Wireless Technology and Convergence
NETW-471/Advanced Topics in Networking
Ronald Webb
Online Fall 2008 Session B
Jason Strickland
February 8, 2009
Table of Contents
Introduction to Wireless 2
Overview of the IEEE 802.11 Standard 3
Wireless Technologies 3
IEEE 802.11 3
HiperLAN 4
HomeRF SWAP 5
Bluetooth 6
Advantages and Disadvantages of Wireless 7
Security 10
The Hacking Threat 10
WLAN Security 11
Wired Equivalent Privacy Encryption (WEP) 11
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) 12
WLAN Security Measures 13
Future Trends of Wireless 15
Conclusion 15
References 17
Introduction to Wireless
Wireless technology is one of the fastest growing segments of the communications industry. Wireless technology makes our lives faster and more mobile and it’s only a matter of time before wireless is used in some way by most businesses, fundamentally changing the way that employees, customers, and suppliers interact. The common wireless networks of today originated from many evolutionary stages of wireless communications and telegraph and radio applications.
All wireless communication takes place over electromagnetic waves that carry signals. Wireless technology eliminates wiring among computer devices, such as PDAs and laptops, and existing networks as well as solutions for a variety of applications in homes, offices, hospitals, and public areas, where users can benefit from having mobile access to network services. This permits computer devices and users to be highly mobile while still interfacing with the Internet and corporate applications. Whether someone is within an airport, home, or office, the person can stay connected.
Overview of the IEEE 802.11 Standard
802.11 is a set of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards for wireless networking designed to do for wireless networking what the 802.3 standards have done for Ethernet: provide clear guidelines for...