WIRELESS NETWORKING
TECHNOLOGY
By Dilan Rupasinghe
 content

What is a wireless network.
 What are wireless links

Types of wireless networking technology

Wireless standards

WLAN in local residences
 Wireless network security
 Advantages and disadvantages of
wireless networking technology
What is a wireless network
 A wireless network is any type of computer network that
uses wireless data connections for connecting network
nodes.
 These networks uses radio waves to connect devices such
as laptops to the Internet
• Wireless networking is a method by which homes,
telecommunications networks and enterprise
(business) installations avoid the costly process of
introducing cables into a building, or as a
connection between various equipment locations.
• Wireless telecommunications networks are
generally implemented and administered using
radio communication.
• The first wireless transmitters went on the air in
the early 20th century using radiotelegraphy
(Morse code).
Wireless Links
Terrestrial microwave
Communications satellites
Cellular and PCS systems
Radio and spread spectrum
technologies
Free space optical
communication
Terrestrial Microwave - Terrestrial
microwave communication uses Earth-based
transmitters and receivers resembling satellite
dishes. Terrestrial microwaves are in the lowgigahertz range, which limits all communications
to line-of-sight. Relay stations are spaced
approximately 48 km (30 mi) apart.
Communications satellites - Satellites
communicate via microwave radio waves, which
are not deflected by the Earth's atmosphere. The
satellites are stationed in space, typically in
geosynchronous orbit 35,400 km (22,000 mi)
above the equator. These Earth-orbiting systems
are capable of receiving and relaying voice, data,
and TV signals.
 Cellular and PCS systems - The systems divide
the region covered into multiple geographic
areas. Each area has a low-power transmitter
or radio relay antenna device to relay calls
from one area to the next area.
Radio and spread spectrum technologies used by wireless local area networks. This system has
high-frequency radio technology similar to digital cellular and
a low-frequency radio technology. Wireless LANs use spread
spectrum technology to enable communication between
multiple devices in a limited area. IEEE 802.11 defines a
common flavor of open-standards wireless radio-wave
technology known as Wi-Fi.
Free-space optical communication –
uses visible or invisible light for communications. In
most cases, line-of-sight propagation is used, which limits the
physical positioning of communicating devices.
Types of wireless
networking technology

Wireless PAN

Wireless LAN

Wireless MAN

Wireless WAN

Cellular network

Wireless mesh network

Global area network

Space network
 Wireless PAN :Wireless personal area networks (WPANs)
interconnect devices within a relatively small
area, that is generally within a person's reach
without requiring wired connections.
Examples :- Bluetooth(IEEE 802.15)and
invisible infrared light provides a WPAN for
interconnecting a headset to a laptop. Mobile
phone file transfer on Bluetooth or infrared.
Wi-Fi PANs are becoming very common as
equipment designers start to integrate Wi-Fi
into a variety of consumer electronic devices.
(Ex:- wireless printers, mobile phones)
Intel "My Wi-Fi" and Windows 7 virtual Wi-Fi
capabilities have made Wi-Fi PANs simpler
and easier to set up and configure.
 Wireless LAN :A wireless local area network (WLAN) which most
of the public access these days. This network links two or
more devices over a short distance using a wireless
distribution method, usually providing a connection
through an access point for Internet access. Products
using the IEEE 802.11 WLAN standards are marketed
under the Wi-Fi brand name. It uses radio communication
to accomplish the same functionality that a wired LAN has
WLAN utilizes spread-spectrum technology based
on radio waves to enable communication between
devices in a limited area, also known as the basic service
set. This gives users the mobility to move around within a
broad coverage area and still be connected to the
network.
IEEE 802.11: 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
802.11 family currently includes six over-the-air modulation
techniques that all use the same protocol.
Wireless in residential service
Mostly 2.4GHz or 5.0 GHz wireless G or N
Connects up to 600 Mbps currently
latest models capable of more than 6 Gbps (AC)
What equipment do I need for a basic Wi-Fi
network( WLAN)
1. Modem or gateway.
A modem connects your home network to your Internet Service
Provider (ISP). A gateway combines a modem and router in one
device.
2. Wireless router.
A router acts as the heart of your network, connecting your
computers and other devices. Choose a router that is compatible
with all of your existing wireless devices (computer, printer, home
theater system, gaming consoles, etc.) and gives you the network
security you need.
3. Computer with wireless adapter.
Make sure your computer has an integrated wireless card; if it
does not, purchase a separate wireless card or USB network
adapter compatible with your router's technology.
 Wireless MAN network:Wireless Metropolitan Area Network
(WMAN) is the name trademarked by the IEEE
802.16 Working Group on Broadband Wireless
Access Standards for its wireless metropolitan
area network standard (commercially known as
WiMAX), which defines broadband Internet
access from fixed or mobile devices via
antennas. Subscriber stations communicate
with base-stations that are connected to a core
network. This is a good alternative to fixed line
networks and it is simple to build and relatively
inexpensive.
 Wireless WAN :Wireless wide area networks(WAN) are wireless
networks that typically cover broad geographical areas, such
as between neighboring towns and cities, or city and suburb.
These networks can be used to connect branch offices of
business or as a public internet access system. The largest
and most well-known example of a WAN is the Internet The
wireless connections between access points are usually point
to point microwave links using parabolic dishes on the
2.4 GHz band, rather than Omni directional antennas used
with smaller networks.
WAN’s are used to connect local area networks
(LAN’s) together, so that users and computers in one
location can communicate with users and computers
in other locations. Many WAN’s are built for one
particular organization and are private. Others, built by
Internet service providers, provide connections from
an organization's LAN to the Internet.
Cellular network:A cellular network or mobile network is a radio network
distributed over land areas called cells, each served by at least one
fixed-location transceiver, known as a cell site or base station. In a
cellular network, each cell characteristically uses a different set of
radio frequencies from all their immediate neighboring cells to avoid
any interference. When joined together these cells provide radio
coverage over a wide geographic area
Major telecommunications providers have deployed voice
and data cellular networks over most of the inhabited land area of
the Earth. This allows mobile phones and mobile computing devices
to be connected to the public switched telephone network and
public Internet.
.
Wireless mesh :A wireless mesh network is a wireless network
made up of radio nodes organized in a mesh topology.
Each node forwards messages on behalf of the other
nodes. Mesh networks can "self heal", automatically
re-routing around a node that has lost power.
 Global area network:A global area network (GAN) is a network
used for supporting mobile across an arbitrary
number of wireless LANs, satellite coverage areas,
etc. The key challenge in mobile communications is
handing off user communications from one local
coverage area to the next. In IEEE Project 802, this
involves a succession of terrestrial wireless LANs.
Space network:Space networks are networks used for
communication between spacecraft, usually in the
vicinity of the Earth. The example of this is NASA's
Space Network.
Wireless network
security
Wireless security is the prevention of unauthorized access or
damage to computers using wireless networks. The most
common types of wireless security are
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)
WEP is a notoriously weak security standard. The
password it uses can often be cracked in a few minutes with a
basic laptop computer and widely available software tools. WEP
is an old IEEE 802.11 standard from 1999 which was outdated
in 2003 by WPA or Wi-Fi Protected Access.
WPA was a quick alternative to improve security
over WEP. The current standard is WPA2. Some
hardware cannot support WPA2 without firmware
upgrade or replacement. WPA2 uses an encryption
device which encrypts the network with a 256 bit key; the
longer key length improves security over WEP.
Wireless Intrusion Prevention Systems (WIPS) or
Wireless Intrusion Detection Systems (WIDS) are commonly
used to enforce wireless security policies.
Wireless router that can implement wireless
security features
COMMON DAY TO DAY ITEMS
DEVELOPED WITH
WIRELESSTECHNOLOGY


Cellular phones ,smart phones, and pagers.
Laptops with wireless adapters

Cordless home phones

Wireless printers

Global Positioning System (GPS)
Wireless technology has sent the need of wire
for network connections to stone age. It has made
people’s lives much easier by saving time, money
and providing great networking power which has
many advantages.
A wireless network connects your computers
and other devices without any cables .wireless
networks are gaining popularity because they
connect printers, gaming consoles, home theater
systems, network storage devices, even
surveillance cameras and monitoring systems all
without the hassle of wires.
Wireless networking also allows you to surf the
Internet and print wirelessly from anywhere in your
home. You can share your photos across multiple
computers, even televisions! Play games, talk on
the phone and watch your TV from anywhere in
the world, all with the aid of your wireless network.
Advantages of Wireless
Networking Technology
Faster and
More
Pervasive
Ease
At Home
More
Secure
More
Deployable
and
Manageable
 No more wires
In wired technology there are many expenses to
setup the wired network because we need to spread the
network of coaxial cables or Ethernet cables as far as we
need. In wireless technology there is no more running
wires around rooms or buildings. A wireless router will
transmit the network in certain range needed without any
wires needed to connect. As compared wired devices it is
easy to setup the wireless networking devices at very low
and reliable costs.
 EASY ACCESS
 Access internet where ever there is a wi-fi hotspot
Most smart phones has wi-fi and cellular wireless network
access so people can stay connected on the run.
 Access by just entering information no wires.
 High transmit connections like modern wireless N , AC
 MOBILITY
 In wired technology it cannot provide mobile networking.
 Difficulty of lay down the cables and messy wired areas no
more
Being able to use in high ranges from the routers.
 Mobile devices and Laptops gets service where ever wi-fi
is free and available.
 REMOTE CONTROL

There are many types of wireless
technology remote controllers (TV, heaters,
air conditioner ,car security remote etc)

The remote control sends a different
flashing light message, like Morse code, for
each job you want done.

Some controllers are more sophisticated
than others and usually require the thing
they are controlling to acknowledge that it
has correctly received the command and
acted on it!
 NAVIGATION AND LOCATION

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a spacebased global navigation satellite system (GNSS)
that provides location and time information

GPS was originally intended for military
applications, but in the 1980s, the government
made the system available for civilian use.
 REMOTE MONITORING
Monitoring patients heartbeat, blood pressure
Air pressure, temperature, security cameras
etc.
 ITEM TRACKING

You can now track items easily, accurately and cheaply
by attaching wireless Radio Frequency Identification
(RFID) tags to them.

Each tag has a unique number and allows you to track.
RFID tags minimize the risk of getting items mixed up
and lost.
DISADVANTAGES OF WIRELESS
TECHNOLOGY:

Range difficulties.
The wireless network has a range that it can cover.
If the receiver is out of range it can not access the
network .

More prone to interferences.
Walls , buildings or any structure in between router
and receiver can interfere with the wireless range
causing bad connections .Having several networks can
also cause problems in connections.

Expensive
Wireless equipment like routers and adapters are
not found very cheap
Security issues
Security is an issue because the wireless
networks can be hacked by hackers in range
and steal valued information of network
owners or users connected . Private networks
need to be secured in ways like WPA to protect
their network from intruders generally by
password-restricting . Most routers provide
security services for users on their wireless
networks so only they will be able to use it
.Using the firewall and some anti virus
systems also prevent intruders from entering
private networks.

REFERENCES
Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_network
Ciscohttp://www.cisco.com/cisco/web/solutions/small_b
usiness/resource_center/articles/work_from_anyw
here/what_is_a_wireless_network/index.html