WiFoo..The.Secrets.of.Wireless.Hacking [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Chapter 1. Defining a Wireless Network's Protocols and Components

This chapter covers the following topics:

The Evolution of Wireless Standards

Introducing 802.11

Additional Wireless Standards

Wi-Fi Alliance

WLAN Components

So you have decided to add a wireless system to your network. Where do you start? What products do you need? You know that a wireless LAN (WLAN) can provide overall productivity improvements, based on user mobility and resulting improvements in organizational and individual efficiency. All of this is, however, is based on selecting the proper components, the proper WLAN architecture, and proper installation. As network administrators rush to integrate wireless LANs across enterprise networks, they often underestimate and oversimplify the technology.

A properly selected and installed Wi-Fi, or wireless fidelity, network can provide a dramatic increase in productivity at the individual level, which in the end relates to the bottom line for the company or organization. However, selecting the wrong components or the wrong architecture, or installing the WLAN using improper guidelines, can cause you to just as easily end up with a system the users hate because of arcane access and use rules. Or you will have a system that causes the network to become unbearably slow, insecure, or extremely unstable.

This book covers many aspects of properly selecting your WLAN components (including the WLAN architecture), assists in the design stages, and covers many details of site survey steps and proper installation techniques. Remember, a well-deployed WLAN is like a drug: When users get a taste of it, they are addicted. So you have to prepare for expansion, and continued growth (unless, of course, you enable everyone the first day!).

This chapter focuses on the protocols that make up today's WLANs and the evolution of the technology. Understanding the migration path from early systems through what is available today will help you relate to issues and problems that arise with WLANs.

Later chapters cover different WLAN architectures from which you can select one that meets your application needs, stays within budget, and allows for proper installation and expansion.