Wi-Fi

Presented By-
 Wifi’ What it stands
for?
“Wi-fi suggests Wireless-Fidelity, compared with the long
established audio recording term High Fidelity or Hi-Fi.”
Wi-Fi is simply a trademarked term meaning IEEE 802.11x.

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 When Wi-Fi
Originated ?
• The precursor to wi-fi was invented in
1991 by NCR Corporation in Nieuwegein,
the Netherland.
• The first wireless products were brought
on the market under the name WaveLAN
with speeds of 1 Mbit/s to 2 Mbit/s.
• Vic Hayes has been named as father of
“Wi-Fi’’.
The Architecture
How Wi-Fi Works?
 Wi-Fi Standards
Standard Speed Freq band Notes
• 802.11 2 Mbps 2.4 GHz (1997)
802.11a 54 Mbps 5 GHz (1999)
802.11b 11 Mbps 2.4 GHz 802.11g
54 Mbps 2.4 GHz
Introduction to Wireless /802.11b

Standards
IEEE 802.11.b –2.4GHz – 11Mbps
International standard for wireless networking that
operates in the 2.4 GHz frequency range (2.4 GHz to
2.4835 GHz) and provides a throughput of up to 11 Mbps
with a range of just over 300 feet indoors. This is a very
commonly used frequency. Microwave ovens, cordless
phones, medical and scientific equipment, as well as
Bluetooth devices, all work within the 2.4 GHz frequency
band.
Introduction to Wireless /802.11b

Standards
IEEE 802.11.b –2.4GHz – 11Mbps
802.11b enables transfers of up to 11 Mbps.
Comparable to 10BaseT in speeds, 802.11b is the most
common wireless standard deployed today. In
comparison T1 speeds are 1.54Mbps and DSL is
normally in the 640Kbps range.

Most deployments of Wireless utilize 802.11b

Introduction to Wireless /802.11b

Standards
IEEE 802.11.a –5GHz – 11Mbps
International standard for wireless networking that
operates in the 5 GHz frequency range (5.725 GHz to
5.850 GHz) with a maximum 54 Mbps data transfer
rate. The 5 GHz frequency band is not as crowded as
the 2.4 GHz frequency, because the 802.11a
specification offers more radio channels than the
802.11b. These additional channels can help avoid
radio and microwave interference.
Cost of 802.11a equipment is approximately twice that
of 802.11b and current deployment is limited.
Introduction to Wireless /802.11b

Standards
• IEEE 802.11.b –2.4GHz – 11Mbps
• IEEE 802.11.a – 5GHz – 54 Mbps
• IEEE 802.11g – 2.4Ghz – Hybrid
11/54Mbps
802.11g is in the final stages of development.
The current draft (V5.0) is open for
comments until January 8, 2003.
 802.11a (Cont’d)

802.11a 802.11b

2 Mbps
12 Mbps

5.5 Mbps
24 Mbps
36 Mbps
48 Mbps
11 Mbps
54 Mbps
What a wireless network
is made up of:
Wireless Network cards

- Radios which send and receive signals from other radios or

access points, usually PCMCIA* cards which fit into Laptop
expansion slots, or PCI Bus in case of Desktop computers.
(There are other, simpler options using USB).
PDAs like Blackberry, and Pocket PC having a compact flash slot
can also connect.

* PCMCIA – Personal Computer Memory Card International Association.

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What a wireless network is
made up of:
Base stations, Access points, or Gateways

- The base station sends and receives radio signals to and from
the Wi-Fi radio in your laptop or PC, enabling you to share your
Internet connection with other users on the network. Access
points and gateways have a wide range of features and
performance capabilities, but they all provide this basic network
connection service.

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WLAN Architecture—Ad
Hoc Mode
 Ad-Hoc mode: Peer-to-peer setup where
clients can connect to each other directly.
Generally not used for business networks.
WLAN Architecture--
Mesh
 Mesh: Every client in
the network also acts
as an access or relay
point, creating a “self-
healing” and (in
theory) infinitely
extensible network.
 Not yet in widespread
use, unlikely to be in
homes.
WLAN Architecture—
Infrastructure Mode

To Wired Network
Propagation Characteristics
 900MHz
 Multipath: High
 Foliage: Pine (Absorb Radiation)
 2.4GHz
 Multipath: Very High (Concrete, Brick, Steel)
 Foliage: Any Absorbs Radiation (water resonance)
 5GHz
 Multipath: Very High (Concrete, Brick, Steel, Foliage)
 Foliage: Limited Absorption

As you increase the frequency, the coverage area

decreases – but potential data rates increase.
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 Elements of a WI-FI
Network
• Access Point (AP) - The AP is a wireless LAN
transceiver or “base station” that can connect one or many
wireless devices simultaneously to the Internet.

• Wi-Fi cards - They accept the wireless signal and relay

information.They can be internal and external.(e.g PCMCIA
Card for Laptop and PCI Card for Desktop PC)

• Safeguards - Firewalls and anti-virus software protect

networks from uninvited users and keep information secure.
 How a Wi-Fi Network
Works
• Basic concept is same as Walkie talkies.
• A Wi-Fi hotspot is created by installing an access point to
an internet connection.
• An access point acts as a base station.
• When Wi-Fi enabled device encounters a hotspot the
device can then connect to that network wirelessly.
• A single access point can support up to 30 users and
can function within a range of 100 – 150 feet indoors and
up to 300 feet outdoors.
• Many access points can be connected to each other via
Ethernet cables to create a single large network.
Wi-Fi Configurations
Wi-Fi Configurations
Wi-Fi Configurations
 Wi-Fi Security
The requirements for Wi-Fi network
security can be broken down into two
primary components:
• Authentication
 User Authentication
 Server Authentication
• Privacy
 Security techniques

• WEP ( wired equivalent privacy) 64/128 bits

Using RC4 algorithm, almost permanent key, very week
security, able to crack by collecting statistic
Current security level for 99.9% products on the market.
• TKIP (temporal key integrity protocol )
Used RC4 algorithm with with a 128-bit "temporal key"
but changes temporal keys every 10,000 packets and key dependes
on address and sequence number.
Will be required to obtain WiFi certification from 09/01/03
• AES (Advanced Encryption Standard )
New, much more stronger encryption, protect against hacker frames in
insertion. Need hardware accelerator. Optional feature.

WiFi 24
Security (Encryption, Content Filtering, Privacy, etc.)
Partition The Network
– A safe practice is to create two separate
networks. A private network for day to day
business and a network for public access.
Both can be wireless. These networks can
talk to one another through a proxy server
that will protect the private network from
malicious attacks via the public network.
Security (Encryption, Content Filtering, Privacy, etc.)
Encryption
• Encryption on the pubic network can be used
but would create administrative overhead.
Encryption keys would have to be changed
regularly and anyone using their own laptop
would have to be given the key.
• Encryption works best in a network that does
not allow people to use their own laptops.
• Encryption increases privacy, but can be
thwarted, either by software, or by gaining
access to a PC configured with wireless and
writing down the key.
Security (Encryption, Content Filtering, Privacy, etc.)
Content Filtering & Proxy Servers
Web content filtering that has generally been
software on the desktop would have to be handled
by a server if people are allowed to use their own
laptops.

Proxy servers allow you to control what information

people have access to. This is a good practice
anyway, allowing you to control at a global level
what information travels over your network. It also
allows you to track usage.
Security (Encryption, Content Filtering, Privacy, etc.)
Viruses and Hacker
– Wireless does not add any additional threat
in the way of viruses.
– Anyone, anywhere can attack a network
that is connected to the Internet. Wireless
does not increase that chance. Security
measures such as firewalls, can reduce the
risk.
Wi-Fi Security Threats
• Wireless technology doesn’t remove any
old security issues, but introduces new
ones
• Eavesdropping
• Man-in-the-middle attacks
• Denial of Service
 Eavesdropping
• Easy to perform, almost impossible to detect
• By default, everything is transmitted in clear text
• Usernames, passwords, content ...
• No security offered by the transmission medium
• Different tools available on the internet
• Network sniffers, protocol analysers . . .
• Password collectors
• With the right equipment, it’s possible to
eavesdrop traffic from few kilometers away
 MITM Attack
1. Attacker spoofes a
disassociate message
from the victim
2. The victim starts to look
for a new access point,
and the attacker
advertises his own AP
on a different channel,
using the real AP’s MAC
address
3. The attacker connects
to the real AP using
victim’s MAC address
 Denial of Service
• Attack on transmission frequecy used
• Frequency jamming
• Not very technical, but works
• Attack on MAC layer
• Spoofed deauthentication / disassociation messages
• can target one specific user
• Attacks on higher layer protocol (TCP/IP protocol)
• SYN Flooding
 Authentication
• Keeping unauthorized users off the network
• User Authentication
• Authentication Server is used
• Username and password
• Risk:
• Data (username & password) send before secure channel
established
• Prone to passive eavesdropping by attacker
• Solution
• Establishing a encrypted channel before sending username
and password
 Authentication
(cont..)
• Server Authentication
• Digital Certificate is used
• Validation of digital certificate occurs
automatically within client software
ypical Community Wifi Constituents
High gain Parabolic grid antennas to
beam the signal to over 30km from
tower to tower..

Sector antennas to beam the signal

from the towers to the community
users

Customer Premises equipment (CPE)

to access the signal from the towers..

Other components that need to be

installed in order to put the above
systems together .
 Environment Assessment

• Look at the structure of your building.

– Steel, Concrete, Stone, Glass
– Open w/ few walls or many separate
rooms?
• Current technologies used
– Do you use a 2.4 GHz cordless phone?
Does it work throughout your environment?
 Advantages
• Mobility
• Ease of Installation
• Flexibility
• Cost
• Reliability
• Security
• Use unlicensed part of the radio spectrum
• Roaming
• Speed
Advantages of Wi-Fi over
other means
•Wi-fi can make access publicly available at
wi-fi hotspots.
• Does not require regulatory approval for
individual.
• Wi-fi network can support roaming.
• Wi-fi allows local area network to deployed
without wires for client devices.
Capabilities and Uses
High data transmission rate and high reliability in all weather
conditions, and an always available (95% Uptime) network makes
wifi a robust solution suitable for high bandwidth applications….

- Online video-conferencing with greater clarity

-Telephony, using VoIP
- Revenue-model for budding start-up ISPs
- Broadband in the true sense
- Easier reach into far-flung rural areas
- Ability to add more nodes as and when required
- Less maintenance overheads, especially in Rural
areas where technical manpower is scarce.
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 Limitations
• Interference
• Degradation in performance
• High power consumption
• Limited range