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Wireless Technology
Try It Unplugged: Wireless is going to change your definition of connectivity
Don’t bother looking for a connection,
it’s wireless. By the latest count, there are now an estimated 28,000 such “hot
spots” at airports, hotels and coffee shops nationwide where just turning on
your laptop or palm pilot gives you instant high speed connectivity. All without
wires!
Return your rental car to Hertz at any airport in America and the attendant will
wave a hand held scanner across the vehicle identification number, print out a
receipt and send you on your way. No waiting in lines. No counters. Ah, the
wonders of wireless.
Move next to Alabama to a warehouse just north of Birmingham where a team of six
employees have fanned out, scanners at the ready, to complete an annual
inventory. Moving around is easy because there are no tangled webs of wires. In
fact, no wires at all, just the speed of light sending of signals to the main
server in the corner office.
The day of wireless is here and the potential benefits are just starting to
register. Some examples:
-
Conference room not sufficiently wired to handle
multiple computers for a quick training session? No problem when there’s a
wireless hub. Everyone brings their laptop with wireless cards (or desktops
with a wireless card) and the training begins.
-
Office layout no longer meeting your needs but
overwhelmed by the thought of dropping new lines and relocating outlets? Go
ahead and volunteer some folks to help you move that desk. When your network
is wireless, it doesn’t matter how your desk is arranged.
-
Physicians frustrated because they can’t access
information on patients in the exam or hospital room? Give them a tablet PC
and they can log into the wireless network throughout the office or
hospital. Data communication gives them untethered access to the system and
eliminates double entry of patient information.
This latest wave of wireless technology has broad implications for the way
companies will conduct business in the future. In the present, however, the
biggest use of wireless is in the home. The reach is the den, the bedroom or
the back porch and it can be done relatively inexpensively. The industry
leader, Linksys, provides good home systems with the wireless router (for
transforming the Internet signal to wireless) and wireless card for less
than $200. But the biggest customer is industry.
The Technology
WiFi, short for Wireless Fidelity, is the latest acronym added to the
ever-growing technology vocabulary. It is the process to connect a computer, PDA
or data-enabled phone to other computers, to the Internet or to a wired network.
The system operates on a two-way radio signal, within a specified bandwidth of
2.4 to 5 ghz. It can produce speeds between 11 mbps (Million Bits Per Second)
and 54 mbps, which provides speeds equivalent to basic wired Ethernet networks
used in many offices today. Think of it like a cordless phone with its base
station, but in this case it is usually connected to the Internet rather than
the phone system. Wireless connectivity can be incorporated into your
organization’s current wired network easily and, assuming security is properly
set up and managed, can give employees far greater flexibility and mobility.
With new technology comes new specs, and in the world of wireless, the critical
specs are based on transmission types as described in the chart below. The
terms, which you’ll see in hardware ads, denote versions of the approved
standards.
Wireless connectivity means mobility and freedom to get more done easier. That
means the technology works better for you and your organization.
Three Types of Wireless Networks
Personal Wireless Network
Bluetooth works best within 50 feet of the router with a plain line of
sight (few or no walls between the router and the wireless device). The key to
success is to have light traffic usage and be able to secure the wireless device
(laptop, PDA, etc) as a paired connection.
Home Wireless Network
“g” is the choice due to range and security. With “g” you can set
specific access to only the devices you wish by using a WEP (Wireless Equivalent
Privacy – which provides a bit-specific encryption) or other wireless encryption
method. While “g” is the fastest, both “a” and “b” provide adequate connectivity
within 50 to 100 feet giving untethered access without the cost or security of
“g”.
Corporate Wireless Network
Because of the complexity and individual needs of each organization, it
is important to coordinate with your hardware provider. While “g” may be the
best solution, wireless connectivity to systems and to the organization’s
server(s) generally requires tighter security set ups than personal or home
wireless systems.
|
The Vocabulary of Wireless |
Name |
Designation |
Speeds |
|
802.15.1 |
Bluetooth |
>
11mbps |
|
802.11b |
b |
11
mbps |
|
802.11a |
a |
11
mbps |
|
802.11g |
g |
54
mbps |
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