802.11 wireless networks the definitive guide second edition

802.11® Wireless Networks The Definitive Guide By Matthew Gast Publisher: O'Reilly Pub Date: April 2 005 ISBN: 0 -596-1 0 0 52-3 Pages: 656 Table of Contents | Index As we all know by now, wireless networks offer many advantages over fixed (or wired) networks. Foremost on that list is mobility, since going wireless frees you from the tether of an Ethernet cable at a desk. But that's just the tip of the cable-free iceberg. Wireless networks are also more flexible, faster and easier for you to use, and more affordable to deploy and maintain. The de facto standard for wireless networking is the 802.11 protocol, which includes Wi-Fi (the wireless standard known as 802.11b) and its faster cousin, 802.11g. With easy-to-install 802.11 network hardware available everywhere you turn, the choice seems simple, and many people dive into wireless computing with less thought and planning than they'd give to a wired network. But it's wise to be familiar with both the capabilities and risks associated with the 802.11 protocols. And 802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition is the perfect place to start. This updated edition covers everything you'll ever need to know about wireless technology. Designed with the system administrator or serious home user in mind, it's a no-nonsense guide for setting up 802.11 on Windows and Linux. Among the wide range of topics covered are discussions on: deployment considerations network monitoring and performance tuning wireless security issues how to use and select access points network monitoring essentials wireless card configuration security issues unique to wireless networks With wireless technology, the advantages to its users are indeed plentiful. Companies no longer have to deal with the hassle and expense of wiring buildings, and households with several computers can avoid fights over who's online. And now, with 802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition, you can integrate wireless technology into your current infrastructure with the utmost confidence. 802.11® Wireless Networks The Definitive Guide By Matthew Gast Publisher: O'Reilly Pub Date: April 2 005 ISBN: 0 -596-1 0 0 52-3 Pages: 656 Table of Contents | Index As we all know by now, wireless networks offer many advantages over fixed (or wired) networks. Foremost on that list is mobility, since going wireless frees you from the tether of an Ethernet cable at a desk. But that's just the tip of the cable-free iceberg. Wireless networks are also more flexible, faster and easier for you to use, and more affordable to deploy and maintain. The de facto standard for wireless networking is the 802.11 protocol, which includes Wi-Fi (the wireless standard known as 802.11b) and its faster cousin, 802.11g. With easy-to-install 802.11 network hardware available everywhere you turn, the choice seems simple, and many people dive into wireless computing with less thought and planning than they'd give to a wired network. But it's wise to be familiar with both the capabilities and risks associated with the 802.11 protocols. And 802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition is the perfect place to start. This updated edition covers everything you'll ever need to know about wireless technology. Designed with the system administrator or serious home user in mind, it's a no-nonsense guide for setting up 802.11 on Windows and Linux. Among the wide range of topics covered are discussions on: deployment considerations network monitoring and performance tuning wireless security issues how to use and select access points network monitoring essentials wireless card configuration security issues unique to wireless networks With wireless technology, the advantages to its users are indeed plentiful. Companies no longer have to deal with the hassle and expense of wiring buildings, and households with several computers can avoid fights over who's online. And now, with 802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition, you can integrate wireless technology into your current infrastructure with the utmost confidence. [...]... introduction serves another important purpose 802.11 is superficially similar to Ethernet Understanding the background of Ethernet helps slightly with 802.11, but there is a host of additional background needed to appreciate how 802.11 adapts traditional Ethernet technology to a wireless world To account for the differences between wired networks and the wireless media used by 802.11, a number of additional... these MAC addresses appear to be fixed, just as in other IEEE 802 networks; 802.11 MAC addresses go into ARP tables alongside Ethernet addresses, use the same set of vendor prefixes, and are otherwise indistinguishable from Ethernet addresses The devices that comprise an 802.11 network (access points and other 802.11 devices) know better There are many differences between an 802.11 device and an Ethernet... wired Ethernet (802.3) A second name which has grown dramatically in popularity since the first edition of this book is Wi- Fi, from the interoperability certification program run by the Wi-Fi Alliance, the major trade assocation of 802.11 equipment vendors The Wi-Fi Alliance, formerly known as the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA), will test member products for compatibility with 802.11. .. Control (MAC) layer of the 802.11 standard in detail 802.11, like all IEEE 802 networks, splits the MAC-layer functionality from the physical medium access Several physical layers exist for 802.11, but the MAC is the same across all of them The main mode for accessing the network medium is a traditional contention-based access method, though it employs collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) rather than collision... evolved more quickly than others because the value of wireless networks is more pronounced in some markets In general, the higher the value placed on mobility and flexibility, the greater the interest in wireless LANs Logistics organizations responsible for moving goods around (think UPS, FedEx, or airlines), were perhaps the earliest adopters of 802.11 Well before the advent of 802.11, package tracking... Terry also is one of the architects of the wireless authentication system at the University of Utah His expertise can be felt throughout the early part of the book on security specifications, as well as in the practical matter of using supplicants and building an authentication system I am also indebted to many others who help keep me abreast of current developments in 802.11, and share their knowledge... low-power wireless LAN What Makes Wireless Networks Different Wireless networks are an excellent complement to fixed networks, but they are not a replacment technology Just as mobile telephones complement fixed-line telephony, wireless LANs complement existing fixed networks by providing mobility to users Servers and other data center equipment must access data, but the physical location of the server... the first edition of this book was written, and the majority of the legacy installed base at the time the second edition was written 802.11g Up to 54 2.4 GHz Mbps Fourth PHY standard (2003) Applies the coding techniques of 802.11a for higher speed in the 2.4 GHz band, while retaining backwards compatibility with existing 802.11b networks The most common technology included with laptops in 2005 N ot e... for Internet connectivity The most successful wireless data networking technology this far has been 802.11 In the first edition of this book, I wrote about 802.11 being the tip of the trend in mobile data networking At the time, 802.11 and third-generation mobile technologies were duking it out for mindshare, but 802.11 has unquestionably been more successful to date Why Wireless? To dive into a specific... until late 2000 802.11b Third physical layer standard (1999), but second wave of products The most common 802.11 equipment as the first book was written TGc Task group that produced a correction to the example encoding in 802.11a Since the only product was a correction, there is no 802.11c 802.11d Extends frequency-hopping PHY for use across multiple regulatory domains TGe (future 802.11e) Task group . capabilities and risks associated with the 802. 11 protocols. And 802. 11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition is the perfect place to start. This updated edition covers everything you'll. capabilities and risks associated with the 802. 11 protocols. And 802. 11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition is the perfect place to start. This updated edition covers everything you'll. (ESS). Chapter 3, 802. 11 MAC Fundamentals, describes the Media Access Control (MAC) layer of the 802. 11 standard in detail. 802. 11, like all IEEE 802 networks, splits the MAC-layer functionality from the physical