Implementing Wi-Fi at TAPMI

Submitted By:
(Group – 10, PGP-1, Sec-2)

Abhisek Jain
Anvesh Ramineni
Puneet Raitani
Sushma Sonty
Shashank Pandey
Sathvik G.V.
Vinod Nair
Vipin Pillai

Course - ISBT
Course Instructor - Prof. Mohan Kumar

T.A. Pai Management Institute

Manipal (Karnataka)
 Table of Contents

TOPIC Page Number

1) Introduction. 3

2) Why should TAPMI go wireless? 4

3) 802.11b and 802.11g (Wireless Standards) 5

4) Local Area Network at TAPMI (Network Diagram) 6

5) How to add Wi-Fi to an exisiting computer/laptop? 7

6) Wireless Devices for laptops and desktops 8

7) How to make existing LAN at TAPMI Wi-Fi? 10

8) How many wireless networked computers can use a single access point? 11

9) What is the range of a Wireless Network? 12

10) Roaming in a Wireless Environment. 13

11) A Pictorial Representation of Multiple Access Points. 14

12) Details of some Wireless Access Points. 15

a) Linksys Wireless-G Access Point - WAP54G
b) Netgear Wireless Access Point - WG602
c) D-Link DWL-G700AP Wireless Access Point
d) Netgear 256 users 108 Mbps Wireless Access Point WG302

13) Wireless Range Extenders 19

14) Wi-Fi Security Issues 20

15) A Proposal – Pilot Project : Wi-Fi at TAPMI Library 21

16) Conclusion 21

17) References 22

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 2 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

 Implementing Wi-Fi at TAPMI

1) Introduction:

“Wi-Fi stands for Wireless Fidelity”.

In simple words, Wi-Fi is the wireless way to handle networking. It is also known

as 802.11 networking and wireless networking. The big advantage of Wi-Fi is its

simplicity. It connects computers anywhere in the organization’s premises without the

need for wires. The computers connect to the network using radio signals.

In today’s world, we find that most of the b-school campuses across India as well

as the world, are going wireless. Having a wireless campus has become one of the de-

facto standards for b-schools as well as all other premier institutions. It facilitates the use

of the I.T. resources of the institution anywhere in the campus without the need for going

to the computer lab or to a computer node connected to the network.

Wireless Networking can be compared to what cellular phones did to landline

phones. Earlier, a lot of cabling and digging was needed to install a telephone line. But

with the advent of mobile telephony, the cumbersome task of digging and laying cables,

installing cables across buildings and premises has been done away with. Similarly,

deploying a wireless network needs the right kind of hardware devices at the right places.

There is no need to have a physical cable laid out to connect to the local area network or

to any of the other I.T. resources of the institution.

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 3 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

2) Why should TAPMI go wireless? :

TAPMI is one of the premier b-schools of India and has been constantly ranked

among the top-15 for the past few years. It attracts one of the best talent pool in terms of

students and faculties.

Keeping the above in mind, there should be nothing stopping it from deploying

the best in I.T. infrastructure so has to enable its students and teachers to make the most

out of its I.T. facilities and databases. The most frequently used I.T. resource today is

Internet. Teachers as well as students are required to check their e-mails more than once

on a daily basis. Almost every project and assignment needs the students to refer to

resources on internet. Wi-Fi enables all this and more throughout the campus without the

need of being connected to the LAN through a wire.

Advantages of Wi-Fi:

• It can be easily deployed on the existing TAPMI LAN just by adding a

few hardware devices.

• All existing PCs and laptops can easily connect to the wireless network

just by adding a wireless device similar to a USB pen drive.

• It reduces the costs of further network deployment and expansion.

• Spaces where cables cannot be run, such as outdoor areas can host

wireless LANs.

• There are no license fees.

• Wireless LAN is low cost and easy to install.

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 4 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

 3) 802.11b and 802.11g (Wireless Standards) :

The above words describe the two most commonly used wireless protocols or

wireless networking standards. Although there are a lot of different standards in existence

as well as under development, 802.11b and 802.11g are the most commonly used ones.

The above standards have been developed by IEEE or the Institute of Electrical

and Electronics Engineers, USA.

802.11 b:

• It operated in the 2.4GHz band

• It supports up to 11Mbps data exchange rate.

• It offers high-speed access to data at up to 300 feet from base station.

802.11 g:

• It is an extension to 802.11b.

• It also operates in the 2.4GHz band

• It supports up to 54Mbps data exchange rate.

• It is backward compatible with 802.11b. All devices supporting 802.11b

can operate on 802.11g networks at a lower speed, i.e., 11Mbps.

• It also offers high-speed access to data at up to 300 feet from base station.

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 5 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

4) Local Area Network at TAPMI (Network Diagram):

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 6 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

5) How to add Wi-Fi to an exisiting computer/laptop?

Most of the new laptops these days already come with a WiFi card built in and

support the 802.11g standard. At TAPMI, the 80% of the present batch (2005-07) has a

laptop or a desktop computer. Out of that, 75% of the laptops have got in-built wi-fi

support.

For the existing desktops at TAPMI and the older laptops with students and teachers,

it is very easy to add wireless capability. A simple USB device has to be added to these

laptops or desktops. Also, pci cards can be added to desktops and pcmcia cards can be

added to laptops.

• For a laptop, this card will normally be a PCMCIA card that will slide into

the PCMCIA slot in the laptop. Or one can buy a small external adapter

and plug it into the USB port.

• For a desktop machine, one can buy a PCI card that will get installed

inside the machine, or a small external adapter that you will connect to the

USB port.

These devices are quite cheap and affordable. Some of the listings from the online

shopping portal Ebay.in are mentioned in the next page, alongwith their prices.

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 7 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

6) Wireless Devices: Adding Wiress Capabitity to Laptops and Desktops :

1) Ashton USB Wireless PC / Notebook Adapter 802.11b (Rs. 1049):

2) X-Micro Wifi WLAN USB Wireless LAN adapter 802.11g (Rs. 1950):

3) SMC 54 MBps WiFi Adapter - USB 2.0 802.11g (Rs. 1999):

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 8 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

4) Ashton AirDash WRCB-1011R Wireless PCMCIA / Network Adapter Card
802.11b (Rs. 749):

5) X-Micro WLAN 11g PCMCIA Card (54Mbps) 802.11g (Rs. 1999):

6) Airlink Wireless WiFi PCI Adapter 54Mbps 802.11g (Rs. 1999):

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 9 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

7) How to make TAPMI a wi-fi campus?

There are generally the following three types of networks present in any

organization:

Type-1 Type-2 Type-3

TAPMI has type-1 LAN at present and we are discussing in this report a move to

type-3 wireless lan.

Inorder to add wireless capabilities to the I.T. infrastructure of TAPMI, just a few

hardware have to be attached to the existing LAN (Local Area Network), a diagram of

which is given in page-6, and we have a wi-fi campus ready at TAPMI. The following

two hardware devices are needed to go wireless :

1) Wireless Access Point.

2) Signal boosters to increase the range of the wireless network.

3) Repeaters – they can be used instead of signal boosters.

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 10 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

 A wireless access pint, or base station acts like a hub, providing connectivity for

the wireless computers. It can connect (or "bridge") the wireless LAN to a wired LAN,

allowing wireless computer access to LAN resources, such as file servers or existing

Internet Connectivity.

8) How many wireless networked computers can use a single access

point?

This depends upon the manufacturer. Some hardware access points have a

recommended limit of 10, with other more expensive access points supporting up to

100 wireless connections. Using more computers than recommended will cause

performance and reliability to suffer.

Software access points (using a wifi capable computer as an access point, without

any separate hardware like an access point) may also impose user limitations, but this

depends upon the specific software, and the host computer's ability to process the

required information

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 11 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

9) What is the range of a Wireless Network?

Each access point has a finite range within which a wireless connection can be

maintained between the client computer and the access point. The actual distance varies

depending upon the environment; manufacturers typically state both indoor and outdoor

ranges to give a reasonable indication of reliable performance. Also it should be noted

that when operating at the limits of range the performance may drop, as the quality of

connection deteriorates and the system compensates.

Typical indoor ranges are 150-300 feet, but can be shorter if the building

construction interferes with radio transmissions. Longer ranges are possible, but

performance will degrade with distance.

Outdoor ranges are quoted up to 1000 feet, but again this depends upon the

environment.

There are ways to extend the basic operating range of Wireless Network, by

using more than a single access point or using a repeaters or wireless relay /

extension point.

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 12 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

10) Roaming in a Wireless Environment:

A wireless computer can "roam" from one access point to another, with the

software and hardware maintaining a steady network connection by monitoring the signal

strength from in-range access points and locking on to the one with the best quality.

Usually this is completely transparent to the user; they are not aware that a different

access point is being used from area to area.

Access points are required to have overlapping wireless areas to achieve this as
can be seen in the following diagram:

A user can move from Area 1 to Area 2 transparently. The Wireless

networking hardware automatically swaps to the Access Point with
the best signal.

Not all access points are capable of being configured to support roaming. Also it

is always better that access points from a single vendor should be used when

implementing roaming to ease configuration and compatibility.

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 13 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

11) A Pictorial Representation of Multiple Access Points :

Wireless connected computers using Multiple Access Points

A Wireless Network using Netgear WG-602 Access Point

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 14 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

12) Details of some Wireless Access Points:

a) Linksys Wireless-G Access Point - WAP54G (Rs. 3,899.00):

Features:

• Set up a high-speed Wireless-G (802.11g) network in your home or office.

• Data rates up to 54Mbps -- 5 times faster than Wireless-B (802.11b).
• Also interoperates with Wireless-B networks (at 11Mbps).
• Advanced wireless security with WPA, 128-bit WEP encryption, and MAC
filtering.

Package Contents:

• Wireless-G Access Point

• Detachable Antennas
• Power Adapter
• Setup CD with User Guide
• Ethernet Network Cable
• Quick Installation
• Registration Card

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 15 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

b) Netgear Wireless Access Point - WG602 (Rs. 3,999.00):

Features:

• Netgear is the leader in unmanaged Fast Ethernet switches in both sales and port
count
• Fastest growing wireless company worldwide (2003)
• #1 worldwide in SPI Firewall/VPN routers
• #1 in wired 10/100 PCMCIA network cards for notebook PCs in US retail
• Fastest growing seller of Layers2 fixed Ethernet Switches
• Extend your wireless signal by adding a WG602 in repeater mode (only available
on WG602v2 and v3).
• This Netgear product comes with global warranty of 3 years and has 24 hours free
technical support call center in India.

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 16 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

c) D-Link DWL-G700AP Wireless Access Point (Rs. 3299):

Features:

• Up to 54Mbps

• WPA for Enhanced Wireless Security

• Quickly Add Wireless Access to Your Network

• Web-based Configuration and Management

• High-speed wireless network access for home or office

• Successfully passed through the Intel Wireless Verification Program

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 17 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

d) Netgear 256 users 108 Mbps Wireless Access Point WG302 (Rs. 14,999.00):

•
• Supports 256 users simultaneously.
• High-speed networking with IEEE 802.11g, up to 108 Mbps in turbo mode
• Powerful RF management and control with AutoCell™ technology
• Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) security support
• Wireless Distribution System (WDS) supports bridging and repeater modes
• Integrated IEEE 802.3af PoE
• 2 detachable 5 dBi antennas
• SNMP MIB I, MIB II and 802.11 MIB support
• Plenum-rated
• Intel® Centrino™ certified
• Peak WLAN Performance with AutoCell™
• Success Story: Intel Case Study: NETGEAR® ProSafe™ Access Points

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 18 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

13) Wireless Range Extenders:

a) Linksys Wireless - G Range Extender (Rs. Rs. 5,499.00):

b) D-Link AirPlus DWL-800AP+ Wireless Range Extender:

c) D-Link 21dBi High Gain 2.4GHz Outdoor Directional Grid Antenna:

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 19 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

14) Wi-Fi Security Issues :

WiFi hotspots can be open or secure.

• If a hotspot is open, then anyone with a WiFi card can access the hotspot.

• If it is secure, then the user needs to know a WEP key to connect.

WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy, and it is an encryption system for the

data that 802.11 sends through the air. WEP has two variations: 64-bit encryption (really

40-bit) and 128-bit encryption (really 104-bit). 40-bit encryption was the original

standard but was found to be easily broken. 128-bit encryption is more secure and is what

most people use if they enable WEP.

For a casual user, any hotspot that is using WEP is inaccessible unless he knows

the WEP key.

While setting up a hotspot in at TAPMI, we may want to create and use a 128-bit

WEP key to prevent the neighbors and outsiders from casually eavesdropping on our

network.

Whether at home or on the road, one needs to know the WEP key, and then enter

it into the WiFi card's software, to gain access to the network.

Security issues can thus be taken care of by using the right kind of software

configuration and managing access control to the wireless network. Hence, security

should not be an issue while implementing wi-fi at TAPMI.

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 20 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

15) A Proposal – Pilot Project : Wi-Fi at TAPMI Library:

As a pilot project to test wi-fi implementation at TAPMI, we may test run a pilot

project by using Linksys Wireless-G Access Point WAP54G (Rs. 3,899.00) which has

been discussed in the above pages.

• Hardware Required - Linksys Wireless-G Access Point WAP54G

• Cost of implementing this Pilot Project - (Rs. 3,899.00).

Benefits of this Pilot Project:

• Would make TAPMI Library a Wi-Fi Enabled Library

• Students and Teachers can use the I.T. resources of TAPMI on their own laptops

in the calm and serene environment of library.

• Would shoot up the rankings of TAPMI in terms of infrastructure.

16) Conclusion:

From the mentioned details and facts in the above pages, it is very clear that

implementing a wi-fi network at TAPMI is not at all a difficult task and contrary to

general notion, it doesn’t even involve exorbitant costs. The wireless hardware devices

are available at very cheap costs. In case of shift to a new campus, the same wireless

hardware can be shifted to the new campus, without any wastage of investment. Also, the

pilot project of making TAPMI Library wi-fi would help the authorities and students in

realizing the benefits of Wi-Fi. As the famous saying goes, “Seeing is believing.”

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 21 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)

References :

1) How WiFi Works

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wireless-network1.htm

2) Set Up a Network in a Snap (PCWorld Magazine)

http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,68763,00.asp

3) Wi-Fi Wireless Networks and Technology

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/wireless/

4) Planning, Designing & Implementing a Wi-Fi Network (PC-Quest Magazine)

http://www.pcquest.com/content/depth/2005/105100101.asp

5) Top Stories - Wireless (PC-Quest Magazine)

http://www.pcquest.com/content/topstories/2005/105121801.asp

6) Ebay.in - Online Shopping Portal

http://www.ebay.in

7) Netgear.com - Wireless Hardware Manufacturer

http://www.netgear.com

8) Dlink - Wireless Hardware Manufacturer

http://www.svgopen.org/2005/images/WirelessCampusLBS_KobbenV2.pdf

9) Wi-Fi Technology : Future Market Challenges and Opportunities (An article in Journal
of Computer Science)
http://www.scipub.us/fulltext/jcs/jcs2113-18.pdf

Implementing Wi-Fi @ TAPMI 22 Group-10 (Batch 2005-07)