Guts of WLAN Security Policy
http://www.80211-planet.com/tutorials/ article.php/ 149915
Content Summary An understanding of the following
key points should have been achieved: - All matter is
composed of atoms, and the three main parts of an atom are:
protons, neutrons, and electrons. The protons and neutrons are
located in the center part of the atom (nucleus)
- Electrostatic discharge (ESD) can create serious problems
for sensitive electronic equipment
- Attenuation refers
to the resistance to the flow of electrons and why a signal
becomes degraded as it travels
- Currents flow in
closed loops called circuits, which must be composed of
conducting materials and must have sources of voltage
- A multimeter is used to measure voltage, current,
resistance, and other electrical quantities expressed in
numeric form
- Three types of copper cables used in
networking are: straight-through, crossover, and rollover
- Coaxial cable consists of a hollow outer cylindrical
conductor that surrounds a single inner wire conductor
- UTP cable is a four-pair wire medium used in a variety of
networks
- STP cable combines the techniques of
shielding, cancellation, and twisting of wires
- Optical fiber is a very good transmission medium when it is
properly installed, tested, and maintained
- Light
energy, a type of electromagnetic energy wave, is used to
transmit large amounts of data securely over relatively long
distances
- The light signal carried by a fiber is
produced by a transmitter that converts an electrical signal
into a light signal
- The light that arrives at the far
end of the cable is converted back to the original electrical
signal by the receiver
- Fibers are used in pairs to
provide full duplex communications
- Light rays obey
the laws of reflection and refraction as they travel through a
glass fiber, which allows fibers with the property of total
internal reflection to be manufactured
- Total internal
reflection makes light signals stay inside the fiber, even if
the fiber is not straight
- Attenuation of a light
signal becomes a problem over long cables especially if
sections of cable are connected at patch panels or spliced
- Cable and connectors must be properly installed and
thoroughly tested with high quality optical test equipment
before their use
- Cable links must be tested
periodically with high quality optical test instruments to
check whether the link has deteriorated in any way
- Care must always be taken to protect eyes when intense
light sources like lasers are used
- Understanding the
regulations and standards that apply to wireless technology
will ensure that deployed networks will be interoperable and in
compliance
- Compatibility problems with NICs are
solved by installing an access point (AP) to act as a central
hub for the WLAN
- Three types of frames are used in
wireless communication: control, management, and data
- WLANs use Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance
(CSMA/CA)
- WLAN authentication is a process that
authenticates the device, not the user