Wireless LAN and IEEE 802.11 standard
What is WLAN?
WLAN or wireless local area network is a hub of co-located computers or devices that form a network. The communication of these devices relies on Radio transmissions instead of wired connections. The popularly used Wi-Fi is but a type of WLAN. Packets enable the transmission of data between the devices connected with WLAN. The packets consist of layers with labels and instructions. They also have unique MAC (Media Access Control) addresses for endpoints. These packets enable routing to intended locations on a given network.
IEEE 802.11
IEEE 802.11 is part of the IEEE 802 set of local area network (LAN) standards. It is also the body governing these standards. It also specifies the set of media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) protocols for the implementation of wireless local area network (WLAN) computer communication. The origin of 802.11 goes back to the 1985 ruling by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission. Its release is a part of the ISM band for unlicensed use. There are various implementations of the IEEE 802.11 standard developed over the years. Their importance depends on their development and adoption.
Working mechanism of WLAN and Wi-Fi 6
The release of 802.11 was in 1997 and is now obsolete. This is the original WLAN specification that operated in the 2.4 GHz band and offered speeds of up to 2 Mb/s. While the market standards were 10Mb/s because of this it did not grow as popular. 802.11a was the next in line and operated at the higher frequency of 5 GHz. The new bands offer lesser penetrability but more speed and 802.11b which operated at 2.4GHz and 11Mb/s. The iterations of the standards have grown better with time providing better speeds and reliability. The 802.11ax standard is the most widely used in routers today. To make the nomenclature of these standards-friendly, they are called as WIFI x where x is some number. So, Wi-Fi 6 is the name of the 802.11ax version.
WLAN requires two main methods: Infrastructure and Ad-hoc. It depends on the way they are set up. The infrastructure setup consists of a base station which has a central base station. All the devices or endpoints on the network communicate with each other through the base station. It can also provide accessibility to the internet. The wireless router is usually used as a base station in most of the cases. The ad-hoc network provides setup without the base station. It involves peer-to-peer communication between devices with a common use of Wi-Fi Direct technology. It requires at least two devices with built-in radio transmissions.
Security of WLAN
With data flowing between different devices on the WLAN, security becomes an important aspect. The most common security method for a WLAN is encryption. It has types such as Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA). WPA2 is the new standard authentication method in such encryption technology. WEP provides encryption and the correct encryption key with which the receiver can unlock the data. WPA2 builds on top of WEP with Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP). It uses RC4 encryption and hashing mechanisms. Wireless Intrusion Prevention Systems/Intrusion Detection Systems is an enhancement that does radio scanning at the RF level. It helps detect unfavorable access points and ad-hoc networks.
Advantages and Disadvantages of WLAN
The main advantages of WLAN are that it is reliable, with well-established standards, and is ease to set up. It is also easy to maintain and propagate. It helps enhance the usage of data by avoiding the clutter involved in wired communication. This helps in providing flexibility and mobility. There are also a few downsides to wireless communication. For example, the need for licensing, interference of frequencies, undetected access points due to lower security as compared to wired, etc. Given the modern-day need for a flexible work life, WLAN has served a great purpose in enhancing digital communication.
