Unit II Wlan

WLAN
McGraw-Hill ©The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2004

 WLAN stands for Wireless Local Area Network. WLAN is a local area
network that uses radio communication to provide mobility to the
network users while maintaining the connectivity to the wired network.
The coverage of WLAN is within a campus or building.
 A WLAN basically, extends a wired local area network. WLAN’s are built
by attaching a device called the access point(AP) to the edge of the
wired network.
 Clients communicate with the AP using a wireless network adapter

which is similar in function to an ethernet adapter. It is also called a
LAWN is a Local area wireless network.
 The standards of WLAN are HiperLAN, Wi-Fi, and IEEE 802.11
 In WLAN there are series of standards to take care of different frequencies,

data rate and range such as 11a,11b,11g,11n,11ac,11ad,11af and few are
evolving. These standards define physical and MAC layers.
 WLAN basically connects two or more than two devices using some wireless
distribution method such as spread spectrum or OFDM radio.
 This provides WLAN users the mobility to move around within small coverage
area inside office or building premises referred as cell.
 802.11  5Ghz-> 23 overlapping channel and 2.4GHz ->3 non overlapping

WLAN Architecture
 Components in Wireless LAN architecture as per IEEE standards are

as follows:
1. Stations: Stations consist of all the equipment that is used to
connect all wireless LANs. Each station has a wireless network
controller.
2. Base Service Set(BSS): It is a group of stations communicating at
the physical layer.
3. Extended Service Set(ESS): It is a group of connected Base
Service Set(BSS).
4. Distribution Service (DS): It connects all Extended Service
Set(ESS).
WLAN Architecture
Types of WLANs
 As per IEEE standard WLAN is categorized into two basic modes, which are as
follows:
1. Infrastructure: In Infrastructure mode, all the endpoints are connected to a base

station and communicate through that; and this can also enable internet access. A
WLAN infrastructure can be set up with: a wireless router (base station) and an
endpoint (computer, mobile phone, etc). An office or home WiFi connection is an
example of Infrastructure mode.
2. Ad Hoc: In Ad Hoc mode WLAN connects devices without a base station, like a
computer workstation. An Ad Hoc WLAN is easy to set up it provides peer-to-peer
communication. It requires two or more endpoints with built-in radio transmission.
Infrastructure
Ad Hoc
 Is a WLAN Secure ?
 Whether or not WLAN is secure depends on multiple factors of

implementation configured by the network administrator. However, by
default it has multiple security vulnerabilities. So the security team
should consider all the factor and configure accordingly.
 Following are 2 ways to ensure best security practices :-
1. Encryption: Ensure that the network is using highest level of encryption
2. Authentication: There are multiple authentication mechanism, its good

to use protocols that rely on 802.1x standards like WPA-EAP (Wireless
Protected Acess-Extensible Authentication Protocol) for organisation as
this method ONLY gives access when correct username and passwords
are inputed. And usernames and passwords are not shared and are
individual specific only.
 WEP : Wireless Equivalent Privacy used to be an
encryption algorithm that turned out to be fatally flawed
because it could easily be cracked by hackers.
 WPA : WiFi Protected Access that used a more secure
encryption mechanism
 WPA2: It is an extension of WPA that introduced easier
configuration management and added Advanced
Encryption Standard (AES)
 Characteristics of WLAN
1. Seamless operation.
2. Low power for battery use.
3. Simple management, easy to use for everyone.
4. Protection of investment in wired networks.
5. Robust transmission technology.
 Advantages of WLAN
 Installation speed and simplicity.
 Installation flexibility.
 Reduced cost of ownership.
 Reliability.
 Mobility.
 Robustness.
 Disadvantages of WLAN
1. Slower bandwidth.
2. Security for wireless LANs is the prime concern.
3. Less capacity.
4. Wireless networks cost four times more than wired
network cards.
5. Wireless devices emit low levels of RF which can be
harmful to our health.
 WLAN is a quickly configurable type of network that doesn’t
require physical equipment just to connect multiple devices with
each other or over the internet
• WLAN is a widely used most popular type of network configuration
that can be setup quickly by purchasing a router or Access point
through an ISP (Internet service provider)
• All the communication occurs through radio waves which is a
standard mode of communication due to their seamless ability to
penetrate through obstacles.
• If WLAN is setup in a highly confidential, sensitive information
environment, then certain security measures are need to be taken
like WPA-2, strong passwords, network segmentation etc.

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WLAN

McGraw-Hill ©The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2004

 Clients communicate with the AP using a wireless network adapter

 In WLAN there are series of standards to take care of different frequencies,

 802.11  5Ghz-> 23 overlapping channel and 2.4GHz ->3 non overlapping

 Components in Wireless LAN architecture as per IEEE standards are

1. Infrastructure: In Infrastructure mode, all the endpoints are connected to a base

 Whether or not WLAN is secure depends on multiple factors of

 Following are 2 ways to ensure best security practices :-

1. Encryption: Ensure that the network is using highest level of encryption

2. Authentication: There are multiple authentication mechanism, its good

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