Wi-Fi Overview

(Wireless Fidelity)
By
D C Sonkhla
SDE(Comp)
BRBRAITT, Jabalpur
Wi-Fi Overview (Wireless Fidelity)

1. Introduction & History of WiFi

2. Access Point
3. Hotspots
4. Hotspots Security
5. Advantages of Wi Fi
6. Limitations of Wi Fi

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 Introduction & History
 Precursor to Wi-Fi was invented in 1991 by
NCR Corporation / AT&T (Later Lucent &
Agere Systems) in Nieuwgein, Netherlands.
 The first wireless product was brought as

WaveLAN with speed 1 / 2 MBPS.

 Primary inventor of Wi-Fi was Vic Hayes

called father of Wi-Fi.

 He was also involved in designing standards

for 802.11b / a / g.

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Introduction & History
 Interbrand developed the logo “Wi-Fi”
(Otherwise IEEE802.11 Direct Sequence)
for Wi-Fi Ethernet Compatibility Alliances)

 Wi-Fi Logo indicates that the product is

certified for interoperability by Wi-Fi
Alliances.

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Introduction & History
In 1985 Federal Communications Commissions
made available Unlicense Spread Spectrum
enabling the use of this technology in all
major countries. This proposal was to allow
civic use of Spread Spectrum technology.
Wi-Fi uses single carrier direct sequence Spread
Spectrum radio technology and Multi Carrier
OFDM(Orthogonal Frequency Division
Multiplexing) radio technology.

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 Introduction & History
 A person with Wi-Fi enabled device such as computer,
cell-phone etc can connect to the internet when in the
proximity of an Access Point.
 The region covered by one or more Access Point is
called a Hotspot. Hotspots can range from a single
room to many square miles of overlapping hotspots.
 Wi-Fi can also be used to create a mesh network.
 Wi-Fi allows connectivity in peer-to-peer (wireless ad-
hoc network) mode.

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 Introduction & History
 It provides the final few metres of connectivity
between a wired network and the mobile user
thereby providing mobility, scalability of
networks and the speed of installation.
 WIFI is a wireless LAN Technology to deliver
wireless broad band speeds up to 54 Mbps to
Laptops, PCs, PDAs , dual mode wifi enabled
phones etc. Apart from Data delivery Voice
over WIFI is also in pipeline.

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 Access Point
 A Wireless Access Point(WAP) or Access
Point(AP) is a device that connects wireless
communication devices together to form a
wireless network. It is usually connected to a
wired network and can relay data between
wireless & wired devises.
 Several WAPs can link together to form a larger
network that allows “roaming”. WAP has an IP
address for configuration.
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 Access Point
 WAPs grew rapidally in 2000 as easily
installable devices.
 Mess of cables on wall, ceilings could be
reduced or eliminated completely.
 They offered greater mobility enabling
employees to carry portable data terminals
integrating barcode scanners and wireless links
for updates in real time.

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 Access Point

A typical Wi-Fi Network

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 Access Point

 Like a cellular phone system, the wireless LAN is

capable of roaming from the AP and re-connecting
to the network through other APs residing at other
points on the wired network.
 This can allow the wired LAN to be extended to
cover a much larger area than the existing
coverage by the use of multiple APs such as in a
campus environment as shown in Fig-2.

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 Access Point

Extending Wi-Fi coverage with multiple APs

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 Access Point
Wireless LAN
 An important feature of the wireless LAN is that it

can be used independent of a wired network.

 It may be used as a stand alone network anywhere to

link multiple computers together without having to

build or extend a wired network.
 Then a peer to peer workgroup can be established for

transfer or access of data.

 A member of the workgroup may be established as

the server or the network can act in a peer to peer

mode as Shown in Figure.

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 Access Point

Wireless LAN workgroup

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 Access Point

Wi-Fi adapters
 End users access the Wi-Fi network through

Wi-Fi adapters, which are implemented as

cards in desktop computers, or integrated
within hand-held computers.
 Wi-Fi wireless LAN adapters provide an

interface between the client Network

Operating System (NOS) and the airwaves
via an antenna.

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 Access Point
Wi-Fi adapters

 The nature of the wireless connection is

transparent to the NOS.
 Wi-Fi deals with fixed, portable and mobile
stations and of course, the physical layers
used here are fundamentally different from
wired media

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 Access Point
 A WAP can typically communicate with 30
clients systems located within radius of 100 m.
 Range of communication can vary a lot
depending on:
 Indoor or outdoor placement
 Height above ground
 Nearby obstruction
 Oher electronics devices that might actively
interfere with the signal by broadcasting on
the same frequency.
 Type of antenna
 Current weather
 Operating radio frequency
 Power output of devices.
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 Access Point
 Network designers of WAP use
repeaters & reflectors to amplify or
bounce the radio signals that ordinarily
would go un-received.
 A typical corporate use involves
attaching several WAPs to a wired
network.
 In this case the WAP functions as a
gateway for client to access the wired
network.
 Another use involves bridging two wired
networks (within line of site) in
conditions inappropriate
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for cable.
 Access Point
Lily-pad network
 Another wireless topology a Lily-pad network

consists of a series of access points spread over a

large area, each connected to a different network.
 This provides Hot Spots where wireless clients

can connect to Internet without regard of

particular network to which they have attached to
for the moment (coffee house, libraries, public
spaces, privately owned open access points etc.).
 This allows clients to roam over large area &

staying more or less connected.

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 Access Point
Wireless Community Network
 In a society where everyone has his

own WAP within range of the

neighbor’s WAP it is possible to
setup a Wireless
Community Network creating
intra-city communication network
without wires.

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 Hotspots
 Hotspots are venues that offer Wi-Fi access.
 It is a geographic area that has a readily
accessible wireless network
 First proposed by Brett Steward in Aug-
1993 as “Public Accessible Wireless
LANs” and first advanced by NOKIA

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 Hotspots

 HotSpots are equipped with a Broadband

Internet connection, and one or more
Access Points that allow users to access the
Internet wirelessly.
 Some companies established 300,000
hotspots for free service to entice customers
to their venue.

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 Hotspots
 For venues having broadband services
offering wireless access is as simple as
purchasing one AP and connecting that AP
to gateway box.
 Hotspots are often found at Restaurants,
Railway stations, Airports, Library, Coffee
shops, Bookstores & public places.
 Universities & Schools can have wireless
network in their campus.

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 Hotspots

Free Hotspots services / sites:

WiFi FREESPOTS Anchorfree
FREESPO Panera Bread
Freehotspot.com Google WiFI
MetroFi

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 Hotspot Security
 Most hotspots are unsecured.
 User data is shared by all users.
 Some hotspots authenticate users.
 This does not secure data transmission or
prevent packet sniffers from allowing
people to see the traffic on the network.
 Some venues offer VPN such as
GoogleWiFi, which is expensive option.

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 Hotspot Security
 A “Poisoned Hotspot” refers to a free public
hotspot hosted up by malicious individuals
for the purpose of sniffing the data send by
the user.

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 Typical Wi-Fi Users

 Frequent Travelers
 Businessmen and Corporate Managers
 Scientists & Doctors
 Students and Academicians
 Administrators & Technocrats who participate in
Seminars & Conferences
 Just about anybody with a laptop

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 Components required for WiFi
 A PC, laptop or PDA, running Windows 98 or
above.
 A wireless PCMCIA card, or a wireless adapter.
 Now a days all the latest LAPTOPS are coming
with in built CENTRINO

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 Advantages of Wi Fi

 In a Wi-Fi users can access shared

information without looking for a place to
plug in, and network managers can set up or
augment networks without installing or
moving wires.
 Wi-Fi offers many productivity,
conveniences, and cost advantages over
traditional wired networks.

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 Advantages of Wi Fi

· Mobility:
 Wi-Fi systems can provide LAN users with
access to real-time information anywhere in
their organization.
 This mobility supports productivity and
service opportunities not possible with
wired networks.

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 Advantages of Wi Fi

 Installation Speed and Simplicity

 Installing a Wi-Fi system can be fast and
easy and can eliminate the need to pull
cable through walls and ceilings.
 Installation Flexibility
 Wireless technology allows the network to
go where wire cannot go.

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 Advantages of Wi Fi
Reduced Cost-of-Ownership
 The initial investment of Wi-Fi hardware
can be higher (gradually coming down),
overall installation expenses and life-cycle
costs can be significantly lower.
 Long-term cost benefits are greatest in
dynamic environments requiring frequent
moves, adds, and changes.

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 Advantages of Wi Fi
Scalability
 Wi-Fi systems can be configured in a variety

of topologies to meet the needs of specific

applications and installations.
 Configurations are easily changed and range

from peer-to-peer networks suitable for a

small number of users to full infrastructure
networks of thousands of users that allow
roaming over a broad area.

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 Advantages of Wi Fi

 It offers much high speed upto 54 Mbps

which is very much greater than other
wireless access technologies like
CORDECT, GSM and CDMA

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 Limitation of Wi-Fi networks

Coverage:
 A single Access Point can cover, at best, a
radius of only about 60 metres.
 Hundreds of Access Points are necessary to
provide seamless coverage in small area.
 For 10 square kms area roughly 650 Access
Points are required, where as CDMA 2000
1xEV-DO requires just 09 sites.

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 Limitation of Wi-Fi networks

Roaming:
 It lacks roaming between different networks hence
wide spread coverage by one service provider is not
possible, which is the key to success of wireless
technology.
Backhaul:
 Backhaul directly affects data rate.
 Service provider used Cable or DSL for backhaul.
 Wi-Fi real world data rates are at least half of the
their theoretical peak rates due to factors such as
signal strength, interference and radio overhead
 Backhaul reduces the remaining throughput further.
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 Limitation of Wi-Fi networks

Interference:
 Wi-Fi uses unlicensed spectrum, which

mean no regulator recourse against

interference.
 The most popular type of Wi-Fi, ‘802.11’b

uses the crowded 2.4 GHz band which is

already used in Bluetooth, cordless phones
and microwave ovens.

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 Limitation of Wi-Fi networks
Security:
 Wi-Fi Access Points and modems use the Wired

Equivalent Privacy (WEP) Standards, which is

very susceptible to hacking and eavesdropping.
Security:
 WEP( Wired Equivalent Privacy) is not very

secure.
 WPA (WIFI Protected Access) offers much better

security with the help of dynamic key encryption

and mutual authentication.

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 Limitation of Wi-Fi networks
Authentication, Authorization and Accounting:

 In a server based configuration whenever a laptop enters

into a wifi zone, a welcome page is sent to it.
 User enters username and password.
 It is connected through the wireless gateway(router) to
AAA servers.
 Once authenticated ,user can access sites of his choice.
 Prepaid and postpaid customers can be billed.

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Thank You

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