Wireless Networking
Technologies
YA N B O R ISOVSK IY
Table of contents
• What is a wireless technology?
• History of Wireless
• Timeline
• Types of Wireless Networks
• Wireless local-area network
• Wi-Fi capable Devices
• Wireless Fidelity
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Connection
Security
Modes
Multimedia
• Conclusion
What is a wireless technology?
• “Wireless is a term used to describe telecommunications in which
electromagnetic waves carry the signal over part or all of the
communication path”
• “The first wireless transmitters went on the air in the early 20th
century using radiotelegraphy (Morse code). Later, as modulation
made it possible to transmit voices and music via wireless, the
medium came to be called "radio." With the advent of television, fax,
data communication, and the effective use of a larger portion of the
spectrum, the term "wireless" has been resurrected.”
(wireless definition)
History of Wireless
Wireless technology was discovered over 250 years ago. In 1747, Benjamin Franklin’s
kite experiment proved that electricity moves though the air. In 1819, Hands Christian
Oerted who was a Danish physicist, observed "that a compass needle would move in
the presence of an electric field, thus establishing the fundamental relationship
between electricity and magnetism". This field is now known as electromagnetics. But
it wasn't until theoretical work of James Clerk Maxwell that wireless development
began. In 1865 and 1873, he published “On a Dynamical Theory of the Electromagnetic
Field” that described the movement of electromagnetic waves through space. These
are the types of waves that all wireless technologies used since their development.
Timeline
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1887 – Heinrich Hertz proved Maxwell's work by transmitting radio waves
1895 – Guglielmo Marconi sent a radio telegraph transmission across the English Channel
1901 – Macroni sent transmission across the Atlantic
1906 – First AM radio transmission
1907 – Public use of radio
1907 – Lee De Forest invented electron tube and transmitted the first ship-to-shore messages by radiotelephone
1912 – Edwin Armstrong invented regenerative circuit which led to creation of FM radio
1920 – First radio news program broadcast
1933 – FM radio patented by Edwin Armstrong
1940 – Technology advancements allowed for commercial television transmission
1947 – AT&T commercialized the Mobile Telephone service
1953 – Color televisions were introduced in the US
1962 – Telstar 1 communications satellite
1971 – ALOHAnet developed UHF wireless packet network
1978 –Bell Labs introduced Advanced Mobile Phone System in America
1985 – FCC released ISM band for unlicensed use
1987 – Global Positioning System (GPS) was developed
Timeline
• 1990 – The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO)
invented and patented the WLAN technology
• 1991 – NCR and AT&T Corporations invented the first wireless product named WaveLAN
for cashier systems
• 1994 – Bluetooth was developed
• 1997 – First version of 802.11 protocol, speeds up to 2 megabits per second
• 1999 – Wireless protocol was updated to 802.11a and 802.11b which allowed speeds up to
54 megabits per second on 5GHz band and 11 megabits per second on 2.4GHz band
• 1999 – Wi-Fi Alliance formation
• 2003 – 802.11g protocol allowed up to 54 Mbit/s on 2.4GHz band
• 2009 – 802.11n protocol allowed up to 135 Mbit/s on both bands
• 2012 – WiGig Alliance introduced wireless technology at gigabit speeds
• 2013 – Wi-Fi Alliance and WiGig Alliance unite
• 2013 – 802.11ac protocol allowed up to 780 Mbit/s on both bands
• 2016 – The next 802.11 protocol is in production, which will allow gigabit speeds on 60GHz band
Types of Wireless Networks
• Wireless Local Area Networks – 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Some devices can be setup to share data from other types of wireless protocols
ex. iPhone connected to cellular internet shares internet to laptop
via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi using tethering feature
(Types of Wireless Networks)
Wireless local-area network
• Known as WLAN, it “uses radio waves to connect devices such
as laptops to the Internet and to your business network and its
applications. When you connect a laptop to a Wi-Fi hotspot at
a cafe, hotel, airport lounge, or other public place, you're
connecting to that business's wireless network.” (Cisco)
• WLAN are becoming more popular to be used as part of the
network at home and office, to cut down the cost of running
wires, and freedom of having devices unwired
• Uses specialized physical and data link protocols
Wireless local-area network
Physical Layer
• The wireless interface takes frames of data from the
link layer, scrambles the data in a predetermined way,
then uses the modified data stream to modulate a
radio signal
Data Link Layer
• Uses Carriers-Sense-Multiple-Access with Collision
Avoidance (CSMA/CA)
Wireless Network
• Wireless network functions and transmits
data just like a wired network, but without
wires at speeds limited by the protocol and
interference
• As seen in the picture example, the wireless
technology can be built into the router, but
can also be connected separately by an
access point
• Devices can be either hard wired to the
wireless router just like in LAN, or connected
wirelessly using the built-in wireless adapter
• The internet comes from ISP’s cable modem
or other device, that connects to the WAN
port of the router
Wi-Fi capable Devices
IN MO DE RN AG E , WI R E LE SS I S I N A L MO S T E VE R Y T HING
• Laptops
• Tablets
• Most mobile phones
• Desktops
• Smart Televisions
• Printers and Scanners
• Home audio systems
• Surveillance
• Portable audio devices
• Cars
• Game consoles
• Toys
• Remotes
• and more
Wireless Fidelity
• Wi-Fi is a wireless networking technology that allows computers, capable
mobile phones, tablets, printers, and other devices to communicate over a
wireless signal
• The standards for Wi-Fi are regulated
• Based on 802.11 standards, that were set by the Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers and the Wi-Fi Alliance
• Wi-Fi Alliance trademarked the Wi-Fi name and promoted the technology
• Also known as WLAN, short for “Wireless Local Area Network”
• “The invention came out of CSIRO's pioneering work in radio astronomy, with
a team of its scientists cracking the problem of radio waves bouncing off
surfaces indoors, causing an echo that distorts the signal. They overcame it by
building a fast chip that could transmit a signal while reducing the echo,
beating many of the major communications companies around the world that
were trying to solve the same issue.” (Australian WiFi inventors win US legal
battle)
Wi-Fi: Connection
SSID O R NE T WO RK NA ME
F R E QU E NCY
• Service Set Identifier is commonly
known as the network name
• Two Wi-Fi frequencies that currently
being used is the 2.4 GHz and the 5
GHz
• This is the wireless name you wish
to connect to, it is commonly
broadcasted and can be seen in
the wireless network list, but can
also be private
• Some devices may offer Virtual
SSID, which allows to connect to
same network using additional
network name and passcode
• 2.4 GHz penetrates better though
walls and is more common,
therefore there is more interference
from nearby neighbors
• 5 GHz is becoming more popular, but
is not as widely used as 2.4 is,
therefore there is usually less
interference
Wi-Fi: Security
MO DE S A ND A LG O R IT HMS
• WEP (Retired)
• WPA (256 bits)
• WPA2 (256 bits)
• TKIP and AES
Algorithms
• Wired Equivalent Privacy was the original security protocol
that was based on 10 or 26 hex digits (64 or 128 bit), but was
eventually retired in 2004 due to its security flaws.
• Wi-Fi Protected Access is the replacement that is now being
used
• “Some of the significant changes implemented with WPA
included message integrity checks (to determine if an attacker
had captured or altered packets passed between the access
point and client) and the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol
(TKIP). TKIP employs a per-packet key system that was
radically more secure than fixed key used in the WEP system.
TKIP was later superseded by Advanced Encryption Standard
(AES).”
• “WPA2 was the mandatory use of AES algorithms and the
introduction of Counter Cipher Mode with Block Chaining
Message Authentication Code Protocol”
(HTG Explains)
Wi-Fi: Security
MO DE S CO NT I NUE D
• Wi-Fi Protected
Setup (WPS)
• WPS was developed as addition to WPA/2 to
enable easy connection between wireless devices
at a touch of a button. However, WPA presents
security flaw which allows hacking the system
more easily.
• Personal (WPA/2)
• Personal WPA/2 is authentication based on
passphrase chosen to secure the network
• Enterprise (WPA/2)
• RADIUS
• Enterprise WPA/2 and RADIUS is server based
authentication, which generates a key for each
session based on login credentials stored on the
server, the administrator controls the access
Wi-Fi: Security
MAC FILT E RING
• This is an added security which can be setup to limit which devices are
allowed to connect to the wireless network, based on their MAC address
• The devices with specific MAC addresses can either be denied or allowed
on the network
• It should not be used by itself as MAC address can be changed and cloned
Wi-Fi: Modes
SO ME DE VICE S CA N B E R E CO NF I GUR ED TO HAVE D I F F E R E NT
FU NCT I ONALITY, SOME HAVE PR ESET FUNCT IONALIT Y FR OM
FACTO R Y T HAT CA N NOT B E CHA NG E D
• Access Point – Broadcasts the wireless network, holds the security key,
network name, and all the settings for the wireless
• Client – Acts as receiver, connects to an access point and transmit data to
its Ethernet ports
• Repeater – Connects to access point and rebroadcasts the signal
• Bridge – In the two modes above, bridging is a common option that allow
the wireless and the wired devices to be on the same network
• Ad-hoc – Connects to other ad-hoc networks peer-to-peer
Wi-Fi: Multimedia
WMM A ND MI MO
• Wireless Multimedia Support is a common feature in modern routers
which allows transfer of video and audio over network without much
interruption
• Modern wireless also uses Multiple Input and Multiple Output signals to
achieve the higher data transfer speeds
Conclusion
• From Wi-Fi in our homes to GPS in out skies, Wireless
Technologies makes our lives easier and more productive.
• We can now connect our mobile to the cellular or Wi-Fi
internet, download a navigation software, and use it
together with GPS to help us get where we need faster
• Wi-Fi in smart televisions allows us to use applications to
browse the internet, watch videos, or stream content from
other devices directly to the television
• Wireless signal allows remote control of devices on the other
side of the world, or even exploration on a different planet
• Wireless becomes faster and faster as technology advances,
and allows to transmit data at incredible speeds
Sources
• http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/wireless
• http://www.cisco.com/cisco/web/solutions/small_business/resource_center/art
icles/work_from_anywhere/what_is_a_wireless_network/index.html
• http://www.itworld.com/article/2802953/mobile/a-brief-history-of-wirelesstechnology.html
• "Reporting Yacht Races by Wireless Telephony", Electrical World, August 10,
1907, pages 293–294.
• http://www.wi-fi.org
• http://www.bluetooth.com/what-is-bluetooth-technology/bluetooth
Sources
• http://inventors.about.com/od/wstartinventions/a/WiFi.htm
• http://phys.org/news/2012-04-australian-wifi-inventors-legal.html
• http://computernetworkingnotes.com/wireless-networking-on-ciscorouter/types-of-wireless-networks.html
• http://www.networkcomputing.com/netdesign/wlan3.html
• http://www.tp-link.com/en/FAQ-500.html
• http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Glossary
• http://www.howtogeek.com/167783/htg-explains-the-difference-betweenwep-wpa-and-wpa2-wireless-encryption-and-why-it-matters