MCSA/MCSE Self-Paced Training Kit (Exam 70-270): Installing ...

15-30 Chapter 15 Configuring Network and Internet Connections
Lesson 3: Configuring Wireless Connections
Wireless networking offers a degree of freedom—freedom for users of portable and
handheld computers to roam where they will and freedom for companies to place
computers in new locations without having to run network cabling. With that freedom,
however, comes increased vulnerability. Because wireless networking does not share
the same physical security of a wired network, understanding the security options for
a wireless network is of paramount importance. This lesson introduces you to the standards,
implementations, and security options for wireless networks. This lesson also
shows you how to configure a computer running Windows XP Professional to participate
as a client in a wireless network.
After this lesson, you will be able to
■ Identify the standards used in wireless networking.
■ Explain the basic architecture of wireless networks.
■ Identify the security concerns and options of wireless networks.
■ Configure a computer running Windows XP Professional as a wireless networking client.
Estimated lesson time: 30 minutes
Introduction to Wireless Networking Standards
The primary wireless networking standard is known as 802.11. This standard is developed
and maintained by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), so
you will often see the standard referred to as IEEE 802.11.
The original 802.11 specification defines data rates of 1 Mbps and 2 Mbps, and uses a
radio frequency of 2.45 GHz. 802.11 provides the foundation for a number of variations
of the standard that IEEE has developed over the years, and it is these variations you
will see implemented in wireless devices on the market today. These variations include
the following:
■ 802.11b The first real standard to market, which is called 802.11b, was originally
developed in 1999, although it is still in wide use today. 802.11b supports additional
data rates of 5.5 Mbps and 11 Mbps (comparable to the rated speed of traditional
Ethernet) and still uses the 2.45 GHz radio frequency. The advantages of 802.11b
over other standards are that it is typically available at a lower cost and it has the
best overall signal range. However, 802.11b also has the lowest data transfer rate of
the available standards.