Sunday, July 1, 2012

Wireless Networking Software Homedale

Wireless Networking Software Homedale

Not all wireless networking hardware comes with the appropriate software to monitor the available networks in the vicinity. The software that comes with the operating system is usually pretty basic as well and does not provide extensive means – or none at all – to monitor parameters like signal strength over time.

Homedale is a portable wireless networking software for the Windows operating system that can probably be best described as a wlan monitor. It uses a tabbed interface that displays information about the local network adapter, the available access points and the signal strength of each access point. The access points tab lists the name and mac address of each available access point plus information about the encryption method (WEP, WPA, WPA2), the bitrates, channels and signal strength.



The wireless networking software can be used to monitor the signal strength of selected wireless adapters over time which makes it an excellent analysis tool especially for small and medium computer networks.



Homedale has a size of less than 300 Kilobytes and uses roughly 5.5 Megabytes of computer memory while running the background. The software developer does not provide information about supported operating systems; It ran without problems on a Windows XP SP3 test system.

An alternative for Windows users is Wi-Fi Signal Strenght. Linux users might want to take a look at Wavemon which can display advanced wireless information.

Wireless Network Software

Wireless Network Software

Extricom’s software product family includes the Extricom Operating System (EXOS) for MultiSeries 500 and MultiSeries 1000 switches, as well as the Extricom Network Management System (EXNM-2000).

Extricom Operating System (EXOS)

Extricom Operating System (EXOS)

The Extricom Operating System (EXOS) serves as the application engine for the MultiSeries 500 and MultiSeries 1000 WLAN switches. The EXOS is upgradeable, providing MultiSeries owners with access to new features and excellent investment protection.
EXNM-2000

EXNM-2000

The EXNM-2000 is a comprehensive network management system that allows any size of Extricom WLAN to be centrally managed from a sin

Wireless Networking

Wireless Networking


Wireless Networking

Microsoft Windows includes extensive support for the widely adopted Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards for high-speed networking across wireless LANs, including 802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11n, and 802.11b (also known as Wi-Fi).

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What Is a Wireless Network?: The Basics

What Is a Wireless Network?: The Basics
What Is a Wireless Network?: Five Questions to Start With

What is a wireless network? How is it different from a wired network? And what are the business benefits of a wireless network? The following overview answers basic questions such as What is a wireless network?, so you can decide if one is right for your business.

What Is a Wireless Network?

What is a wireless network, exactly?

A wireless local-area network (LAN) uses radio waves to connect devices such as laptops to the Internet and to your business network and its applications. When you connect a laptop to a WiFi hotspot at a cafe, hotel, airport lounge, or other public place, you're connecting to that business's wireless network.

What Is a Wireless Network vs. a Wired Network?

A wired network connects devices to the Internet or other network using cables. The most common wired networks use cables connected to Ethernet ports on the network router on one end and to a computer or other device on the cable's opposite end.

What Is a Wireless Network? Catching Up with Wired Networks

In the past, some believed wired networks were faster and more secure than wireless networks. But continual enhancements to wireless networking standards and technologies have eroded those speed and security differences.

What Is a Wireless Network?: The Benefits

Small businesses can experience many benefits from a wireless network, including:

Convenience. Access your network resources from any location within your wireless network's coverage area or from any WiFi hotspot.
Mobility. You're no longer tied to your desk, as you were with a wired connection. You and your employees can go online in conference room meetings, for example.
Productivity. Wireless access to the Internet and to your company's key applications and resources helps your staff get the job done and encourages collaboration.
Easy setup. You don't have to string cables, so installation can be quick and cost-effective.
Expandable. You can easily expand wireless networks with existing equipment, while a wired network might require additional wiring.
Security. Advances in wireless networks provide robust security protections.
Cost. Because wireless networks eliminate or reduce wiring costs, they can cost less to operate than wired networks.

Wireless Networking

Wireless Networking
Most wireless networks are based on the IEEE® 802.11 standards. A basic wireless network consists of multiple stations communicating with radios that broadcast in either the 2.4GHz or 5GHz band (though this varies according to the locale and is also changing to enable communication in the 2.3GHz and 4.9GHz ranges).

802.11 networks are organized in two ways: in infrastructure mode one station acts as a master with all the other stations associating to it; the network is known as a BSS and the master station is termed an access point (AP). In a BSS all communication passes through the AP; even when one station wants to communicate with another wireless station messages must go through the AP. In the second form of network there is no master and stations communicate directly. This form of network is termed an IBSS and is commonly known as an ad-hoc network.

802.11 networks were first deployed in the 2.4GHz band using protocols defined by the IEEE 802.11 and 802.11b standard. These specifications include the operating frequencies, MAC layer characteristics including framing and transmission rates (communication can be done at various rates). Later the 802.11a standard defined operation in the 5GHz band, including different signalling mechanisms and higher transmission rates. Still later the 802.11g standard was defined to enable use of 802.11a signalling and transmission mechanisms in the 2.4GHz band in such a way as to be backwards compatible with 802.11b networks.

Separate from the underlying transmission techniques 802.11 networks have a variety of security mechanisms. The original 802.11 specifications defined a simple security protocol called WEP. This protocol uses a fixed pre-shared key and the RC4 cryptographic cipher to encode data transmitted on a network. Stations must all agree on the fixed key in order to communicate. This scheme was shown to be easily broken and is now rarely used except to discourage transient users from joining networks. Current security practice is given by the IEEE 802.11i specification that defines new cryptographic ciphers and an additional protocol to authenticate stations to an access point and exchange keys for doing data communication. Further, cryptographic keys are periodically refreshed and there are mechanisms for detecting intrusion attempts (and for countering intrusion attempts). Another security protocol specification commonly used in wireless networks is termed WPA. This was a precursor to 802.11i defined by an industry group as an interim measure while waiting for 802.11i to be ratified. WPA specifies a subset of the requirements found in 802.11i and is designed for implementation on legacy hardware. Specifically WPA requires only the TKIP cipher that is derived from the original WEP cipher. 802.11i permits use of TKIP but also requires support for a stronger cipher, AES-CCM, for encrypting data. (The AES cipher was not required in WPA because it was deemed too computationally costly to be implemented on legacy hardware.)

Other than the above protocol standards the other important standard to be aware of is 802.11e. This defines protocols for deploying multi-media applications such as streaming video and voice over IP (VoIP) in an 802.11 network. Like 802.11i, 802.11e also has a precursor specification termed WME (later renamed WMM) that has been defined by an industry group as a subset of 802.11e that can be deployed now to enable multi-media applications while waiting for the final ratification of 802.11e. The most important thing to know about 802.11e and WME/WMM is that it enables prioritized traffic use of a wireless network through Quality of Service (QoS) protocols and enhanced media access protocols. Proper implementation of these protocols enable high speed bursting of data and prioritized traffic flow.

FreeBSD supports networks that operate using 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g. The WPA and 802.11i security protocols are likewise supported (in conjunction with any of 11a, 11b, and 11g) and QoS and traffic prioritization required by the WME/WMM protocols are supported for a limited set of wireless devices.

Saturday, June 30, 2012

How WiFi Works

If you've been in an airport, coffee shop, library or hotel recently, chances are you've been right in the middle of a wireless network. Many people also use wireless networking, also called WiFi or 802.11 networking, to connect their computers at home, and some cities are trying to use the technology to provide free or low-cost Internet access to residents. In the near future, wireless networking may become so widespread that you can access the Internet just about anywhere at any time, without using wires.
WiFi has a lot of advantages. Wireless networks are easy to set up and inexpensive. They're also unobtrusive -- unless you're on the lookout for a place to use your laptop, you may not even notice when you're in a hotspot. In this article, we'll look at the technology that allows information to travel over the air. We'll also review what it takes to create a wireless network in your home.
First, let's go over a few WiFi basics.