• Technology

Based on radio frequency connectivity, wireless networks are the best solutions when scalability and mobility are needed from the network. Its initial high setup cost is justified by the ease of adding more computers and ubiquitous connectivity. In fact, in the long run, this proves to be the most cost-effective installation. Technically, a wireless local area network, or WLAN, connects computing devices through spread-spectrum or OFDM radio. Either of these distribution methods provides connectivity through an access point to the wider internet.

Wireless Networks and IEEE Standards
Before one begins installing a wireless network, it is important to pick the right kind of wireless gears. Every wireless gear should confirm with the 802.11, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n standards.

What are these standards and what do they imply?
802.11 was the first standard created by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). 802.11 supports a maximum of 2 Mbps bandwidth. Thus, it tends to be the slowest of all. The other advancements, namely 802.11b and 802.11g, are much faster and almost comparable with wired networks, which still enjoy the status of being the fastest.

802.11b offers a bandwidth speed of 11Mbps and uses the unregulated radio signaling frequency of 2.4 GHz. The main advantage that 802.11b offers is higher speed and low cost.

Around the same time when 802.11b was being developed, IEEE had introduced 802.11a as well. However, due to higher cost, it did not gain popularity. Nevertheless, big businesses swear by 802.11a due to its higher 54 Mbps bandwidth and regulated radio frequency, which facilitated the lowest obstruction by other gadgets such as mobile phones.

802.11g combines the best of the two by offering a bandwidth of 54Mbps and running on the unregulated radio frequency of 2.4 GHz. None of these could match the speed offered by wired networks. Therefore, IEEE unveiled another edition and called it 802.11n. Probably the costliest, 802.11n offers a bandwidth of up to 100Mbps and utilizes multiple wireless signals for supporting the bandwidth.

Setting Up A Wireless Network
A wireless network typically works like a radio system. There is a broadcaster, in this case a router, and receivers, in this case client computers. Setting up such a wireless network requires compatible hardware and can be achieved in four major steps:

Picking the right wireless gears: A highly recommended technology to buy is the one that complies with 802.11g. You will also need a wireless router, computers with in-built wireless networking support or, alternatively, wireless adapters. Do not confuse between routers and access points.

An access point is merely a portal for clients to connect to the wireless network, whereas a router can be considered as a server with capabilities of controlling the traffic.

Connecting the wireless router: This includes connecting the router to the modem. If the computer does not have wireless connectivity, you may have to use adaptors to make them receptive ‘clients.’

Configuring the router: This step involves using a wire to connect the wireless router through one of its empty ports. Once connected, the router is configured through browsers. This step also involves defining a few settings, such as the wireless network name, wireless encryption (WEP) or Wi-Fi protected access (WPA) and the administrative passwords.

Connecting computers to the network: If adapters are used to connect with the wireless network, the computer recognizes the hardware and leads you through the rest of the process. Also different operating systems (OS) follow different steps for establishing a connection.

In a nutshell, the following hardware is needed for setting up a wireless network:

Routers: 802.11g complaint routers are available in India for as low as Rs.3,000. A typical small business enterprise may require slightly better quality routers which are available at around Rs5,000.
Network adaptors: Good quality adapters are available for as low as Rs.1,500. They make your old computers capable of wireless connections.
Access points: They are available from Rs.2,500 onwards. Access points enable wired networks to add wireless users.
Antenna: This may cost you as low as Rs.799 and is needed to intensify signal strength.

A complete wireless network can be installed in under Rs.15,000 for around 3-4 computers and can give you scalability and mobility, whenever needed.

Besides using the above mentioned setup, known as infrastructure mode, small business organizations may opt for an ‘ad hoc’ mode, which negates the need for routers. In this kind of setup, one computer, which is equipped with wireless broadcasting hardware, becomes the host and is connected with the internet. The other computing devices need to have an in-built or installed adapter to join the network. Although this reduces the cost, there are various limitations, such as:
Limiting use of the host computer besides affecting its speed and CPU usage.
A costlier machine being deployed to work as a router.

Benefits of Wireless Networks
Besides offering the mobility that a small enterprise may require for strategic reasons and accessing data from within the office premises, wireless networks offer the following other benefits:
Ease of installation: As there is no need to pull wires and install jacks, installing a wireless network takes far less time than wired networks. Also, it is less labor intensive, as just one computer technician can fix the gadgets.

Reduced cost of ownership: Wireless networks tend to have a better life cycle and lower maintenance overheads. This reduces the cost of ownership and offers cost advantages for an environment that is mobile and changes frequently, such as a new office or infrastructural changes.

Scalability: The same hardware can be used for different configuration and network setups. It can be a full blown setup for movement or a wireless network between a few computers.

As technology becomes cheaper with every passing day and new innovations targeting 100mbps bandwidth are being introduced, wireless networks are the ideal choice for enterprises with a mobile population.

Demerits of Wireless Networks
Being a radio frequency-based transmission mechanism; wireless networks have a few disadvantages as well:

Security: Wireless networks are among the easiest networks to break into. Though various validation levels are used, being a wireless transmission, the signals can be easily intercepted.

Performance: Such networks are not the best for transferring big files. They are notorious for frequent disconnections and, therefore, transferring files on them can be a pain.

Signal distortion: Unregulated radio frequency incurs a lot of interference through other electronic gadgets, such as mobile phones.

To sum it up, wireless networks are the ideal choice when mobility is desired more than security. Even security can be managed, with authentication levels. Faster file sharing is another issue.

©Entrepreneur May 2011

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adaptors, band width, frequency, IEEE, Network, OFDM, operating sytem, router, Technology, wireless, WLAN