in other areas, such as the European Union, it had to wait longer for approval. European regulators were considering the use of the European HIPERLAN standard, but in mid-2002 cleared 802.11a for use in Europe. In the US, a mid-2003 FCC decision may open more spectrum to 802.11a channels.
Of the 52 OFDM subcarriers, 48 are for data and 4 are pilot subcarriers with a carrier separation of 0.3125 MHz (20 MHz/64). Each of these subcarriers can be a BPSK, QPSK, 16-QAM or 64-QAM. The total bandwidth is 20 MHz with an occupied bandwidth of 16.6 MHz. Symbol duration is 4 microseconds with a guard interval of 0.8 microseconds. The actual generation and decoding of orthogonal components is done in baseband using DSP which is then upconverted to 5 GHz at the transmitter. Each of the subcarriers could be represented as a complex number. The time domain signal is generated by taking an Inverse Fast Fourier transform (IFFT). Correspondingly the receiver downconverts, samples at 20 MHz and does an FFT to retrieve the original coefficients. The advantages of using OFDM include reduced multipath effects in reception and increased spectral efficiency.
802.11a products started shipping in 2001, lagging 802.11b products due to the slow availability of the 5 GHz components needed to implement products. 802.11a was not widely adopted overall because 802.11b was already widely adopted, because of 802.11a's disadvantages, because of poor initial product implementations, making its range even shorter, and because of regulations. Manufacturers of 802.11a equipment responded to the lack of market success by improving the implementations (current-generation 802.11a technology has range characteristics much closer to those of 802.11b), and by making technology that can use more than one 802.11 standard. There are dual-band, or dual-mode or tri-mode cards that can automatically handle 802.11a and b, or a, b and g, as available. Similarly, there are mobile adapters and access points which can support all these standards simultaneously.
Data rate
(Mbit/s) Modulation Coding rate Ndbps 1472 byte
transfer duration
(µs)
6 BPSK 1/2 24 2012
9 BPSK 3/4 36 1344
12 4-QAM 1/2 48 1008
18 4-QAM 3/4 72 672
24 16-QAM 1/2 96 504
36 16-QAM 3/4 144 336
48 64-QAM 2/3 192 252
54 64-QAM 3/4 216 224
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802.11g
In June 2003, a third modulation standard was ratified: 802.11g. This flavour works in the 2.4 GHz band (like 802.11b) but operates at a maximum raw data rate of 54 Mbit/s, or about 24.7 Mbit/s net throughput like 802.11a. 802.11g hardware will work with 802.11b hardware. Details of making b and g work well together occupied much of the lingering technical process. In older networks, however, the presence of an 802.11b participant significantly reduces the speed of an 802.11g network. The modulation scheme used in 802.11g is orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) for the data rates of 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 54 Mbit/s, and reverts to (like the 802.11b standard) CCK for 5.5 and 11 Mbit/s and DBPSK/DQPSK+DSSS for 1 and 2 Mbit/s. Even though 802.11g operates in the same frequency band as 802.11b, it can achieve higher data rates because of its similarities to 802.11a.
The 802.11g standard swept the consumer world of early adopters starting in January 2003, well before ratification. The corporate users held back and Cisco and other big equipment makers waited until ratification. By summer 2003, announcements were flourishing. Most of the dual-band 802.11a/b products became dual-band/tri-mode, supporting a, b, and g in a single mobile adaptor card or access point. Despite its major acceptance, 802.11g suffers from the same interference as 802.11b in the already crowded 2.4 GHz range. Devices operating in this range include microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, and cordless telephones.
While 802.11g held the promise of higher throughput, actual results were degraded by a number of factors: conflict with 802.11b-only devices (see above), exposure to the same interference sources as 802.11b, limited channelization (only 3 fully non-overlapping channels like 802.11b) and the fact that the higher data rates of 802.11g are often more susceptible to interference than 802.11b, causing the 802.11g device to reduce the data rate to effectively the same rates used by 802.11b. The move to dual-mode/tri-mode products also carries with it economies of scale (e.g. single chip manufacturing). For the consumer, dual-band/tri-mode products ensure the best possible throughput in any given environment.
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Non-Standard Channel Bonding
Chipmaker Atheros sells a proprietary channel bonding feature called Super G[1] for manufacturers of access points and client cards. This feature can boost network speeds up to 108 Mbit/s by using channel bonding. Also range is increased to 4x the range of 802.11g and 20x the range of 802.11b. This feature may interfere with other networks and may not support all b and g client cards. In addition, packet bursting techniques are also available in some chipsets and products which will also considerably increase speeds. This feature may not be compatible with other equipment. Broadcom, another chipmaker, developed a competing proprietary frame bursting feature called "125 High Speed Mode"[2] or Linksys "SpeedBooster", in response to criticism of Super G's interference potential.
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802.11n
In January 2004 IEEE announced that it had formed a new 802.11 Task Group (TGn) to develop a new amendment to the 802.11 standard for local-area wireless networks. The real data throughput is estimated to reach a theoretical 540 Mbit/s (which may require an even higher raw data rate at the physical layer), and should be up to 40 times faster than 802.11b, and near 10 times faster than 802.11a or 802.11g. It is projected that 802.11n will also offer a better operating distance than current networks.
There were two competing proposals of the 802.11n standard: WWiSE (World-Wide Spectrum Efficiency), backed by companies including Broadcom, and TGn Sync backed by Intel and Philips.
Previous competitors TGnSync, WWiSE, and a third group, MITMOT, said in late July 2005 that they would merge their respective proposals as a draft which would be sent to the IEEE in September; a final version will be submitted in November. The standardization process is expected to be completed by the second half of 2006.
802.11n builds upon previous 802.11 standards by adding MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output). MIMO uses multiple transmitter and receiver antennas to allow for increased data throughput through spatial multiplexing and increased range by exploiting the spatial diversity, perhaps through coding schemes like Alamouti coding.
The Enhanced Wireless Consortium (EWC)[3] was formed to help accelerate the IEEE 802.11n development process and promote a technology specification for interoperability of next-generation wireless local area networking (WLAN) products.
On January 19, 2006, the IEEE 802.11n Working Group approved the EWC's specification as the draft approval of 802.11n.
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Certification
Because the IEEE only sets specifications but does not test equipment for compliance with them, a trade group called the Wi-Fi Alliance runs a certification program that members pay to participate in. Virtually all companies selling 802.11 equipment are members. The Wi-Fi trademark, owned by the group and usable only on compliant equipment, is intended to guarantee interoperability. Currently, "Wi-Fi" can mean any of 802.11a, b, or g. As of fall 2003, Wi-Fi also includes the security standard Wi-Fi Protected Access or WPA. Eventually "Wi-Fi" will also mean equipment which implements the IEEE 802.11i security standard (aka WPA2). Products that say they are Wi-Fi are supposed to also indicate the frequency band in which they operate (2.4 or 5 GHz).
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Standards
The following IEEE Standards and task groups exist within the IEEE 802.11 working group:
IEEE 802.11 - The original 1 Mbit/s and 2 Mbit/s, 2.4 GHz RF and IR standard (1999)
IEEE 802.11a - 54 Mbit/s, 5 GHz standard (1999, shipping products in 2001)
IEEE 802.11b - Enhancements to 802.11 to support 5.5 and 11 Mbit/s (1999)
IEEE 802.11c - Bridge operation procedures; included in the IEEE 802.1D standard (2001)
IEEE 802.11d - International (country-to-country) roaming extensions (2001)
IEEE 802.11e - Enhancements: QoS, including packet bursting (2005)
IEEE 802.11F - Inter-Access Point Protocol (2003) Withdrawn 2005
IEEE 802.11g - 54 Mbit/s, 2.4 GHz standard (backwards compatible with b) (2003)
IEEE 802.11h - Spectrum Managed 802.11a (5 GHz) for European compatibility (2004)
IEEE 802.11i - Enhanced security (2004)
IEEE 802.11j - Extensions for Japan (2004)
IEEE 802.11k - Radio resource measurement enhancements
IEEE 802.11l - (reserved, typologically unsound)
IEEE 802.11m - Maintenance of the standard; odds and ends.
IEEE 802.11n - Higher throughput improvements
IEEE 802.11o - (reserved, typologically unsound)
IEEE 802.11p - WAVE - Wireless Access for the Vehicular Environment (such as ambulances and passenger cars)
IEEE 802.11q - (reserved, typologically unsound, can be confused with 802.1Q VLAN trunking)
IEEE 802.11r - Fast roaming
IEEE 802.11s - ESS Mesh Networking
IEEE 802.11T - Wireless Performance Prediction (WPP) - test methods and metrics
IEEE 802.11u - Interworking with non-802 networks (e.g., cellular)
IEEE 802.11v - Wireless network management
IEEE 802.11w - Protected Management Frames
IEEE 802.11x - reserved
IEEE 802.11y - Contention Based Protocol
Note - there is no standard or task group named "802.11x". Rather, this term is used informally to denote any current or future 802.11 standard, in cases where further precision is not necessary. (The IEEE 802.1X standard for port-based network access control, is often mistakenly called "802.11x" when used in the context of wireless networks.)
Note - 802.11F and 802.11T are recommendations, not standards and are capitalized as such.
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Standard or Amendment?
Both the terms "standard" and "amendment" are used when referring to the different variants of IEEE 802.11. Which is correct?
As far as the IEEE is concerned there is only one standard - IEEE 802.11. This standard is continuously updated by means of amendments such as IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b etc. Periodically a new version of the IEEE 802.11 standard is produced combining the previous version of the standard and all amendments published up to that date. For example, there is a 2003 edition of the standard available for purchase[4] that incorporates the IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, and IEEE 802.11d amendments. It is possible that at some point, only this version will be made available for free download replacing the six year old version of the base standard and the first three admendments.
So the correct term for the base standard called "802.11 legacy" on this page would in fact be 802.11-1999. But outside the working group that produces IEEE 802.11 such accuracy is probably unnecessary.
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Community networks
With the proliferation of cable modems and DSL, there is an ever-increasing market of people who wish to establish small networks in their homes to share their high speed Internet connection.
Wireless office networks are often unsecured or secured with WEP, which is said to be easily broken, although a substantial amount of data has to be collected before it can be cracked successfully. Note, however, that using readily-available and downloadable tools, WEP networks can be cracked within minutes. These networks frequently allow "people on the street" to connect to the Internet. There are also efforts by volunteer groups to establish wireless community networks to provide free wireless connectivity to the public.
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Security
In 2001, a group from the University of California, Berkeley presented a paper describing weaknesses in the 802.11 WEP (wired equivalent privacy) security mechanism defined in the original standard; they were followed by Fluhrer, Mantin, and Shamir's paper entitled "Weaknesses in the Key Scheduling Algorithm of RC4". Not long after, Adam Stubblefield and AT&T publicly announced the first verification of the attack. In the attack they were able to intercept transmissions and gain unauthorized access to wireless networks.
The IEEE set up a dedicated task group to create a replacement security solution, 802.11i (previously this work was handled as part of a broader 802.11e effort to enhance the MAC layer). The Wi-Fi Alliance announced an interim specification called Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) based on a subset of the then current IEEE 802.11i draft. These started to appear in products in mid-2003. 802.11i (aka WPA2) itself was ratified in June 2004, and uses the Advanced Encryption Standard, instead of RC4, which was used in WEP and WPA.
In January 2005, IEEE set up yet another task group TGw to protect management and broadcast frames, which previously were sent unsecured. See IEEE 802.11w
All you need to know between the diference of Lan:
Local area network
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from LAN)
Jump to: navigation, search
LAN redirects here, for other uses see LAN (disambiguation).
A local area network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small local area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings such as a home, office, or college. Current LANs are most likely to be based on switched Ethernet or Wi-Fi technology running at from 10 to 10000 Mbit/s. The defining characteristics of LANs in contrast to WANs are: a) much higher data rates, b) smaller geographic range - at most a few kilometers - and c) they do not involve leased telecommunication lines. "LAN" usually does not refer to data running over local analog telephone lines, as on a private branch exchange (PBX).
Contents [hide]
1 Technical aspects
2 History
3 See also
4 References
5 External links
[edit]
Technical aspects
Although switched Ethernet is now most common at the physical layer, and TCP/IP as a protocol, historically many different options have been used (see below) and some continue to be popular in niche areas. Larger LANs will have redundant links, and routers or switches capable of using spanning tree protocol and similar techniques to recover from failed links. LANs will have connections to other LANs via routers and leased lines to create a WAN. Most will also have connections to the large public network known as the Internet, and links to other LANs can be 'tunnelled' across this using VPN technologies.
[edit]
History
In the days before personal computers, a site might have just one central computer, with users accessing this via computer terminals over simple low-speed cabling. Networks such as IBM's SNA (Systems Network Architecture) were aimed at linking terminals or other mainframes at remote sites over leased lines—hence these were wide area networks.
The first LANs were created in the late 1970s and used to create high-speed links between several large central computers at one site. Of many competing systems created at this time, Ethernet and ARCNET were the most popular.
The growth of CP/M and then DOS based personal computer meant that a single site began to have dozens or even hundreds of computers. The initial attraction of networking these was generally to share disk space and laser printers, which were both very expensive at the time. There was much enthusiasm for the concept and for several years from about 1983 onward computer industry pundits would regularly declare the coming year to be “the year of the LAN”.
In reality the concept was marred by proliferation of incompatible physical layer and network protocol implementations, and confusion over how best to share resources. Typically each vendor would have their own type of network card, cabling, protocol, and network operating system. A solution appeared with the advent of Novell NetWare which gave: (a) even-handed support for the 40 or so competing card/cable types, and (b) a much more sophisticated operating system than most of its competitors. NetWare dominated the personal computer LAN business from early after its introduction in 1983 until the mid 1990s when Microsoft introduced Windows NT Advanced Server and Windows for Workgroups.
Of the competitors to NetWare, only Banyan Vines had comparable technical strengths, but Banyan never gained a secure base. Microsoft and 3Com worked together to create a simple network operating system which formed the base of 3Com's 3+Share, Microsoft's LAN Manager and IBM's LAN Server. None of these was particularly successful.
In this same timeframe Unix computer workstation from vendors such as Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard, Silicon Graphics, Intergraph, NeXT and Apollo were using TCP/IP based networking. Although this market segment is now much reduced, the technologies developed in this area continue to be influential on the Internet and in both Linux and Apple Mac OS X networking.
All you need to know about wireless:
Wi-Fi
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Jump to: navigation, search
Internet protocol suite Layer Protocols
Application DNS, TLS/SSL, TFTP, FTP, HTTP, IMAP, IRC, NNTP, POP3, SIP, SMTP, SNMP, SSH, TELNET, BitTorrent, RTP, rlogin, ENRP, …
Transport TCP, UDP, DCCP, SCTP, IL, RUDP, …
Network IP (IPv4, IPv6), ICMP, IGMP, ARP, RARP, …
Link Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Token ring, PPP, SLIP, FDDI, ATM, Frame Relay, SMDS, …
Wi-Fi (also WiFi, Wi-fi, Wifi, or wifi) is a set of product compatibility standards for wireless local area networks (WLAN) based on the IEEE 802.11 specifications. New standards beyond the 802.11 specifications, such as 802.16(WiMAX), are currently in the works and offer many enhancements, anywhere from longer range to greater transfer speeds.
Wi-Fi was intended to be used for mobile devices and LANs, but is now often used for Internet access. It enables a person with a wireless-enabled computer or personal digital assistant (PDA) to connect to the Internet when in proximity of an access point. The geographical region covered by one or several access points is called a hotspot.
Contrary to popular belief, Wi-Fi did not originally stand for Wireless-Fidelity. The term "Wi-Fi" was developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance along with the Interbrand Corporation (here) to describe WLAN products that are based on the IEEE 802.11 standards. Phil Belanger of the Wi-Fi Alliance quoted, "Wi-Fi and the yin yang style logo were invented by Interbrand. We (the founding members of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance, now called the Wi-Fi Alliance) hired Interbrand to come up with the name and logo that we could use for our interoperability seal and marketing efforts. We needed something that was a little catchier than “IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence”. Later, the term "Wireless Fidelity" was coined with the marketing of a new tag line, "The Standard for Wireless Fidelity." But that was soon dropped due to confusion among customers and consumers.
Official Wi-Fi logoCertified products can use the official Wi-Fi logo, which indicates that the product is interoperable with any other product also showing the logo.
Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Wi-Fi: How it works
3 Wi-Fi vs. cellular
4 Commercial Wi-Fi
4.1 Universal Efforts
5 Free Wi-Fi
6 Wi-Fi vs. amateur radio
7 Advantages of Wi-Fi
8 Disadvantages of Wi-Fi
9 Wi-Fi gaming
10 Wi-Fi and free software
11 Trademark/Certification
12 Unintended and intended use by outsiders
13 See also
14 External links
[edit]
History
Back in 1991 Wi-Fi was invented by NCR Corporation/AT&T (later on Lucent & Agere Systems) in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands. Initially meant for cashier systems the first wireless products were brought on the market under the name WaveLAN with speeds of 1 Mbit/s/2 Mbit/s. Vic Hayes who is the inventor of Wi-Fi has been named 'father of Wi-Fi' and was with his team involved in designing standards such as IEEE 802.11b, 802.11a and 802.11g. In 2003, Vic retired from Agere Systems. Agere Systems suffered from strong competition in the market even though their products were cutting edge, as many opted for cheaper Wi-Fi solutions. Agere's 802.11abg all-in-one chipset (code named: WARP) never hit the market, Agere Systems decided to quit the Wi-Fi market in late 2004.
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Wi-Fi: How it works
The typical Wi-Fi setup contains one or more Access Points (APs) and one or more clients. An AP broadcasts its SSID (Service Set Identifier, Network name) via packets that are called beacons, which are broadcasted every 100 ms. The beacons are transmitted at 1 Mbit/s, and are relatively short and therefore are not of influence on performance. Since 1 Mbit/s is the lowest rate of Wi-Fi it assures that the client who receives the beacon can communicate at at least 1 Mbit/s. Based on the settings (i.e. the SSID), the client may decide whether to connect to an AP. Also the firmware running on the client Wi-Fi card is of influence. Say two AP's of the same SSID are in range of the client, the firmware may decide based on signal strength (Signal-to-noise ratio) to which of the two AP's it will connect. The Wi-Fi standard leaves connection criteria and roaming totally open to the client. This is a strength of Wi-Fi, but also means that one wireless adapter may perform substantially better than the other. Since Windows XP there is a feature called zero configuration which makes the user show any network available and let the end user connect to it on the fly. In the future wireless cards will be more and more controlled by the operating system. Microsoft's newest feature called SoftMAC will take over from on-board firmware. Having said this, roaming criteria will be totally controlled by the operating system. Wi-Fi transmits in the air, it has the same properties as non-switched ethernet network. Even collisions can therefore appear like in non-switched ethernet LAN's.
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Wi-Fi vs. cellular
Some argue that Wi-Fi and related consumer technologies hold the key to replacing cellular telephone networks such as GSM. Some obstacles to this happening in the near future are missing roaming and authentication features (see 802.1x, SIM cards and RADIUS), the narrowness of the available spectrum and the limited range of Wi-Fi. It is more likely that WiMax could compete with other cellular phone protocols such as GSM, UMTS or CDMA. However, Wi-Fi is ideal for VoIP applications like in a corporate LAN or SOHO environment. Early adopters were already available in the late '90s, though not until 2005 did the market explode. Companies such as Zyxell, UT Starcomm, Samsung, Hitachi and many more are offering VoIP Wi-Fi phones for reasonable prices.
In 2005 ADSL ISP providers started to offer VoIP services to their customers (eg. the dutch ISP XS4All). Since calling via VoIP is low-cost and more often being free, VoIP enabled ISPs have the potential to open up the VoIP market. GSM phones with integrated Wi-Fi & VoIP capabilities are being introduced into the market and have the potential to replace land line telephone services.
Currently it seems unlikely that Wi-Fi will directly compete against cellular. Wi-Fi-only phones have a very limited range, and so setting up a covering network would be too expensive. Therefore these kinds of phones may be best reserved for local use such as corporate networks. However, devices capable of multiple standards may well compete in the market.
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Commercial Wi-Fi
Commercial Wi-Fi services are available in places such as Internet cafes, coffee houses and airports around the world (commonly called Wi-Fi-cafés), although coverage is patchy in comparison with cellular:
Ozone and OzoneParis In France, in September 2003, Ozone started deploying the OzoneParis network across the city of lights. The objective: to construct a wireless metropolitan network with full Wi-Fi coverage of Paris. Ozone Pervasive Network philosophy is based on a nationwide scale.
WiSE Technologies provides commercial hotspots for airports, universities, and independent cafes in the US;
T-Mobile provides hotspots in many Starbucks in the U.S, and UK;
Pacific Century Cyberworks provides hotspots in Pacific Coffee shops in Hong Kong;
a Columbia Rural Electric Association subsidiary offers 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi service across a 3,700 mi² (9,500 km²) region within Walla Walla and Columbia counties in Washington and Umatilla County, Oregon;
Other large hotspot providers in the U.S. include Boingo, Wayport and iPass;
Sify, an Indian internet service provider, has set up 120 wireless access points in Bangalore, India in hotels, malls and government offices.
Vex offers a big network of hotspots spread over Brazil. Telefónica Speedy WiFi has started its services in a new and growing network distributed over the state of São Paulo.
Link repository on Wi-Fi topics at AirHive Net
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Universal Efforts
Another business model seems to be making its way into the news. The idea is that users will share their bandwidth through their personal wireless routers, which are supplied with specific software. An example is FON, a Spanish start-up created in November 2005. It aims to become the largest network of hotspots in the world by the end of 2006 with 30 000 access points. The users are divided into three categories: linus share Internet access for free; bills sell their personal bandwidth; and aliens buy access from bills. Thus the system can be described as a peer-to-peer sharing service, which we usually relate to software.
Although FON has received some financial support by companies like Google and Skype, it remains to be seen whether the idea can actually work. There are three main challenges for this service at the moment. The first is that it needs much media and community attention first in order to get though the phase of "early adoption" and into the mainstream. Then comes the fact that sharing your Internet connection is often against the terms of use of your ISP. This means that in the next few months we can see ISPs trying to defend their interests in the same way music companies united against free MP3 distribution. And third, the FON software is still in Beta-version and it remains to be seen if it presents a good solution of the imminent security issues...
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Free Wi-Fi
While commercial services attempt to move existing business models to Wi-Fi, many groups, communities, cities, and individuals have set up free Wi-Fi networks, often adopting a common peering agreement in order that networks can openly share with each other. Free wireless mesh networks are often considered the future of the internet.
Many municipalities have joined with local community groups to help expand free Wi-Fi networks. Some community groups have built their Wi-Fi networks entirely based on volunteer efforts and donations.
For more information, see wireless community network, where there is also a list of the free Wi-Fi networks one can find around the globe.
OLSR is one of the protocols used to set up free networks. Some networks use static routing; others rely completely on OSPF. Wireless Leiden developed their own routing software under the name LVrouteD for community wi-fi networks that consist of a completely wireless backbone. Most networks rely heavily on open source software, or even publish their setup under an open source license.
Some smaller countries and municipalities already provide free Wi-Fi hotspots and residential Wi-Fi internet access to everyone. Examples include the Kingdom of Tonga or Estonia which have already a large number of free Wi-Fi hotspots throughout their countries.
In Paris France, OzoneParis offers free Internet access for life to anybody who contributes to the Pervasive Network’s development by making their rooftop available for the WiFi Network.
Unwire Jerusalem is a project to put free Wi-Fi access points at the main shopping centers of Jerusalem.
Many universities provide free WiFi internet access to their students, visitors, and anyone on campus. Similarly, some commercial entities such as Panera Bread offer free Wi-Fi access to patrons. McDonald's Corporation also offers Wi-Fi access, often branded 'McInternet'. This was launched at their flagship restaurant in Oak Brook, Illinois and is also available in many branches in London, UK.
However, there is also a third subcategory of networks set up by certain communities such as universities where the service is provided free to members and guests of the community such as students, yet used to make money by letting the service out to companies and individuals outside. An example of such a service is Sparknet in Finland. Sparknet also supports OpenSparknet, a project where people can name their own wireless access point as a part of Sparknet in return for certain benefits.
Recently commercial Wi-Fi providers have built free Wi-Fi hotspots and hotzones. These providers hope that free Wi-Fi access would equate to more users and significant return on investment.
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Wi-Fi vs. amateur radio
In the US, the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi radio spectrum is also allocated to amateur radio users. FCC Part 15 rules govern non-licenced operators (i.e. most Wi-Fi equipment users). Amateur operators retain what the FCC terms "primary status" on the band under a distinct set of rules (Part 97). Under Part 97, licensed amateur operators may construct their own equipment, use very high-gain antennas, and boost output power to 100 watts on frequencies covered by Wi-Fi channels 2-6. However, Part 97 rules mandate using only the minimum power necessary for communications, forbid obscuring the data, and require station identification every 10 minutes. Therefore, expensive automatic power-limiting circuitry is required to meet regulations, and the transmission of any encrypted data (for example https) is questionable.
In practice, microwave power amplifiers are expensive and decrease receive-sensitivity of link radios. On the other hand, the short wavelength at 2.4 GHz allows for simple construction of very high gain directional antennas. Although Part 15 rules forbid any modification of commercially constructed systems, amateur radio operators may modify commercial systems for optimized construction of long links, for example. Using only 200 mW link radios and two 24 dB gain antennas, an effective radiated power of many hundreds of watts in a very narrow beam may be used to construct reliable links of over 100 km with little radio frequency interference to other users.
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Advantages of Wi-Fi
Allows LANs to be deployed without cabling, potentially reducing the costs of network deployment and expansion. Spaces where cables cannot be run, such as outdoor areas and historical buildings, can host wireless LANs.
Wi-Fi products are widely available in the market. Different brands of access points and client network interfaces are interoperable at a basic level of service.
Wi-Fi networks support roaming, in which a mobile client station such as a laptop computer can move from one access point to another as the user moves around a building or area.
Wi-Fi is a global set of standards. Unlike cellular carriers, the same Wi-Fi client works in different countries around the world.
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Disadvantages of Wi-Fi
Spectrum assignments and operational limitations are not consistent worldwide; most of Europe allows for an additional 2 channels beyond those permitted in the US; Japan has one more on top of that - and some countries, like Spain, prohibit use of the lower-numbered channels. Furthermore some countries, such as Italy, used to require a 'general authorization' for any WiFi used outside an operator's own premises, or require something akin to an operator registration. For Europe; consult http://www.ero.dk for an annual report on the additional restrictions each European country imposes.
Power consumption is fairly high compared to some other standards, making battery life and heat a concern.
The most common wireless encryption standard, Wired Equivalent Privacy or WEP, has been shown to be breakable even when correctly configured (caused by weak-key generation). Although most newer wireless products support the much improved Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) protocol, many first-generation access points cannot be upgraded in the field and have to be replaced to support it. The adoption of the 802.11i (aka WPA2) standard in June 2004 makes available a still further improved security scheme, which is becoming available on the latest equipment. Both schemes require stronger passwords in personal mode than most users typically employ. Many enterprises have deployed additional layers of encryption (such as VPNs) to protect against interception.
Wi-Fi networks have limited range. A typical Wi-Fi home router using 802.11b or 802.11g might have a range of 45 m (150 ft) indoors and 90 m (300 ft) outdoors. Range also varies with frequency band, as WiFi is no exception to the physics of radio wave propagation. WiFi in the 2.4 GHz frequency block has better range than WiFi in the 5 GHz frequency block, and less range than the oldest WiFi (and pre-WiFi) 900 MHz block.
Interference of a closed or encrypted access point with other open access points on the same or a neighboring channel can prevent access to the open access points by others in the area. This can pose a problem in high-density areas such as large apartment buildings where many residents are operating Wi-Fi access points.
Access points could be used to steal personal information transmitted from Wi-Fi users.
Interoperability issues between brands or deviations in the standard can cause limited connection or lower throughput speeds.
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Wi-Fi gaming
Wi-Fi is compatible with gaming consoles and handhelds, allowing online play at any access point.
Iwata, the President of Nintendo announced the Nintendo Revolution will be Wi-Fi compatible, also saying that titles like Super Smash Brothers will be playable. The Nintendo DS handheld is also Wi-Fi compatible.
The Sony PSP comes with WLAN which can be turned on by the switch of a button to connect to WI-FI hotspots or wireless connections.
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Wi-Fi and free software
BSDs (FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD) have had support for most adapters since late 1998. Code for Atheros, Prism, Harris/Intersil and Aironet chips (from assorted WiFi vendors) is mostly shared among the 3 BSDs. Darwin and Mac OS X, despite their overlap with FreeBSD, have their own unique implementation. In OpenBSD 3.7, more drivers for wireless chipsets are available, including RealTek RTL8180L, Ralink RT25x0, Atmel AT76C50x, and Intel 2100 and 2200BG/2225BG/2915ABG, due to at least in part of the OpenBSD's effort to push for open source drivers for wireless chipsets. It is possible that such drivers may be implemented by other BSDs if they do not already exist. The ndiswrapper is also available for FreeBSD.
Linux: As of version 2.6, some Wi-Fi hardware is supported natively in the Linux kernel. Support for Orinoco, Prism, Aironet and Atmel are included in the main kernel tree, while ADMtek and Realtek RTL8180L are both supported by closed source drivers provided by the manufacturer and open source drivers written by the community. Intel Calexico radios are supported by open sourced drivers available at Sourceforge. Atheros and Ralink RT2x00 are supported through open source projects. Otherwise, support for other wireless devices is available through use of the open source ndiswrapper driver, which allows Linux running on the Intel x86 architecture to "wrap" a vendor's Windows driver for direct use. At least one commercial implementation of the idea is also available. The FSF has some recommended cards[1] and more information can be found through the searchable Linux wireless site[2]
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Trademark/Certification
Wi-Fi is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance (formerly the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance), the trade organization that tests and certifies equipment compliance with the 802.11x standards.
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Unintended and intended use by outsiders
The default configuration of most Wi-Fi access points provides no protection from unauthorized use of the network. Many business and residential users do not intend to secure their access points, instead leaving them open to users in the area. It has become etiquette to leave access points open for others to use just as one can expect to find open access points while on the road.
Measures to deter unauthorized users include suppressing the AP's service set identifier (SSID) broadcast, allowing only computers with known MAC addresses to join the network, and various encryption standards. Older access points frequently do not support adequate security measures to protect against a determined attacker armed with a packet sniffer and the ability to switch MAC addresses. Recreational exploration of other people's access points has become known as wardriving, and the leaving of graffiti describing available services as warchalking. It should be noted that these activities are illegal in many countries, including the United Kingdom.
However, it is also common for people to unintentionally use others' Wi-Fi networks without authorization. Operating systems such as Windows XP and Mac OS X automatically connect to an available wireless network, depending on the network configuration. A user who happens to start up a laptop in the vicinity of an access point may find the computer has joined the network without any visible indication. Moreover, a user intending to join one network may instead end up on another one if the latter's signal is stronger. In combination with automatic discovery of other network resources (see DHCP and Zeroconf) this can lead wireless users to send sensitive data to the wrong destination, as described by Chris Meadows in the February 2004 RISKS Digest.