Types of Wireless Network - Research Paper Example

. Type November 13, Types of Wireless Network What are wireless networks? Wireless networks make the required changes to the data networking and it makes incorporated networks authentic. In easier words, wireless networks is a network that offers networking without any wires as the computers can be connected to networks via radio signals and are portable, i.e. the network can be accessed from different places in a given range. Information compression, portability and access to multiplexing have made wireless networks extremely reliable and easy to use in today’s world ( Wireless Technologies).

There are different kinds of networks available at different bandwidths. The network with the highest bandwidth is of 11Mbps and 802.11b that can be put to use by using a number of products. According to the needs of the business or home networkers who are looking for a Wireless Area Network a variety of gears is available to choose from. Many products are available to meet up the 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n standards of a network. These are together known as Wi-Fi technologies. Let’s go through a comparison of all these; 802.

11 are the first wireless standard introduced in 1997, by the IEEE. 802.11 only supported a maximum bandwidth of 2Mbps which was found out to be too slow for running most of the applications. Now this standard is no longer manufactured. 802.11b is the extended version of the standard 802.11. This was developed in July 1999 and supports up to 11Mbps which can also be compared to the Ethernet. This standard uses an un-regulated frequency for radio signals, i.e. 2.4 GHz which is similar to that of the original wireless standard.

This frequency is normally used by vendors since it lowers the overall production cost. The major pitfall of this standard is that, it uses the same radio frequency that is also used by microwave ovens and other electronic appliances which can cause interruptions. This can be avoided is the appliances are kept at a considerable distance from the gear itself. 802.11a was developed only when 802.11b was in development by the IEEE. It is normally misunderstood that 802.11a was created after 802.

11b due to latter’s popularity. 802.11a costs much higher than the 802.11b standard and is found more at offices rather than at households. It supports a much higher bandwidth i.e. 54 Mbps and also signals in a regulated frequency. Its range is around 5GHz. The higher frequency range makes it difficult for the signals to travel through obstructions. Though, it offers the much higher speed without any sort of interruption chances with other electronic devices yet it has a higher cost, and can be obstructed much more easily than 802.11a. This is one reason it is found more often in official setups.

Many vendors try using 802.11a/b network gear, but it is not compatible due to the difference in frequencies. 802.11g was developed in 2002-03. It now combines the best of both the older standards 802.11a and b. It, not only, supports a higher bandwidth up to 54 Mbps but also uses a lower frequency supporting a greater range i.e. 2.4 GHz. Not only this, but 802.11g is also compatible with 802.11b backwards which means that 802.11g access points can work with the wireless network adapters of 802.

11b and vice versa. This standard not only supports fastest speed but also favors an excellent range which is not easily obstructed. Though it costs more than 802.11b, it is way better than the previous two standards. 802.11n is the newest IEEE standard introduced in the Wi-Fi category. The point of developing this was to use the bandwidth supported by 802.11g and support it by multiple signals in place of one. This technology is also called MMO technology. This network will definitely provide the fastest maximum speed available via Wi-Fi and will support data rates over 100Mbps.

Furthermore, this can also be used with 802.11g gear since its backward compatible with it (Mitchell). The wireless networks are formed using the multiple network devices which mainly include adapters, routers and access points. Wired networking also makes use of the cables of different kinds. For larger commercial scale setups, advanced equipment is used to support the specialized communique reasons. The basic element of a network is an adapter. An adapter is an interface that allows the computer to communicate with the local network.

It is a medium that connects the two interfaces. There are many different kinds of adapters available. They are different for a personal computer i.e. the traditional PCI which has a newer version called the PCI Adapter for a notebook computer and many others. Further there are media adapters and USB adapters as well. Next in line is a router. A router is a device that sends data packets through the networks. A router is connected to two networks at a time which are mostly LANS, WANS and even ISPs.

A router is connected at a gateway which is the point where two different networks are connected. They make use of headers to identify the best possible paths for forwarding the data packets over the network. They are involved in very limited filtering of data (Router). Last but not the least is the wireless access points. WAPs are particularly put together nodes on a local area network or a WLAN. Access point is the transmitter and the recipient of signals over the wireless local area network.

Like other things, access points used at home and smaller businesses are considerably smaller than those used in large commercial settings. Works Cited Mitchell, Bradley. "Wireless Standards - 802.11b 802.11a 802.11g and 802.11n." n.d. About.com. 12 November 2011 . "Router." n.d. Webopedia. 12 November 2011 . "What is Wireless network - Types - WLAN, WiFi, WMAN & Wireless Technologies." 2011. Free Wimax Info. 12 November 2011 .