Wireless Local Area Network: Improving the Value of IT in Daily Lives - Essay Example

Introduction

A Wireless Local Area Network (WLANs) is a computer network that is in wireless mode and creates a link between two or more devices using a wireless form of communication. The communication forms a network called Local Area Network (LAN) within an area that is limited and may include office buildings, homes, computer laboratories and schools. WLANs are performing a very important role by improving the value that IT is bringing into our daily lives (Zheng et al., 2009). Just like any other form of technology, WLANs also comes along with some unique challenges. On the other hand, the cost of combining wireless technology has become relatively lower, and its deployment has become easy. This has led to many areas implementing the wireless form of technology without considering putting up adequate upfront plans without necessarily addressing the ongoing requirements to support the network's security (Yang & Gu, 2013). This, in turn, has led to the levels of services and security becoming degraded, therefore increasing its rates of failure dramatically on user adoption and seamless usage. The paper will, therefore, address the best practices that are used in the designing and security involved in establishing WLANs.

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Best Practices Used in Designing and Establishing Security in WLANs

WLANs Design

WLANs design is considerably easy and most especially when it comes to the capability of the network in running various issues that are attached to the system by the users when it is being deployed. The demand for the network has profoundly increased, putting pressure on experts who are faced with the network's capacity and security problems. Therefore, it means that the design is becoming more sophisticated and challenging as its demands increase. It can be reliable to its users; the design of the WLAN primarily depends on the network coverage and its capacity at a given time (Castillo, 2007). This is key as it is required to meet user needs that concern the role and coverage. Considering the size of the covered area by the WLAN, the number of users at a given time, the devices that will be connected to the network, and the amount of usage are essential.

Under the design of WLAN, many components are brought together to form a single network. They also work hand in hand to give out the necessary results and required by the network users. The design in cooperates four ingredients at the beginning of the design. Firstly, the design considers the type and size of the WLAN (Castillo, 2007). This caters to everything in the physical environment since it is where the wireless network will be placed. They consider the materials, layouts, sources of interference that are potential and the size. The second consideration in the design is the device itself. The categories here include considering their use in computing devices, mobile devices and IoT devices. The rule here is the plans for a suitable wireless connection to all these devices for effectiveness (Zheng et al., 2009). Since the wireless networks are more complicated, they require a match to the connected devices. Therefore, capacity design and application density become essential for the WLANs.

The third practice in the design is planning for the type of applications that will be running on the network. This includes business applications, streaming, communications and locations. The WLANs puts into consideration the kinds of applications it will be supporting. This is because, just like any other device used in the network, every application has an impact on the performance of the network in a different way (Meirelles, 2013). Therefore, it requires resources that are different so that it can properly operate. The fourth practice in the design is considering who and what the network will give access to. The WLANs are designed to give access to both personal and business devices without having their security being compromised. The access is considered in terms of corporate, and the end-user referred to as the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and the guest users (Castillo, 2007). With the level of usage of the WLANs, threats to security and everything attached to privacy concerns never stops. This is because wireless networks are said to be alive and dynamic kind of network.

Security Involved In WLAN Design

Securing the wireless network means putting up measures and protocols in the system that will prevent unauthorized access or cause any damage to the devices connected to the network. Therefore it merely means that the wireless network is prone to some issues related to security (Meirelles, 2013). Tapping into the network has become relatively untroubled by hackers and even deploys the wireless technology to tap into the wired connections. It is, therefore, an essential concept to come up with well-defined policies of the wireless network security that will safeguard its users from unauthorized access to their necessary resources. Since WLAN has become popular and its service provision increased, the network should have adequate security to ensure it performs best.

The design comes along with physically secure access points. The wireless LAN is evenly distributed so that the access points can be granted in the locations that are considered being inconvenient. In this, they implement encryption in wireless traffic (Yang & Gu, 2013). The protocols of encryption are referred to as the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP). It intends to provide security equivalent to the WLAN wired network by providing encryption to the uploaded data. The WLANs comes along with the encryption built inside it. The encryption ensures that the users of the network are always in charge of their security. Since the access to the network is selective, the access system allows the premises controlled by the network to seem welcoming while offering maximized protection from the external threats and shrinkage challenges (Meirelles, 2013). A system that proactively controls access monitors manages access and secures various entry and exit points of the network users. Some advanced access points allow the mounting of the devices in place and lock it. Also, in addition to physical security, ensuring local access requires a unique password is key.

WLANs second red flag is focused on the installation of security that secures the entire network. The internal and guest users of the network are kept separate. This means that the WLANs guest users are separated from the private LAN users, and the guest user cannot see any connected devices in the Ethernet or any Wi-Fi devices that are logged in to the private network of the Wi-Fi (Castillo, 2007). With this, both the guest and the private users are given effective protection whenever they are connected to WLAN. The attacks from middlemen will be blocked, downloads of malware will be prevented, and phishing attacks will also be prevented. Besides, legal liabilities will be reduced since the guest internet access is provided with enough security. With the WLANs, it is very easy to allow the guest users in the network while segregating them to have internet access only (Zheng et al., 2009). However, if they require the ability of resources from the internet, they can be given access while being monetized in what they access.

Conclusion

In conclusion, many underlying benefits are gained from setting up the wireless network for the guest users, but on the other hand, they also introduce risks. If the risks are not taken into consideration, the guest users can access the WLAN resources and steal or view the information in it that is sensitive. Installation of malware can also happen either deliberately or accidentally and the introduction of vulnerabilities that will otherwise expose the wireless network to opportunistic hackers. Therefore, considering the best practices for the wireless network for the guest users ensures that all the risks are mitigated and that the WLANs security is ensured and is effective to the users. Having a network management system is key as it helps in providing visibility to the wireless network in a real-time mode and meets the needs of the end-users. A scoop from the inside is provided by giving an insight into all the happenings in the wireless network every time. When all this is achieved, time spent in troubleshooting and security issues in the network will be reduced, allowing the users to work in a safer environment and focus on maintaining productivity rather than risks. Therefore, the WLAN supports various devices while in cooperating security that is of the highest level.

References

Castillo, Antonio Cortes. (2007). "Simulation with AirMagnet Survey using Heat Maps inside Indoor Scenarios in Wireless Local Area Networks." https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Antonio_Cortes_Castillo/publication/326606335_Simulation_with_AirMagnet_Survey_using_Heat_Maps_inside_Indoor_Scenarios_in_Wireless_Local_Area_Networks/links/5b587eee458515c4b24490be/Simulation-with-AirMagnet-Survey-using-Heat-Maps-inside-Indoor-Scenarios-in-Wireless-Local-Area-Networks.pdf

Meirelles, I. (2013). Design for information: an introduction to the histories, theories, and best practices behind effective information visualizations. Rockport publishers.

Yang, C., & Gu, G. (2013). Security in wireless local area networks. In Wireless Network Security (pp. 39-58). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. http://www.cic.ipn.mx/~pescamilla/MS/papers_2014/YangandGu2013.pdf

Zheng, P., Davie, B. S., Farrel, A., & Peterson, L.L. (2009). Wireless networking complete. Retrieved from http://ebookcentral.proquest.com