Decisive Business Systems, Inc' 409 Rt' 70 East, Suite 201, Cherry Hill, NJ 856'354'1799

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Wireless Networking What Is It, How It Works,
Benefits, Etc.
Decisive Business Systems, Inc.
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What Is Wireless Local-area Networking?

• In the simplest of terms, a wireless local-area
  network (WLAN) does exactly what the name
  implies it provides all the features and
  benefits of traditional LAN technologies such as
  Ethernet and token ring without the limitations
  of wires or cables. But to view a WLAN just in
  terms of the cables it does not have is to miss
  the point WLANs redefine the way we view LANs.
  Connectivity no longer implies attachment. Local
  areas are measured not in feet or meters, but
  miles or kilometers. An infrastructure need not
  be buried in the ground or hidden behind the
  wallsan "infrastructure" can move and change at
  the speed of the organization. This technology
  has several immediate applications.

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The Wireless LAN Standard

• Defined by the institute of electrical and
  electronics engineers (IEEE).
• The first wireless LAN technologies were
  low-speed (1-2 mbps) proprietary offerings.
• In June 1997, the IEEE released the 802.11
  standard for wireless local-area networking.
• Data rates have increased from 1 to 11 mbps,
  interoperability became reality.

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Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance

• The wireless Ethernet compatibility alliance
  (www.wi-fi.Org) is a non-profit organization
  formed in 1999 to certify interoperability of
  Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11b high rate) products and to
  promote Wi-Fi as the global wireless LAN standard
  across all market segments. WECA has defined a
  test suite that defines how member products are
  tested to certify that they are interoperable
  with other vendor products. An independent test
  lab, the silicon valley networking lab, inc.,
  (Www.svnl.Com) conducts the testing. When a
  product successfully passes the test, the company
  will be granted the Wi-Fi seal of
  interoperability and may display the Wi-Fi logo
  on that product and its corresponding collateral
  material. Consumers are assured that any product
  bearing the Wi-Fi logo will work with other Wi-Fi
  products. Membership in WECA is open to all
  companies who support Wi-Fi The standard for 2.4
  GHz wireless LAN products, including any
  manufacturer that would like to submit its Wi-Fi
  based product for interoperability testing.

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Performance

• Unlicensed frequency
• 802.11b
• 2.4-GHz 11 mbps - now
• 5-GHz 22 mbps on the road map 2001
• 802.11a
• 54-mbps data rate 2001/2002
• 5.7-GHz band 100mbps 20??
• 802.15 (Bluetooth) 802.16 (Broadband)
• http//www.ieee.org/wireless

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Security

• 802.11 standard is only the first step in
  addressing customer security concerns
• RC4 algorithm with a 40 or 128 bit key
• Keys are used to encrypt the data before it is
  transmitted through the airwaves

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Management

• Wireless access points share the functions of
  both hubs and switches
• Telnet or SNMP (I or II) services or a web
  browser interface
• Mapping of wireless access points
• WLAN network policy

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Price

• As volumes continue to increase, manufacturing
  efficiencies and cost-reduction engineering will
  allow for even further price reductions.
• Although it is unlikely that the price of a
  wireless client adapter will ever match that of a
  wired one when cabling cost and labor are
  accounted for, the difference will become
  increasingly insignificant.

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How Does It Work?

• PC card works in a notebook computer and receives
  and transmits digital information over a radio
  frequency of 2.4 GHz. The PC card converts the
  radio signal into digital data (actually small
  packets of information) the PC can understand and
  process.
• PCI card fits into a desktop PC and operates like
  the PC card.
• Software access point allows a PC connected to
  the Ethernet (a common type of local area network
  or LAN) to act as a hardware access point.

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How Does It Work? (Cont.)

• Hardware access point receives and transmits
  information similar to the PC card. The hardware
  access point connects via a RJ-45 wire to the
  Ethernet and handles the ingoing and outgoing
  traffic from and to wireless LAN users or
  "clients" - thereby acting as a wireless hub.
  Said another way, the hardware access point acts
  as the gateway (or on-ramp) for wireless users to
  access a wired LAN. It is important to note that
  similar to a freeway at rush hour, the more users
  on that access point, the slower traffic goes.

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How the Products InteractThere Are 2 Basic Modes
on the Client End (Where Wireless LAN Users Are
the "Client")

• Infrastructure -when infrastructure mode is
  selected (on the PC via a configuration utility)
  the user will send/receive radio signals (i.E.
  Information) to/from an access point (please note
  that this can either be a either hardware or
  software access point. The access point, which is
  connect to a wired network through a cable,
  receives the radio signal from the client and
  converts it to digital format that the network
  (and server) can understand and process. If the
  user called up information (like a web page), the
  access point would send a radio signal to the
  WLAN users' PC. Access points are located at
  network connections where any networked PC,
  printer, etc. Would attach to the network through
  a RJ-45 cable (looks like a phone plug, but
  slightly larger).

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How the Products InteractThere Are 2 Basic Modes
on the Client End (Where Wireless LAN Users Are
the "Client")

• Peer to peer - when peer to peer mode is
  selected, users connect to other PCs (either
  portable or desktop) that have IEEE 802.11b high
  rate (HR) wireless products. This mode is used
  when there is no wired network or when a group of
  users want to set up their own network to
  collaborate and share files.
• On the server/network side, the IT manager is
  required to install a software package that the
  IT department needs to install on the appropriate
  server. This software package will configure,
  manage, and track wireless traffic across the
  network.

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Capacity

• Each hardware access point has up to 11 mbps
  throughput. This capacity is adequate for the
  following
• 50 nominal users who are mostly idle and check an
  occasional text based e-mail.
• 25 mainstream users who use a lot of e-mail and
  down/up load moderately sized files.
• 10-20 power users who are constantly on the
  network and deal with large files.
• To increase capacity, more access points may be
  added - allowing users more opportunity to enter
  a network. It is important to note, that networks
  are optimized when the access points are set to
  different channels.

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Capacity

• Ex. A company may place 3 access points (with a
  range of up to 100 meters each) in 3 adjacent
  offices - each set to a different channel. In
  theory, this would allow many users to "share" a
  total of up to 33 mbps total capacity (although
  no single user would ever have throughput speeds
  greater than up to 11 mbps). In reality, since
  clients associate with the access point with
  which it shares the strongest signal, the
  bandwidth may not be dispersed evenly among users.

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The Connection Process"SSID" "Channels"
"Overlapping" "Cross-talk"

• SSID to have a client and an access point
  communicate, they both require the same SSID.
  "SSID" is the name of the network that the PCs
  will share. This "name" - (which could be
  "EngineeringNet") is entered in a field that
  comes up when the configuration software is
  launched. The client's SSID is entered locally on
  the client PC. The access point SSID is entered
  through the network software utility.
• Channels A channel represents a specific
  frequency (ex. Channel 2 is 2.402 GHz, channel 3
  is 2.403 GHz, etc.) At which a client and access
  point communicate with each other. An access
  point it set to a specific channel (in addition
  to a specific SSID), but a client however has
  only a set SSID - that channel it associates with
  is variable.

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The Connection Process How It Works

• Channels (cont.).
• A client searches for and associates with the
  access point that has the strongest signal. The
  client then scans all the channels and sets
  itself to the channel of that access point.
• There are 80 total channels, but different
  countries allow only certain channels to be
  utilized. In north America, for example, only
  channels 1-11 channels may be utilized. See the
  white paper for more details.
• Overlapping it is recommended that if the user
  is going to roam, the cells (access point ranges)
  should overlap slightly to guarantee seamless
  wireless connectivity. When roaming all the
  access points and clients will share the same
  SSID, but should not share the same channel (see
  cross-talk below). In fact, there should be a 25
  MHz difference (or about 5 channel separation)
  between overlapping cells.

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The Connection Process How It Works

• Overlapping (cont.).
• Example in north America, channel 1, 6, 11 are
  recommended by the FCC since these channel
  frequencies are isolated from each other.
  Channels 2-5, 7-10 in NA have the possibility to
  develop cross-talk and interfere with data
  transmission.
• Cross-talk when access points are set to the
  same channel (i.E.. Frequency) and are in close
  proximity (i.E.. Their "cells" or ranges
  overlap), the possibility of "cross-talk" occurs.
  Cross-talk occurs because access points pick up
  the signals of the adjacent access point and visa
  versa. The information traffic from the various
  clients collide at the access points creating a
  jumble of information. It takes the access points
  time to sort out the combined information and the
  result is a significant dampening of performance.

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The Connection Process How It Works

• The inverse relationship between data
  transmission and distance from access points
• Data transmission rates decrease as users get
  farther from the access point. Refer to the table
  for details

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The Connection Process How It Works

• It is important to note that actual data
  transmission rates may vary considerably
  depending on number of users, type of usage
  (i.e.. File sizes frequency of down/up
  loading), speed of network, and so on. On ALL
  networks (wired and wireless) some of the data
  being transmitted is "overhead" which controls
  and manages data flow. This overhead means that
  file transfer rate (for example downloading a
  file from a shared drive) will not reach 11 mbps.
  These issues are accepted and understood by IT
  professionals and network managers.

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Education Benefits

• Works with existing infrastructure
• Availability of network - speed
• Old buildings less cabling
• Room restrictions - mobility
• Cost long term decrease
• Standard 802.11
• Scalable secure

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Resources

• WebSites
• http//www.microsoft.com/ISN/ind_solutions/wireles
  s_data.asp
• http//www.compaq.com/products/wireless/index.html
  
• http//www.cisco.com/warp/public/779/edu/build/sol
  utions
• http//www.techweb.com/encyclopedia/defineterm?exa
  ct1termwireless20glossary
• http//www.bluetooth.org/
• http//www.ieee.org/wireless

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Decisive Business Systems, Inc.Where It All
Comes Together!

• Privately Held Since 1987
• Agent for State Contracts
• How to Set a meeting with DBS?
• Vice President Peter Busam
• Major Account Manger Mr. Jamie Hawkes
• Inside Sales Representative Mr. Kevin Klein
• Contact methods
• sales.request_at_decisivebiz.com
• httpwww.decisivebiz.com
• [phone]