Wireless Infrastructure

Components

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
1. Introduction
2. Wireless LAN Concepts
3. Ad Hoc vs. Infrastructure
3. Summary

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Objectives
§  Describe wireless technology and standards.
§  Describe the components of a wireless infrastructure.
§  Describe wireless topologies.

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Wireless Concepts

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
Supporting Mobility
§  Productivity is no longer restricted to a fixed work location or a
defined time period.
§  People now expect to be connected at any time and place, from
the office to the airport or the home.
§  Users now expect to be able to roam wirelessly.
§  Roaming enables a wireless device to maintain Internet access
without losing a connection.

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
Benefits of Wireless
§  Increased flexibility
§  Increased productivity
§  Reduced costs
§  Ability to grow and adapt to
changing requirements

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
Wireless Technologies
Wireless networks can be classified broadly as:
§  Wireless personal-area network (WPAN) – Operates in the range
of a few feet (Bluetooth).
§  Wireless LAN (WLAN) – Operates in the range of a few hundred
feet.
§  Wireless wide-area network (WWAN) – Operates in the range of
miles.
§  Bluetooth – An IEEE 802.15 WPAN standard; uses a device-
pairing process to communicate over distances up to .05 mile
(100m).
§  Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) – An IEEE 802.11 WLAN standard;
provides network access to home and corporate users, to include
data, voice and video traffic, to distances up to 0.18 mile (300m).

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
Wireless Technologies (cont.)
§  Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) – An
IEEE 802.16 WWAN standard that provides wireless broadband
access of up to 30 mi (50 km).
§  Cellular broadband – Consists of various corporate, national, and
international organizations using service provider cellular access to
provide mobile broadband network connectivity.
§  Satellite Broadband – Provides network access to remote sites
through the use of a directional satellite dish.

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
Wi-Fi Certification
The Wi-Fi Alliance certifies Wi-Fi and the following product
compatibility:
§  IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ad-compatible.
§  IEEE 802.11i secure using WPA2™ and Extensible Authentication
Protocol (EAP)
§  Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) to simplify device connections.
§  Wi-Fi Direct to share media between devices
§  Wi-Fi Passpoint to simplify securely connecting to Wi-Fi hotspot
networks
§  Wi-Fi Miracast to seamlessly display video between devices

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
Wireless NICs

Wireless deployment
requires:
§  End devices with
wireless NICs
§  Infrastructure device,
such as a wireless
router or wireless AP

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
Wireless Home Router

A home user typically

interconnects wireless
devices using a small,
integrated wireless
router.

These serve as:

§  access point
§  Ethernet switch
§  router

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
Business Wireless Solutions

Figure 1 Figure 2

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
Wireless Access Points

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
Small Wireless Deployment Solutions

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
Small Wireless Deployment Solutions (cont.)

§  Each AP is configured

and managed
individually.
§  This can become a
problem when several
APs are required.

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
Small Wireless Deployment Solutions
§  Support the clustering of
APs without the use of a
controller.
§  Multiple APs can be
deployed and pushed to a
single configuration to all
devices within the cluster,
managing the wireless
network as a single
system without worrying
about interference
between APs, and without
configuring each AP as a
separate device.

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
Large Wireless Deployment Solutions

§  For larger organizations with many

APs, Cisco provides controller-based
managed solutions, including the
Cisco Meraki Cloud Managed
Architecture and the Cisco Unified
Wireless Network Architecture.
§  Cisco Meraki cloud architecture is a
management solution used to
simplify the wireless deployment.
Using this architecture, APs are
centrally managed from a controller
in the cloud.

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
Large Wireless Deployment Solutions (cont.)

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Wireless Infrastructure Components
Large Wireless Deployment Solutions (cont.)

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 Wireless Infrastructure Components
Wireless Antennas
Cisco Aironet APs can use:
§  Omnidirectional Wi-Fi Antennas – Factory Wi-
Fi gear often uses basic dipole antennas, also
referred to as “rubber duck” design, similar to
those used on walkie-talkie radios.
Omnidirectional antennas provide 360-degree
coverage.
§  Directional Wi-Fi Antennas – Directional
antennas focus the radio signal in a given
direction, which enhances the signal to and from
the AP in the direction the antenna is pointing.
§  Yagi antennas – Type of directional radio
antenna that can be used for long-distance Wi-Fi
networking.

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802.11 Wireless Topologies
802.11 Wireless Topology Modes

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802.11 Wireless Topologies
802.11 Wireless Topology Modes (cont.)

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802.11 Wireless Topologies
Ad Hoc Mode
Tethering (personal hotspot) – Variation of the Ad Hoc topology
when a smart phone or tablet with cellular data access is enabled to
create a personal hotspot.

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802.11 Wireless Topologies
Infrastructure Mode

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802.11 Wireless Topologies
Infrastructure Mode (cont.)

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Summary
§  WLANs are often implemented in homes, offices, and campus
environments.
§  Only the 2.4, GHz, 5.0 GHz, and 60 GHz frequencies are used for
802.11 WLANs.
§  The Wi-Fi Alliance certifies that vendor products conform to industry
standards and norms.
§  A STA uses a wireless NIC to connect to an infrastructure device
such as a wireless router or wireless AP.
§  STAs connect using an SSID.
§  APs can be implemented as standalone devices, in small clusters, or
in a larger controller-based network.

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Summary
§  A Cisco Aironet AP can use an onmidirectional antenna, a directional
antenna, or a yagi antenna to direct signals.
§  IEEE 802.11n/ac/ad use MIMO technology to improve throughput
and support up to four antennas, simultaneously.
§  In ad-hoc mode or IBSS, two wireless devices connect to each other
in a P2P manner.
§  In infrastructure mode, APs connect to network infrastructure using
the wired DS.
§  Each AP defines a BSS and is uniquely identified by its BSSID.
§  Multiple BSSs can be joined into an ESS.
§  Using a particular SSID in an ESS provides seamless roaming
capabilities among the BSSs in the ESS.

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