Wi-Fi is a wireless information technology which stands for ‘ wireless fidelity ‘. It allows devices such as computer, laptops, smartphone, etc. to connect to the internet and exchange the data from device to device. In 1991, NCR corporation/AT&T invented the Wi-Fi.
So What exactly is Wi-Fi ?
Wi-Fi is the name of a wireless networking technology. It uses radio waves to provide wireless high-speed Internet and network connections. A Wi-Fi network uses radio frequency instead of wires to connect your devices to internet or each other. The connected devices can exchange data between each other or can access to internet. Basically this technology has been developed for computing devices such as laptops but now a days it is extensively using for mobile applications and other consumer devices like TV, Smart devices and home appliances.
The communication with Wi-Fi can possibly be done by two ways i.e. Access point( a device that create local area network ) to the client connection or client to client connection. Access point devices provide secured internet connectivity with high speed. It is a one type of wireless technology. It is commonly called as wireless LAN (local area network). Wi-Fi allows local area networks to operate without cable and wiring. It is widely use in home and business network.
How it works ?
It is a high speed internet connection and network connection without use of any cables or wires. The wireless network is operating three essential elements that are radio signals, antenna and router. The radio waves are keys which make the Wi-Fi networking possible. Wi-Fi cards are the receiver of radio signals .The computers and cell phones already have Wi-Fi cards. The radio signals are transmitted from antennas and routers that signals are picked up by Wi-Fi receivers, such has computers and cell phones that are ready with Wi-Fi cards. Whenever the computer receives the signals with in the range of 100-150 feet for router it connect the device immediately.
The range of the Wi-Fi is depends upon the environment, indoor or outdoor ranges. The Wi-Fi cards will read the signals and as a result, it create an internet connection between user and network. The speed of the device using Wi-Fi connection increases as the computer gets closer to the main source and speed is decreases computer gets further away.
Many new laptops, mobile phones have inbuilt Wi-Fi card, so you don’t have to do any thing which is one of the best thing. If it is a free- based type of network connection the user will be promoted with a login id and password. The free base network connections also well in some areas. The Wi-Fi network connection is creating hot spots in the cities. The hot spots are a connection point of Wi-Fi network. It is a small box that is hardwired in to the internet. There are many Wi-Fi hot spots available in public places like restaurants, airports, and hotels offices, universities etc.
In short
- A computer’s wireless adapter translates data into a radio signal and transmits it using an antenna.
- A wireless router receives the signal and decodes it. The router sends the information to the Internet using a physical, wired Ethernet connection.
The process also works in reverse, with the router receiving information from the Internet, translating it into a radio signal and sending it to the computer’s wireless adapter.
The data transmission in wi-fi is at frequency of 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz. Higher the frequency allows to carry more data to the signal.
What are the Types of Wi-Fi ?
Basically, Wi-Fi uses 802.11 networking standards. The type of wi-fi are as follow:
ALOHAnet
It is very first wireless network and the precursor to modern standards like 802.11 and acted as a proof of concept for the decades of wireless networking to come.
802.11a
It is the one of a series of wireless technology. That defines the format and structure of the radio signals sent out by WI-FI networking routers and antennas. It transmits at 5 GHz and can move up to 54 megabits of data per second.
802.11b
802. 11b is the slowest and least expensive standard. It support bandwidth 11mbps. 802.11b transmits in the 2.4 GHz frequency band of the radio spectrum. This is a low frequency compared with Wi-Fi-802.11a. It is low-cost; signal range is good using home appliance. It uses complementary code keying (CCK) modulation to improve speeds.
802.11g
802.11g transmits at 2.4 GHz like 802.11b, but it’s a lot faster. It can move up to 54 megabits of data per second and it use a 2.4 GHz frequency for greater range. It is fast accessing and has more speed than 802.11b.
802.11n
802.11n is the most widely available of the standards and is backward compatible with a, b and g. Although 802.11g has data speed of 54Mbps , but in real world it only archives up to 24Mbps . But 802.11n improves the data speed from 54Mbps to 72Mbps comparatively to 802.11g.
802.11ac
802.11ac is the newest standard as of early 2013. It has yet to be widely adopted, and is still in draft form at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), but devices that support it are already on the market.
Security in Wi-Fi
Security is our personal decision but having a wireless connection we should pay attention to protect our private details. We can connect easily to unsecured wireless routers. If your Wi- Fi is open, in such cases anyone can connect to your Wi-Fi. The problem is any one is connected to your wire less router and can use your data. So it is necessary to provide security to the wireless technologies based devices.
All routers have a web page that you can connect for configuring the Wi-Fi security. And turn on WEP (Wire Equivalence Privacy) and enter a password and remember this password. Next time when you will connect your laptop Wi-Fi router will ask you to enter the connection password and you enter that password.
To keep your network private, you can use one or both of the following methods:
- Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2 (WPA2) is the successor to WEP and WPA, and is now the recommended security standard for Wi-Fi networks. It uses either TKIP or Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption, depending upon what you choose at setup. As with WEP and the initial WPA, WPA2 security involves signing on with a password. Public hotspots are either open or use any of the available security protocols, including WEP, so use caution when connecting away from home.
- Media Access Control (MAC) address filtering is a little different from WEP, WPA or WPA2. It doesn’t use a password to authenticate users. It uses a computer’s physical hardware. Each computer has its own unique MAC address. MAC address filtering allows only machines with specific MAC addresses to access the network. You must specify which addresses are allowed when you set up your router. A clever hacker can spoof a MAC address, that is, copy a known MAC address to fool the network that the computer he or she is using belongs on the network.
Wi-Fi Applications
- Mobile applications
- Business applications
- Home applications
- Computerized application
- Automotive segment
- Browsing internet
- Video conference
Wi-Fi Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages:
- Wireless laptop can be moved from one place to another place.
- Wi-Fi network communication devices without wire can reduce the cost of wires.
- Wi-Fi setup and configuration is easy than cabling process.
- It is completely safe and it will not interfere with any network.
- We can also connect internet via hot spots.
- We can connect internet wirelessly.
Disadvantages:
- Wi-Fi generates radiations which can harm the human health.
- It is not that much efficient in the control and sensors networks. in such cases we can use Zigbee over Wi-Fi.
- We must disconnect the Wi-Fi connection whenever we are not using the server.
- There are some limits to transfer the data, we cant able to transfer the data for long distance.
- Wi-Fi implementation is very expensive when compared to the wired connection.
