Wi-Fi is the name of a popular wireless networking technology. It uses radio waves to provide wireless high-speed Internet and network connections. There is a common misconception is that the term Wi-Fi is short for 'wireless fidelity', however this is not this is not true. Wi-Fi is a trademarked phrase which means IEEE 802.11x. Dr. O'Sullivan and his friends are credited for inventing Wi-Fi. The technology was instrumental in the invention of Wi-Fi, where Dr. O'Sullivan, and his team of engineers were credit for pioneering the development of Wi-Fi technology. In today’s context, WIFI is popular among all. From a child to an adult, everyone is well known to Wi-Fi. It has made great impact in our daily life. Without Wi-Fi, almost everything is difficult in this era. From Bank to Hospital and Colleges to Offices, everywhere the Wi-Fi is in demand. People are addicted to various social networking like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and so on. In order to use this Wi-Fi is in great demand. Also, excessive use of smartphones and laptops has compelled the excessive demand of Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi has made our life very simple and fast. We can connect to the one who is millions of miles away very easily. Wi-Fi has become our necessity and essential element of our daily life.
Wi-Fi in Early Days
In the early 2000s, there were many cities around the world who announced plans to construct citywide Wi-Fi networks. There are lot of successful examples; in 2004, Mysore became India's first Wi-Fi city. A company called WiFiyNet set up hotspots in Mysore, covering the complete city and some nearby villages. In the year 2005, St. Cloud, Florida and Sunnyvale, California, were the first cities in the United States to offer citywide free Wi-Fi. In May 2010, mayor of London Boris Johnson pledged to have London-wide Wi-Fi by 2012. Several places including Westminster and Islington already had extensive outdoor Wi-Fi coverage at that time. South Korea's capital Seoul to provide free Internet access at more than 10,000 locations around the city, also outdoor public spaces, some of its major streets and densely populated r areas. Seoul will provide leases to KT, LG Telecom, and SK Telecom. The companies will invest around $44 million in the project.
Features
Wi-Fi has lots of features. In the world which cannot be imagined without technology, Wi-Fi has become a milestone in the field of technology. For a person to be connected miles away, we now don’t need wire to be connected. Wi-Fi, the wireless technology contains this one as the major feature in itself. Wireless topology can be picturized. Here are some of the main features of Wi-Fi:
Smart network management system. In modern days wireless networks are much more complex and may consist of hundreds or even thousands of access points components like switches, firewalls, managed power and various other components. Wi-Fi has a smarter way of managing the entire network from a central point.
Role based access control: it allows you to assign the roles based on who, what, where, when and how a user or device is trying to access your network. In simple whether you are a user or guest, RBAC gives you permission.
Network access control. NAC controls the role of the users and enforces the policies. NAC allow users to register themselves to the network. It is a helpful feature that enhances the user experience.
Web content and application filtering. Network security must become application aware in order to eliminate threats. So, Wi-Fi should have application filtering in order to protect users from content that might contain malicious threats. Also, it prevents possible performance issues.
Mobile device management. Many mobile devices will be accessing wireless network. About the thousands of applications are going to have running on those mobile devices. This feature provides control to manage access to applications and programs. You can even remotely wipe the device if it’s lost or stolen.
Switching: it is essential part of every fast, secure wireless network for several reasons: 1) help in the traffic on your network flow more efficiently; 2) help in minimizing unnecessary traffic; 3) creating a better user experience by ensuring your traffic is going to the right places.
Adaptive radio management: it is like having a Wi-Fi expert on site that helps to maximize performance for end-users. This is done by collecting data from your access points and then using that particular data to make intelligent decisions about power levels, channels, client-loads and even roaming.
Wi-Fi feature of no limitation. Wi-Fi technology connects worldwide and it has no limitation. It has great power for consumption as compared to other network. It has high speed Internet. Its site surveys help to know about it. In short, we can say that feature of Wi-Fi such as high speed Internet access. Site surveys is a great deal of Wi-Fi for making sure visual presentation, safety and fulfillment.
These were some of the key features of Wi-Fi which makes it one of the superior aspects on the technology world.
Designing Wi-Fi Topology
These days home and building automation systems are used more and more. On the one hand, they provide increased comfort especially when employed in a private home. On the other hand, automation systems installed in commercial buildings do not only increase comfort, but also allow centralized control of heating, ventilation, air condition and lighting. Hence, they contribute to an overall cost reduction and also to energy saving which is certainly a main issue in today’s context (World Academy of Science, Engineering and technology, 2012).
Specification of Wi-Fi
The Wi-Fi has certain specification. Among them the major are the IEEE 802.11 concept and the use of router.
The IEEE 802.11 Concept
This concept has made wifi more specialized. Wi-Fi devices are actually based on this IEEE 802.11 which is set of LAN protocols, and it specifies the set of media access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) protocols required for implementing wireless local area network (WLAN) Wi-Fi computer communication in various frequencies. The draft IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN), specification is approaching completion. In this article, the IEEE 802.11 protocol is explained, with particular emphasis on the medium access control sublayer. Performance results are provided for packetized data and a combination of packetized data and voice over the WLAN. The IEEE 802.11 network may be able to carry traffic with time-bounded requirements using the point coordination function. Packetized voice traffic must be handled in conjunction with an echo canceler (IEEE Communication Magazine, 2005). The 802.11 standard provides several distinct radio frequencies ranges for use in Wi-Fi communications: 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 3.6 GHz, 4.9 GHz, 5 GHz, 5.9 GHz, and 60 GHz bands. 802.11b and 802.11g use the 2.4 GHz ISM band, operating in the United States under Part 15 Rules and Regulations (Ashraf A Osman, 2015).
Use of Router
Various end devices can be used but router is the best choice for Wi-Fi. Router helps in routing of the packets of information accurately. Using routers is also one of essential feature of Wi-Fi. Router connects our devices with the Internet service provider which makes it an essential. In WLAN, router has an important role. The router shares the Internet signal between two or more devices. Also, ISP provides one, allowing one device to access the Internet.
Upcoming Wi-Fi Technology
Multi-Gbps communication is the next frontier in high-speed local and personal wireless technologies, which will offer the necessary foundation for a new wave of applications such as wireless display, high-speed device synchronization, and the evolution of Wi-Fi. The wide harmonized spectrum in the unlicensed millimeter-wave (60 GHz) band is considered the most prominent candidate to support the evolution towards multi-Gbps data rates. As such, the industry is in the process of defining new 60 GHz PHY and MAC technologies that can serve a wide variety of applications and usages, as to avoid the proliferation of non-coexistent devices operating in this unoccupied spectrum. The most promising activity is taking place under the auspices of the IEEE 802.11ad task group, which is defining amendments to the 802.11 standard for operation in the 60GHz band (C Cordeiro, 2010).
Application of Wi-Fi
There are many applications of Wi-Fi connectivity. Home-based Wi-Fi enabled device helps to connect PC, game console or laptop. Prints can be taken by connecting laptops to the PC or through print server. Moreover, there is no mess of wires and surrounding remains clean. In all the computers can be interconnected and enable, check and balance whether employs are working or not. Any project can be presented to all the members whether in the form of ppt, excel sheet or word document.
Wi-Fi hotspots concept is getting popular among business, communities and mobile workers. For this purpose various ISP’s are incorporating Wi-Fi routers to many places for the coverage in wide range. The accessibility of Internet is free somewhere. But somewhere payment for Internet connectivity per hour or of the package is needed. These routers are the access point for the Internet while attached to the cable modem or DSL modem. It is also a very common application of Wi-Fi that a whole college is having a single access point at a certain height and every student can take benefits from it.
It is used in medical field too. One of the examples is clinical communication. Better communication means better care. When clinicians communicate easily, they can diagnose and treat patients more quickly. Clinicians get lab results as soon as they’re ready. They can easily access vast medical databases from their smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. Ultimately, patient outcomes improve (Anon, 2015).
Conclusion
To conclude, Wi-Fi is now considered as one of the vital elements of human. As technology has become so much vast, Wi-Fi is too in demand for many. One cannot imagine their life without the Internet and Wi-Fi is an essential part of the Internet. Since it is being used from home to hospital and school to offices, we all know how important Wi-Fi has become in our life. Wi-Fi is our benefit, we must not use it as entertainment always. Wi-Fi is a reliable component. It keeps our privacy and protect us from various malicious attacks. Overall, it connects us, lets us explore and keeps privacy which we all want in our daily life. Hence, considering in today's context, Wi-Fi can be most vital element in the future. One can just imagine if Wi-Fi is so much important in today's context, how much importance will it carry in future. If Wi-Fi is enhanced more than Wi-Fi has some good perspective in every field.
Bibliography
Anon. (2015) Secured Get [Online]. Available from: https://www.securedgenetworks.com
Ashraf A Osman, R.B. (2015) IEEE 802.11 Frequencies. 17 (5).
C Cordeiro, D.A. (2010) Wi-Fi in Future.
IEEE Communication Magazine. (2005) IEEE 802.11. 35(9).
World Academy of Science, Engineering and technology. (2012) Disigning Wi-Fi topology. Designing and implementing Wi-Fi system. https://www.securedgenetworks.com/