An Insight Into Different Wi-Fi Systems Aspects

Enterprise Wireless – An Insight Into Different Wi-Fi Systems Aspects

Type: Grandmetric GuidePaper
Author: Marcin Dryjanski, Mateusz Buczkowski

Abstract:

Wi-Fi systems are present nowadays pretty much everywhere and everybody is using them for Internet connectivity as a basic medium for access. Of course, these Wi-Fi systems are not the same as the ones that were present in the 1990s, when Wi-Fi was first introduced, and have evolved quite significantly since then.

Also, as time passed, the security flaws were recognized on the old schemes and new mechanisms were designed. On the other hand, most of the enterprises are equipped with dense wireless Wi-Fi networks (enterprise class) that are configured by central controllers to: minimize interference, adjust power levels and configure other wireless parameters.

During the regular network operation, the troubleshooting tasks of those networks become more and more complex as more standards need to be supported due to the backward compatibility requirement of Wi-Fi systems.

This Guidepaper discusses selected aspects on those topics. It starts by going through the evolution of the IEEE standards for Wireless LAN. It discusses how the Wi-Fi systems evolved throughout the last 3 decades and compare the different versions. Later, we talk about the security mechanisms including WEP, WPA, WPA2 and the recently introduced WPA3. This is followed up by a short section on security threats, grouping different potential attacks that the wireless systems are susceptible to.

Next chapter discusses selected optimization aspects including radio parameters, and their configuration by a Wi-Fi controller and selected measurements using a spectrum analyzer. Finally, the Guidepaper also talks about Carrier Wi-Fi and how WLAN interworks with mobile networks by means of LTE integration schemes.