A wireless network is a communication network that allows device connection without the need for physical cables.

What is a Wireless Network?

A wireless network is a communication network that uses electromagnetic waves to transmit data between devices without the need for physical cables.

Types of Wireless Networks

By Range

  • **WPAN": Wireless Personal Area Network
  • **WLAN": Wireless Local Area Network
  • **WMAN": Wireless Metropolitan Area Network
  • **WWAN": Wireless Wide Area Network

By Technology

  • **WiFi": IEEE 802.11
  • **Bluetooth": IEEE 802.15.1
  • **Zigbee": IEEE 802.15.4
  • **Cellular": Cellular networks

By Frequency

  • **2.4 GHz": 2.4 GHz band
  • **5 GHz": 5 GHz band
  • **6 GHz": 6 GHz band
  • **60 GHz": 60 GHz band

WiFi Standards

IEEE 802.11

  • **802.11a": 5 GHz, up to 54 Mbps
  • **802.11b": 2.4 GHz, up to 11 Mbps
  • **802.11g": 2.4 GHz, up to 54 Mbps
  • **802.11n": 2.4/5 GHz, up to 600 Mbps
  • **802.11ac": 5 GHz, up to 6.9 Gbps
  • **802.11ax": 2.4/5/6 GHz, up to 9.6 Gbps

WiFi 6/6E

  • **WiFi 6": IEEE 802.11ax
  • **WiFi 6E": Extension to 6 GHz
  • **OFDMA": Multiple simultaneous users
  • **MU-MIMO": Multiple antennas

Components

Hardware

  • **Access Points": Access points
  • **Routers": Wireless routers
  • **Antennas": Antennas
  • **Repeaters": Repeaters

Software

  • **Firmware": Device firmware
  • **Drivers": Drivers
  • **Management": Management software
  • **Monitoring": Monitoring software

Configuration

Basic

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# Configure WiFi interface
sudo ip link set wlan0 up
sudo wpa_supplicant -B -i wlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
sudo dhclient wlan0

# Verify connection
iwconfig
iwlist wlan0 scan

Advanced

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# Configure Access Point
sudo hostapd /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf

# Configure bridge
sudo brctl addbr br0
sudo brctl addif br0 eth0
sudo brctl addif br0 wlan0

Security

Authentication

  • **WEP": Wired Equivalent Privacy (obsolete)
  • **WPA": WiFi Protected Access
  • **WPA2": WiFi Protected Access 2
  • **WPA3": WiFi Protected Access 3

Encryption

  • **TKIP": Temporal Key Integrity Protocol
  • **AES": Advanced Encryption Standard
  • **CCMP": Counter Mode with Cipher Block Chaining

Best Practices

  • **Strong Passwords": Strong passwords
  • **WPA3": Use WPA3 when possible
  • **Guest Networks": Separate guest networks
  • **MAC Filtering": MAC filtering

Use Cases

Home

  • **Internet": Internet access
  • **Streaming": Content streaming
  • **Gaming": Online gaming
  • **IoT": IoT devices

Business

  • **Office": Office networks
  • **Guest": Guest networks
  • **IoT": Enterprise IoT devices
  • **Mobile": Mobile devices

Public

  • **Hotspots": Public access points
  • **Municipal": Municipal networks
  • **Transport": Transport networks
  • **Events": Event networks

Monitoring

Tools

  • **Wireshark": Packet analysis
  • **Kismet": Network detection
  • **Airodump-ng": Packet capture
  • **NetSpot": Coverage analysis

Metrics

  • **Signal Strength": Signal strength
  • **Noise": Noise
  • **SNR": Signal-to-noise ratio
  • **Throughput": Throughput

Best Practices

Design

  • **Coverage": Adequate coverage
  • **Capacity": Sufficient capacity
  • **Redundancy": Redundancy
  • **Security": Security by design

Operation

  • **Monitoring": Continuous monitoring
  • **Updates": Regular updates
  • **Maintenance": Maintenance
  • **Documentation": Documentation

Security

  • **Encryption": Strong encryption
  • **Authentication": Robust authentication
  • **Access Control": Access control
  • **Monitoring": Security monitoring

References