How to Choose the Best Wireless Network

Should you build a wireless network from the scratch either in homes or in the offices, choose the best wireless network technologies currently available in the market today.

To build the best wireless network you should choose the best technologies and the best wireless devices to meet the main three areas. Firstly, you should choose the wireless devices with the latest technology to provide the fastest speed which is available in the market today. Secondly, you should choose the wireless devices and technology that is capable in providing the longest distances coverage. Thirdly, the devices you choose should be powered by the latest industrial wireless security to provide the most secured network to protect the private network against any types of unauthorized access and internet threats.

The Best Wireless Network in Speed

By last Sep 2009, the IEEE finally approved the draft version of 802.11n to be the final wireless n standards. No major changes were made, but some options were added. 802.11n Wireless n standard is currently the best wireless network standards which can deliver the speeds up to 300 Mbps or even faster. Many wireless manufacturers ship their new lines of wireless products based on the final version of 802.11n. For example Linksys with its new E-Series Gigabit wireless n routers, Belkin new Wireless –n Gigabit routers (Belkin Surf, Share, Play, and Max Play), and even Trendnet ships the TEW691GR 450Mbps Wireless N gigabit router.

However, the speeds of up to 300 Mbps and even up to 450 Mbps are all theoretical (in ideal conditions) in a sense, due to the fact that routers never achieve the maximum throughput they’re rated at. The actual speeds may vary depends on the network conditions and environmental factors, including volume of network traffic, building materials and construction, and network overhead lower actual data throughput rate.

The Best Wireless Network in Network Coverage

The capability of providing the farthest network coverage should also be considered in selecting the devices or technologies for the best wireless network. MIMO smart antenna technology is widely adopted by mostly wireless manufacturers to help the device to provide the longer distance coverage. MIMO uses multiple transmitter and receiver antennas to improve the system performance. MIMO technology relies on multipath signals. Multipath signals are the reflected signals arriving at the receiver some time after the line of sight (LOS) signal transmission has been received. MIMO technology creates robust signals for maximum range and speed with reduced dead spots.

But many manufacturers adopt MIMO technology and modify into the new technology for better wireless network coverage. For example D Link wireless company introduces Extreme –N technology to provide the speed up to 14x faster and provide 6x the range farther when compared to 802.11g wireless devices.

The Best Wireless Network with Advanced Security

Generally security is the last thing to consider in deployment of the wireless networks. The best wireless network should consider the advanced security for network protections against any unauthorized access and also the endpoint security for Internet threats protection. See also entry point security by firewall.

As a general rule, a level of security should be employed and should correspond to the sensitivity of the data on your network that must be protected. Unlike wired networks which can be physically secured, wireless networks are not confined to the inside of buildings. They can be picked up as far as 1,000 feet outside of the premises with a notebook and a USB adapter with hi-gain directional antenna. This makes WLANs inherently vulnerable to interception.

The legacy devices use WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) as the default wireless security. Unfortunately there are several serious weaknesses researchers had found in this WEP system. It is therefore Wi-Fi Alliance introduces the latest industrial wireless security standard Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2). WPA is certification program created by the Wi-Fi Alliance to indicate compliance with the security protocol created by the Wi-Fi Alliance to secure wireless computer networks.

Quality of Services (QoS) feature should also be considered when you select the wireless devices for your network. QoS provides the data traffic prioritization over certain other traffic, for example QoS to provide prioritization on the video streaming and gaming.

Typically with mostly wireless routers without the QoS feature, all wired and wireless traffic (such as VoIP, Video Streaming, Online Gaming, and Web browsing) are mixed together into a single pipe data stream. By handling data this way, applications like video streaming could pause or delay. With QoS prioritization engine, system will analyze and separate the wired and wireless traffic into multiple data streams. These streams are then categorized by sensitivity to delay, so applications like VoIP, Video Streaming, and Online Gaming are given priority over Web browsing. This enables multiple applications to stream smoothly to your TV or PC.

There are many wireless routers for video and gaming are embedded with the QoS engine such as WNDR37AV wireless N gigabit router by Netgear which is designed specifically for video and gaming. And you can also see DGL-4500 High-performance Gamer Lounge with GameFuel technology which is specifically designed for gamers in mind.

Dual-band feature should also be considered in selecting the wireless devices for your best wireless network. Wireless devices with dual-band feature support both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency band either selectable or simultaneous. 5 GHz frequency band provides a clearer band than 2.4 GHz which is suitable for HD media streaming and video.

By Ki Grinsing

See also:

• Computer networking hardware
• Urgency of having the network diagram for your business networks
• Backup hard disk – alternate storage for backup
• Tape backup solutions – autoloader
• IP network design