wireless network
puchi-engineerWhat is a wireless network
Wireless technology is now an integral part of building networks in both businesses and homes.
After all, with wireless, you don’t need to run a LAN cable to connect. You don’t have to worry about the location of the terminal because you don’t need to connect it with a cable, and you can connect to the network wherever you carry it.
In an enterprise, a laptop can be brought into a conference room, connected to the network, and information can be pulled from the network. At home, you can surf the internet anywhere in the house, whether it’s in the living room, the study, or the bedroom, by carrying your laptop.
Wireless has that convenience.
Wireless devices are much cheaper than they used to be. The first wireless broadband router purchased by the administrator cost 70,000 to 80,000 yen, but now it can be purchased for around 4,000 yen to 10,000 yen. I remember that a wireless LAN card used to cost around 20,000 yen, but now it can be purchased from 1,000 yen.
When it comes to wireless devices, companies need wireless bridges (access points) that interconnect wired LANs and wireless LANs, while homes require wireless broadband routers that interconnect the Internet and home LANs. increase.
They include firewall functions, DMZ functions, MAC address filtering functions, etc. Since this function is not particularly wireless-specific, its explanation is omitted here.
Wireless-specific functions and features include the following.
● Encryption method
Encryption methods include AES, TKIP, and WEP in order of strength, but some old wireless broadband routers do not support high-strength encryption methods.
●Wireless LAN standard
Also, it is necessary to check which wireless LAN standards are supported. Wireless LAN standards include IEEE802.11a, which is resistant to radio wave interference, IEEE802.11g and IEEE802.11b, which are resistant to obstacles, and IEEE802.11n, which enables transfer at 300Mbps. Some old wireless broadband routers do not support wireless LAN standards that enable high-speed communication.
IEEE802.11n is capable of high-speed transfer of 300Mbps. Broadband routers that support this are a little more expensive.
●Throughput
Old wireless bridges and broadband routers have low throughput and some products do not reach the theoretical speed. These devices can become network bottlenecks, so be careful when designing your network.
Please pay attention to these things before purchasing.
●Strength of electric field output
Some recent broadband router models have enhanced radio wave output. If the radio wave is strong, it is strong against obstacles and the radio wave reaches every corner of the building. Products with stronger radio waves are more expensive.
Security must also be taken into consideration when radio waves reach a long distance. The risk of communication being intercepted and eavesdropped also increases.
●Easy setting
Wireless settings, such as security settings, can be difficult for beginners, but products with easy settings are more expensive. With this function, you can easily set with one button.
● Security issues
Wireless and security issues go hand in hand. This is because radio waves reach a wide area and provide an environment in which many people can receive them. In order to enjoy a comfortable internet life, knowledge of wireless LAN and wireless security is necessary in modern society.
Advantages of wireless networks
◆Wireless network does not require cabling
How to build a network includes:
- Wired construction method
- Wireless construction method
- Wired and wireless construction method together
- Power line carrier communication (PLC) construction method)
And so on.
The biggest advantage of using wireless is that there is no need for wiring work, unlike a wired network that uses UTP cables.
There is also a method of using a PLC that uses a power line because it does not require wiring work, but this method requires wiring of a UTP cable to the PLC adapter, which is troublesome.
Wireless LANs are useful not only in companies, but also in home networks.
We are now in the age of digital TV broadcasting. In order to enjoy viewer-participation programs on interactive services, you must be connected to the Internet. increase.
* If your TV supports terrestrial digital broadcasting and only has a LAN connector, you will need a device such as an Ethernet converter to join the wireless network.
In that sense as well, it can be said that a wireless network that does not require wiring work can be easily constructed.
Anyway, when building a wired network, wiring from room to room is very difficult. You have to drill a hole in the wall or drill a hole in the ceiling and wire it through the ceiling.
In that case, the cable routed to the ceiling will be exposed and the appearance will be bad. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures such as hiding the LAN cable in the mall because it looks unsightly. Also, you have to drill holes in the wall and wire through the ceiling.
The figure below is a picture of the wiring on the wall that is hidden by the mall.
If you connect wirelessly from room to room and between floors, the wiring area will be cleaner. The performance of recent wireless broadband routers has improved, and there are products that output radio waves at high output. Just installing one unit is enough to cover connections from wireless terminals throughout the house.
Graphically, it looks like the image below
◆ Easy to set up wireless devices
Setting up your wireless device is easy. Most wireless bridges and broadband routers are set up using the Web as an interface. The threshold is not as high as a full-fledged switch or router that is set on a command basis.
For example, with a wireless broadband router, connect a LAN cable to the port on the LAN side to configure.
*The port on the WAN side is the port for connecting to the Internet.
In order to connect to the management page, specify the IP address set in the wireless broadband router as the URL on the browser.
http://IP address of wireless broadband router/
Start your browser and enter the IP address of the wireless broadband router in the URL.
User authentication is performed.
Enter “root” for the user name, do not enter anything for the password, and press the “OK” button.
* The administrator account differs depending on the product.
The administrator account of many wireless broadband routers has “none” as the password for “root” and “admin”.
If the authentication succeeds, the management screen (management page) will be displayed.
As you can see, many wireless devices are web-based products that can be easily set up without knowledge of commands that are difficult to set up.
