WiFi is the other name for wireless internet or wireless network, this name is mostly used by none technical users who just knows how to access internet wirelessly, they know pretty much nothing beyond that. WiFi is basically short form for wireless fidelity. However many advance users are not well aware of this terminology either, it is ,more known with a name of Wifi. WiFi term is written in many ways which are, Wifi, WiFi, WIFI, Wi-Fi fiwi etc.
Wi-Fi was introduced by Wi-Fi alliance in 1985 it was the time when it was not used as commercially but were just set to certain organizations for testing purposes. Wi-Fi Alliance is pioneer in developing WiFi technology and all the hardware associated with Wifi is mostly certified by Wifi Alliance compliance. Wifi later developed properly and than eventually lunched for public use in USA in 90’s, gradually wifi become standards for most of the computer communications in countless organizations around the world.
Wifi uses all the networks referring to any type of 802.11 network standards which is set by IEEE. IEEE is short form of Institute of electric and electronic engineering. There are lots of enhancements made in standards of 802.11 and 802.11a, 802.11b and other dual networks. The latest standard of 802.11 family is 802.11y. Other known standards are 802.16, these are the standards for upcoming technology known to be WiMax. There is one more known set of standards for Ethernet it is known to be IEEE 802.3.
Growth of Wifi networks is still on going world wide this huge growth raises security issues. Wifi is the most widely used network world wide and many organizations transfer their sensitive data using Wireless networks. Increased use of Wireless network increases potentially risks of the security of the users or organization. Wireless network carries data of every type, that can be normal data in bits of information or it can encrypted or even highly sensitive. WiFi security mechanism insures the certain level of data integrity and confidentiality just as wired network provides. However if proper security measures are not adopted properly intruders can attack the network and can cause major damage to not only network but privacy of users also.
There was a time when cables were used to network many computers together. Hardware like routers, hubs, switches etc were required for communication between computers, but Wifi brought high tech change in communication of computers by providing wireless connectivity features. It just keeps things very simple without much hassle and networks can be made far more easily. No wires are required. Wireless network keeps environment very neat and clean. There are many other features of Wireless LANs for example high speed connectivity. Wifi provides high speed connectivity and faster communication where cables are not feasible to install for example in remote areas. The list of the Wifi features is long some other major features included Site survey, enterprise grade equipment, Scalable systems, VPN Compatibility, flexible authentication methods, Guest satisfaction, End user mobility and easy access through Hotspots.
WiFi supports two different types of modes; they are known to be infrastructure and the other one is ad hoc. In Ad hoc Wireless connections can be made without central device called router or access point. Most network administrators prefer ad hoc over infrastructure mode. Ad hoc how ever have issues also. Wifi devices connected using Ad hoc mode offers less security against unauthorized users. Ad hoc mode configured devices cannot disable SSID broadcast in contrast to infrastructure mode, this brings hackers into play, and using ad hoc mode it is not very difficult to prevail into the wireless network. There are two major differences between these two modes that is the rate at which they transfer data. Wife network standard 802.11g requires Ad hoc mode of communication to support 11Mbps bandwidth in contrast to it 54Mbps data transfer is supported using infrastructure mode. Hence Ad hoc mode is considered much slower than Infrastructure mode.
Wireless based networks are increasing every where; every organization is installing it if it was not using it before. Some cities have actually provided the entire city a wifi and turn the city into hotspot, big example in front of us is Chicago. Chicago have installed huge transmitter in shape of big size dish of Wifi which broadcast Wireless LAN radio signals through out the city. It provides high speed internet connectivity very cheaply. Laptops, desktop computers, PDAs and other Wireless LAN card installed devices can access the network and get high speed connectivity on move. WiFi users increasing day by day therefore its hardware manufacturers are manufacturing the products on huge scale. These products are easily available in market with reasonable cost. Laptops, PDAs, mother boards of latest desktop computer are mostly come with build in wireless LAN cards. If it is not installed already in your laptop one can buy PCMCI slot wifi card to install for accessing wireless network. Wifi PCI cards are also widely available in market. Now USB wifi are also available for short range but still works good.
Intelligent routers are available in market which works to connect different devices to wireless network. These routers can be configured with or without PC. All is required to plug internet cable in Ethernet or USB port to router’s appropriate port. When internet is available to routers it can be configured using its control panel using IP 192.168.1.1. That’s where we can enable SSID broadcasting or disable it and perform other functions. PCs can also be attached to routers for more advance management which routers can not performs. PCs are mostly required to be used where network is huge and keeping and maintaining its integrity and stability is very important.
In this modern era every one wants every thing wireless, Wifi belongs to wireless technology family. There are so many other wireless technologies which have evolved around the time and Wifi is now taken for granted and world is now talking about much advanced and enhanced wireless network known to be WiMax. WiMax beats Wifi technology on many bases which includes Speed at which data rate is transferred, range with which connection is made and so much more. Now we have to see in how much time WiMax will take over WiFi, and which technology will eventually take over WiMax. One thing is for sure latest technologies in wireless technology will keep coming and will keep getting over looked by new ones.
Related Articles
IP Telephony Over Wireless Networks
By: Michael Talbert | 15/02/2007 | VoIP
The advent of wireless broadband has put a new twist on peoples mobility and communications. Wireless broadband connections can take many different forms. From an extension of conventional wired networks in your home or office, to wireless coverage of entire metropolitan areas...
Wireless Internet Radios
By: Olly Fallon | 10/04/2008 | Computers
The Internet really is a fantastic place – everything there at our fingertips for us to use as and when. This is the case with Internet radio. It’s great – you can listen to stations from all over the world or perhaps even small local radio stations that are only available online.
Wi-fi Security Crisis
By: Marty R. Milette | 01/05/2007 | Computers
There's a storm brewing, and although we have only seen the first signs, she's gonna be a whopper! I'm talking about what I call the "Wi-Fi Security Crisis", and if you don't know what it is, better read on...
Q: Would you let a terrorist walk in off the street and...
Prevention Of Identity Theft On The Road In Hotels, Bars And Restaurants
By: Morris E. R.J. . Brown | 09/05/2008 | Travel
It's no secret that identity theft is on the rise. Walk into any big box office supply store and you will mounds and mounds of paper shredders meant to shred your personal documents and letters making it harder for an identity thieve to obtain your vital personal information. Sure you...
What Is Wireless Internet And How Can I Get It?
By: Garry Neale | 06/06/2008 | Computers
Wireless Internet has truly changed the way the world goes online. Because of this transformative technology, you can go online and enjoy high-speed Internet access without being tied down to your home. In fact, wireless Internet is so wonderful because of the freedom it gives the individual to surf online...
Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) - Description
By: Jeremy Maddock | 20/09/2005 | Technology
The term Wi-Fi was coined by the Wireless Ethernet
Compatibility Alliance (WECA) as another name for IEEE 802.11b
networking standard. WECA is still involved in certifying.
Wireless Networking: Do you Need It?
By: Robert | 19/12/2007 | Computers
There has been so much hype about wireless networking that it is sometimes hard to get to the important question: do you need it? To determine whether your notebook computer needs to have wireless networking capabilities, you need to understand what it is first.
Tips For Improving A Wireless Home Network
By: Stephen Jones | 30/12/2006 | Computers
A basic WiFi home network can be assembled fairly quickly. However, many homeowners aren't aware of all the options available for making their network better. The wireless network can have its capability, performance and security improved. Consider these tips for improving your wireless home network.
1. Upgrade or replace with correct...
Got a Question? Ask.
Ask the community a question about this article:
Frequently Asked Questions
Mac mini having problems connecting to my wi-fi
By: gkamin | 01-07-2008
I have a mac mini running leopard, and I'm having trouble connecting to my wireless network.I have no problem connecting to other networks, but specifically the one I want to connect to gives me a connection timeout message after less than 2 seconds of trying to connect.I switched routers and the problem wasn't solved.All I could find over the web is that it's a known issue that many mac users suffer from, and the solution is to connect manually (through assist me > diagnose, or using the safari diagnostic tools), but I gotta do this manually each time I start my mac.Any ideas?
My laptop of Dell makers and Inspiron model can ...
By: Rohit | 25-06-2008
My laptop of Dell makers and Inspiron model can connect to Wifi Internet connectivity,but cannot receive the packets,the settings are administered by the OS-Microsoft-XP,how can i improve my connectivity???
Does a mac book (not a macbook pro)have a built in ...
By: L33t | 24-06-2008
does a mac book (not a macbook pro)have a built in wi-fi finder? so i can connect to the internet threw wi-fi
Where can i buy the new iphone?
By: galiiii | 24-06-2008
where can i buy the new iphone?
Computer help
By: Samantha | 22-06-2008
I keep getting this error on my PC that says WARNING SPYWARE DETECTED ON YOUR COMPUTER RUN SYPWARE OR ANTIVIRUS TOOLS NOW. Then my pc will go to a blue dos screen with different problems such as bogus driver etc. I have installed Norton 2008 and PC Doctor Spyware and ran both and they cleaned up my pc but I still have this warning prompt when windows boots up at the desktop. Also the desktop themes will not load. Please help.
Export from QuickBooks then import into Quicken 2003
By: jodevor | 19-06-2008
I have Quicken 2003 and need to import a file from QuickBooks for a high school booster group that is going through the changing of the guard. I don't know what version of QuickBooks the other user has, but would like to keep from having to manually reenter all the account information. Is this possible? If so, what versions of Quicken and QuickBooks are capable of talking to each other?
Q&A Powered by:
More from M. Aslam
Ccent, Ccna, Ccnp, Ccie Interview Questions
By: M. Aslam | 30/05/2008 | Networks
Interviews are tough; make sure you are fully prepared to pass the CCENT, CCNA, CCNP level interview. This article can be great help for you to pass the interview.
7 Layers of the Osi Reference Model
By: M. Aslam | 14/05/2008 | Communication
The Application Layer (Layer 7) refers to communication services to applications and is the interface between the network and the application. Most application layer protocols offer services that programs use to access the network, such as the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP).
What is Inside Wimax Technology (802.16)
By: M. Aslam | 07/05/2008 | Technology
WiMAX technology is identified as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access; it is formed in June 2001 to encourage conformance and interoperability of the WiMAX (IEEE 802.16) standard, officially known as Wireless Metropolitan Area Network (WMAN). WiMAX technology intended to offer wireless data in a related fashion as compare to WiFi but on a outsized level and speed, therefore building national wireless networks with ease.
A Word About Mcse, A+ and Ccna Braindump Certification
By: M. Aslam | 02/05/2008 | Information Technology
Information Technology (IT) industry is one of the major areas of human activities. It has rapidly matured in relatively short span of time. More or less every one is taking advantages of IT and those who have yet not integrated IT in their work and life want to. Like any other industry, IT also has its own share of problems. One of the major problems IT industry and professionals are facing is called braindumps - questions and answers from an actual IT certification exam that leak out to those
Wimax Tacking Over World
By: M. Aslam | 26/04/2008 | Communication
In the present era our lives are being dependent on computers and different types of electronic devices that provides us the opportunity to communicate, entertain, and in every aspect of our life.
10 Ccent, Ccna, Ccnp Interview Questions
By: M. Aslam | 12/04/2008 | E-Learning
Free Cisco CCENT, CCNA, CCNP Interview Questions
Why Should You Avoid Getting a Braindump Certification?
By: M. Aslam | 01/04/2008 | E-Learning
Generally speaking, Braindumps refers to lists of questions and answers from an actual IT certification exam. This dangerous, illegal and unethical trend is like a plague to IT profession as well as industry
Rip (routing Information Protocol)
By: M. Aslam | 10/03/2008 | E-Learning
RIP (Routing Information Protocol) is a distant vector routing protocol. RIP algorithm has been in use since the early days of ARPAnet.
Technology 
