Wi-Fi

Essay by chevybrentUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, May 2011

download word file, 5 pages 0.0

Downloaded 8 times

In the early age of computers, transferring of information from one computer system to another was a mere physical task. Nowadays, wireless technology is making it easy for everyone to effortlessly communicate with each other free from the use of any physical wiring and making it very cost effective. It is now being widely used by many organizations such as schools, hospitals, business-establishments, airports, and government facilities. Because of the increasing improvement and the price consistency of this technology (Rabbani, 2009), Computer hardware is no longer a major barrier to wide use of wireless information systems. Prior to the advancement of the Wi-Fi technology and the computer networking systems, computer users used only magnetic removable media devices such as an 8-inch floppy disk to transfer data from one computer system to another. Users had to upload data to the removable device and literally deliver it to the requesting computer using a pair of sneakers.

This method ended up being called sneakernet and it is still popularly used today by professionals and end-users alike (McMahon, 2003).

After the advent of the computer networking system, it enabled end-users and IT Professionals to instantly transfer computer data through wired network systems without having to physically transport it to the proper destination. This involves using routers, switches, and hubs (Pavlou, 2007). By 1997, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer or IEEE developed the first implemented wireless network technology called the IEEE 802.11 specification and since then developed other more-advanced standards based on this specification. This became known as the Wi-Fi standard and this revolutionized the communications system ever since (Burger 2010).

There were three types of wireless standard that were certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance association, the organization that tests and certifies these Wi-Fi products to interoperate with each other. These products were...