These materials were developed as part of the Capacity building for community wireless connectivity in Africa initiative which was funded by IDRC and coordinated by APC.Training units Network planning, WiMax and non standard solutions, Energy for telecommunications systems, VoIP, Long distance wireless link, Community, gender and technology and Sustainability strategies were developed between 2007 and 2008 as part of the project TRICALCAR which was funded by ICA and coordinated by Wilac.net.
This is the second public release of the materials, which have undergone undergoing revision over the course of a pilot workshop series of both above mentioned projects.
The materials assume a good understanding of TCP/IP networking and some experience as a network administrator. See the ItrainOnline Wireless section for links to further resources on wireless networking.
Unit overview: An introduction to standards in general and IEEE 802.11 in specific. The unit tries to give an overview of the IEEE 802.11 family of standards and describe the technical characteristics that differ among the amendments. The unit is at Medium level with some Advanced sections.
Unit overview: A high level introduction to wireless modes and topologies, based around real life cases, and supplying basic knowledge about setup of such infrastructures.
How to configure wireless access points and routers based on general principles and clear motivations.
Unit overview: An introduction to selecting hardware, installing and configuring a wireless device on your client computer (laptop, desktop). The unit targets both installation on a Linux machine and a Windows (XP) machine.
Unit overview: This unit starts by giving the reader a brief overview of the concept “Link Budget” in order to provide a clear picture of when, where and why the choice of antennas and cables matters in wireless implementations.
Thereafter, the unit covers antennas in terms of types of antennas, polarization, isolation and finally, the unit discusses coaxial cables and connectors.
Unit overview: Step-by-step guide to building your own "cantenna" - a directional antenna made from a tin can.
Unit overview: The unit focus on the importance of having a good implementation plan to produce a good budget. The unit discusses how to budget and plan for a wireless network.
Unit overview: This unit serves as an introduction to the software “Radio Mobile”, a radio simulation tool for outdoor environments. The focus of this unit should be on the understanding of the different building blocks of the software. Rather than understanding how to simulate one specific type of wireless infrastructure. the learner should be able to apply the methodology to any kind of wireless system.
Unit overview: The unit provides a general guide for establishment of communication towers and masts. It is practically oriented and presents each step of the process in chronological order.
Unit overview: This unit will give some general guidelines that are important to keep in mind when procuring wireless devices. The unit focuses on what criteria that you must have clear before you can select a product for your implementation.
Unit overview: This unit provides a general methodology for troubleshooting communication networks. It introduces two approaches to problem solving, briefly describes the OSI model, and presents the tools available to troubleshoot each of the OSI layers.
Unit overview: A review of the OSI/Internet protocol stack with focus on the issues that are critical in wireless network implementation. The unit outlines the effect of every layer in the overall performance of a wireless network.
Unit overview: This unit describes security in the context of Information Security. Five general security attributes (Confidentiality, Authentication, Integrity, Non-Repudiation and Availability) are described and later evaluated in the context of IEEE 802.11 (WLAN). The unit finishes by presenting ten security threats that needs to be consider in wireless design.
Unit overview: This document focuses on the practical implementation of a wireless network in terms of project planning, and budgeting for equipment. A detailed implementation plan of a wireless network is necessary to be able to produce a good and consistent budget. A good implementation plan should not just consider the physical location of the wireless equipment, or our chosen technology and vendor, but also which are the extra resources needed to get a network up and running.
Unit overview: The unit presents a goal-centric methodology to network management. It focuses first on defining clear goals for a service provider and later describes technical principles and possible tools to achieve the selected goals.
Unit overview: An overview of the different roles in a network that can be filled with a Linux computer. Brief run-throughs of configuration and example software packages for each role.
Unit overview: In the last few years WiMAX has been promoted as the wireless broadband future standard. Many Internet wireless providers (WISP) and governmental institutions are considering migrating IEEE 802.11-based solutions and investment to WiMAX technologies. The first challenge to address is the objective evaluation of WiMAX proposals and costs. The question frequently asked is whether WiMAX is a technology à la mode or a true realistic option for broadband wireless service.
Unit overview: This thematic unit serves as an introduction to the components of a stand alone photovoltaic system (i.e. isolated, not connected to the grid). The objective of this document is to show the basic concepts of photovoltaic solar energy, and to serve as base knowledge to size solar systems that take into consideration the information and resources available in the region.
Unit overview: This module seeks to define and describe some basic concepts about sustainability and to provide examples that illustrate them. Although wireless networking technologies include satellite networks, microwave, Wi-Fi, WiMax, wireless, optical links, etc., this guide is oriented mainly to Wi-Fi networks under the IEEE 802.11 standards and their different families.
All ItrainOnline MMTK materials are released under one of the Creative Commons licenses. The particular licenses used vary from unit to unit - while most units permit modification of the materials, a few do not. The copyright statement included with each unit sets out the specific provisions which apply to that unit.