WIRELESS
NETWORKS
CHAPTER-VII
WLAN
Benefits of WLAN
Wireless networking hardware and
software
Wireless networks modes
Wireless networking security
Wi-Fi
WHAT IS WLAN?
A wireless local-area network (LAN) uses radio
waves to connect devices such as laptops to the
Internet and to your business network and its
applications.
BENEFITS OF WLAN
Small businesses can experience many benefits from a wireless
network, including:
Convenience. Access your network resources from any location
within your wireless network's coverage area or from any WiFi
hotspot.
Mobility. no longer tied to your desk, as were with a wired
connection. Can go online in conference room meetings, for
example.
Productivity. Wireless access to the Internet and to your company's
key applications and resources helps your staff get the job done
and encourages collaboration.
Easy setup. so installation can be quick and cost-effective as no
need to string cables.
Expandable. You can easily expand wireless networks with existing
equipment.
Security. Advances in wireless networks provide robust security
protections.
Cost. It cost less than wires n/w because eliminate or reduce wiring
costs.
WIRELESS
REQUIREMENTS
Wireless networking hardware
Wireless NIC
Wireless access point: The access point is a device that links a
wireless network to a wired LAN. It increases the effective range of a
wireless network and provides additional network management and
security features.
Routers: A router is a device used for sharing a single Internet
connection across multiple computers.
This is ideal in the home or office where multiple computers and
devices can be online at the same time with only a single Internet
connection.
Wireless networking software
Driver
Configuration utility (most likely through browser
based setup utility)
WIRELESS NETWORK
HARDWARE
Wireless
NIC
Wireless Access
Point
WIRELESS NETWORK
MODE
The 802.11 specification defines two types of
operational modes:
Ad hoc mode( peer to peer)
It is a method in which a group of wireless
devices directly communicate with each
other(peer to peer) without the use of an access
point.
Infrastructure mode
It is a method in which devices communicate with
each other by first going through an Access
Point.
AD HOC WIRELESS MODE
In ad hoc mode, also known as Independent Basic
Service Set (IBSS) or peer-to-peer mode, all of the
computers and workstations connected with a
wireless NIC card can communicate with each
other directly via radio waves without an access
point.
In this configuration, network packets are directly
sent and received by the intended transmitting
and receiving stations.
Convenient for quickly setting up a small wireless
network in a meeting room, hotel conference
center, home or anywhere else where sufficient
wired infrastructure does not exist.
Allows network/ workgroup members to exchange
data or share printers.
WIRELESS NETWORK:
ADHOC MODE
INFRASTRUCTURE MODE
All mobile and wireless client devices and
computers communicate with the access point,
which provides the connection from the wireless
radio frequency world to the hard-wired LAN world.
The access point performs the conversion of 802.11
packets to 802.3 Ethernet LAN packets. Data
packets traveling from the LAN to a wireless client
are converted by the access point into radio signals
and transmitted out into the environment.
AP also connects the nodes to the Internet or other
WAN (wide area network), connects multiple
wireless networks, connects the wireless nodes to a
wired network, and provide management and
security functionality.
WIRELESS NETWORK:
INFRASTRUCTURE MODE
Internet
DSL/Cable
Modem Wireless
Router
Router Crossover
EXTENDING THE RANGE
Connecting multiple access points via a wired
Ethernet backbone can further extend the
wireless network coverage As a result, wireless
clients can freely roam from one access point
domain to another and still maintain seamless
network connection.
The multiple APs are setup with the same
Service Set Identifier (SSID) and security
settings, however with each on a unique
channel.
802.11 has three truly unique channels: 1, 6
and 11. the APs can be spread out in an
overlapping channel layout as shown below.
WHICH MODE TO CHOOSE
It depends on some factors such as:
The number of wireless nodes need to
support.
Management requirement.
PROS AND CONS
Cost savings: Without the need to purchase or
install access points, you'll save a considerable amount
of money when deploying ad hoc wireless LANs.
Rapid setup time: Ad hoc mode only requires
the installation of wireless NICs in the user devices. As
a result, the time to setup the wireless LAN is much
less than installing an infrastructure wireless LAN.
Network size. Although that ad hoc mode is
easier to set up, but infrastructure mode is highly
beneficial to your network if you're looking to add
more clients to your network.
PROS AND CONS
Network range: Ad-hoc mode limits the clients
within range of each other.
Infrastructure takes advantage of the high power of an
access point to cover wide areas.
Required speed: The WiFi networking standards
require only that ad-hoc mode communication
supports 11 Mbps speed. You should expect that WiFi
devices supporting 54 Mbps, will drop back to a
maximum of 11 Mbps when changed to ad-hoc mode.
PROS AND CONS
Better performance possible: performance
can be higher with ad hoc mode because of no need
for packets to travel through an access point. This
assumes a relatively small number of users. However,
If you have lots of users, then you'll likely have better
performance by using access points.
Network access: Because there is no
distribution system with ad hoc wireless LANs, users
don't have effective access to the Internet and other
wired network services.
To access to wired LAN you need to move to
infrastructure mode.
WIRELESS NETWORK
SECURITY
MAC (Media Access Control) address
filtering.
Data encryption.
Service Set Identification (SSID).
MAC ADDRESS FILTERING
It is a way of creating a type of “accepted
users” lists to limit access to your wireless
network
A table stored in the access point lists the
MAC addresses that are permitted to
participate in the wireless network.
DATA ENCRYPTION AND
AUTHENTICATION
Data packets are locked with a private
encryption key before transmission.
The receiver must use the encryption key
to unlock the data packets
Common authentication and encryption
standards:
Wired equivalent privacy (WEP).
Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol (LEAP)
Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol (PEAP)
Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP)
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)
WI-FI PROTECTED ACCESS 2 (WPA2)
SERVICE SET
IDENTIFICATION (SSID)
Sometimes called a Network Name. This name
allows stations to connect to the desired network when
multiple independent networks operate in the same physical
area.
It is an identification string that is inserted into
the header of every packet processed by a
wireless access point
Access points are always given a generic SSID
that is widely publicized.
SSIDs are case sensitive text strings.
It is a sequence of alphanumeric characters
(letters or numbers).
They have a maximum length of 32 characters.
SERVICE SET
IDENTIFICATION (SSID)
To secure the network:
Change the default SSID.
Change the password of the access point.
Turn off the name broadcast option. This
ensures that only wireless nodes specifically
configured with the correct SSID can join the
wireless network