Customer Reviews

802.11 Wireless LAN Fundamentals

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Great things sometimes really do come in small packages. I confess I had my doubts when I picked up this book: it seems very small to actually cover the fundamentals of a topic, any topic. But it surprised me. In only about 250 pages, it succeeds in covering how wireless data networking - aka 802.11, or WiFi - actually works.

There is even a professional level of detail. When it comes down to it, what makes wireless different is the use of a radio instead of a physical wire. That means, for those familiar with the OSI Model, the differences are all in the bottom two layers, the Physical and the Data Link layers. As an effect of using a radio, of course, anyone with an appropriate antenna can listen in, and maybe join the conversation if they wish, which makes security both important and a little trickier to implement.

Now you know the focus of this book. To make sure that the reader understands the data network wireless connects to, as well as to provide a good comparison, the authors start with a review of Ethernet and how the data is exchanged over it, and on out to the Internet. From there, they patiently take you through how WiFi does the same thing, only with a radio instead of a Cat 5 cable. The explanation of how the Physical layer works in this environment is not as long as its thoroughness makes it appear; though less that 25 pages, you will finish that chapter with a decent understanding of the differences in connection establishment and management among the various flavors of WiFi: 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g. These standards use different means of manipulating the radio waves, with effects (I think) not unlike the differences in data passage among Ethernet and Token Ring. If you're going to use a technology in your network, you need to be aware of those differences, and you will get a deep enough level of understanding from this to either implement a reasonably simple network, or have the foundation - the fundamentals - with which to dig as deeply as you need. There are different means of protecting your wireless network form being used by just anyone, and (especially) from being used to access your wired network. That means you must consider both encryption and authentication, and the various means of achieving these goals is covered at the level of a knowledgeable user. You won't find mathematical representations of cryptographic algorithms here; this is a practical book for those who need to implement wireless, not those who need to design the protocol suite. A working-level knowledge is sufficient.

Of course, one of the big attractions of wireless is that you can move while you surf, so mobility by a user is covered, as well. Roaming causes a problem unique to a wireless network: adapting connectivity during a session. If all wireless nodes belong to the same IP network, roaming can be handled entirely at layer two, but you will find times when you need to separate wireless LAN segments into separate routing domains; mobility at layer three is a little more challenging, but can be done. Facilitating both roaming and the many types of communications on a converged network, how to handle Quality of Service (QoS) is covered, too.

Finally, designing and actually deploying a wireless network requires you to understand how the radio waves work, at least well enough to place the Access Points (APs) to provide the coverage you need with sufficient bandwidth for the users you will support. Conducting a good site survey matters, and so does planning for growth - both of which are addressed. In addition, the design section has some material to make you think about the impact of your wireless network on its surroundings. Remember, in a hospital, for instance, unwanted radio waves might have very bad side effects!

All told, this book is an excellent introduction for someone who needs to implement a wireless data network using current technology. You will probably find aspects to your network for which you'll have to dig a little deeper. That's the only reason I'm giving this 4 stars - I'm lazy enough to want it all in one place, even if the book gets pretty heavy.

I recently read the title "802.11 Wireless LAN Fundamentals" by Pejman Roshan and Jonathan Leary. ISBN: 1587050773. You've heard the saying that good things come in small packages. Well, this title reinforces that statement. The book is packed with information regarding 802.11 Wireless LAN's. Don't be thrown by the title into thinking that this book only covers the basics. In fact, this book covers the basics and much, much more.

The book starts off with fundamental concepts of Ethernet Technologies. Not enough to be a great Ethernet reference, but enough to refresh your memory or to get the flavor of Ethernet once again. The book then explains the essential concepts of Wireless LAN's. After some needed high level concepts are covered the book dives into the bits and bytes of Wireless networking, leaving nothing for the imagination. The physical layer details are covered extremely well in this book. There are great depictions that show the different modulation types, frame formats and field definitions of 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g.

An extremely important topic on Wireless security is cover better in this book than any other source that I've found. A chapter has been dedicated to the topic. The author's first breaks down the weaknesses in wireless networks then explain how to secure the Wireless network. This chapter is loaded with supporting diagrams and figures.

The other challenging topic of Roaming is covered in this book. The chapter goes into the protocol codes that allow mobility to be successful and the author's show a few ways in which mobility can be accomplished from a technical perspective.

QoS for 802.11, or 802.11e, is a great section pertaining to QoS in a shared media wireless environment. The chapter is a bit complex and allows some of the more advanced networking professionals to bite off as much as they can chew.

The book covers all the radio essentials that one would need to firmly grasp this technology without delving into the complex math behind it all.

The title wraps up with great examples of site survey and design considerations. The authors give sound advise on how to approach the deployment of a wireless network that will scale to meet the needs of future Wireless network growth.

With the help of the support glossary in the back, I'm much more versed on the smorgasbord of new acronyms and the technology itself, that Wireless LAN's have introduced to Networking community. The glossary makes for a great quick reference. What book would be complete without a good index. This book has a pretty good index that has most any wireless related acronym at your finger tips. Great for a quick find.

There are several figures, diagrams and tables in this book. Much more than what I've seen in most other books. The supporting figures, diagrams and tables help a great deal with sorting out the terms and concepts of this simple yet complex technology. The information in the book is mainly standards based and not much, if any, Cisco centric information. Which make this title valuable for anyone seeking to understand Wireless LAN's.

This book is best suited for any network professional at any level. There is something for everyone in this title. Sales Engineers will find this book invaluable as they are faced with the many tough questions and challenges from the inquisitive customer. Data Network Salesmen will benefit from this title by understanding what value Wireless networks can bring to a company and how to fit the needs of a company into a viable solution for customers.

At a total of 281 pages covering 10 chapters of material, this book is very compact, but every page is filled with relevant information.
The first chapter of the book quickly delves into Ethernet technologies - 802.3 ethernet frame formats, addressing, CSMA/CD, 10Mb,100Mb and 1000Mb.

The second and third chapters cover the physical and MAC layers of 802.11 technology extensively. Chapter 2 starts from service sets (IBSS,BSS and ESS),CSMA/CA and how it differs from CSMA/CD,and moves to 802.11 MAC layer operations. MAC layer operations include station connectivity - how 802.11 clients connect to the access point, power save operation and the different 802.11 frame formats.

Chapter 3 covers the physical layer of the 802.11 protocol - the sublayers, PMD (Physical Medium Dependant)and PLCP (Physical Layer Convergence Procedure); FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) and DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) and the different modulation techniques used in 802.11,802.11a,802.11b and 802.11g.

Wireless LAN security is covered to a reasonable depth. The authors give a brief overview of encryption and then cover encryption in the 802.11 standard which is basically WEP(Wired Equivalent Privacy). Authentication mechanisms - Open and Shared Key authentication and the security vulnerabilities in the 802.11 standard are discussed in detail.

One of the most important tasks during the deployment of a wireless network is the site survey. The decisions made during this phase are critical to the optimal performance of the WLAN.Chapter 8 points to the questions that must be asked during a site survey and the necessary tools required to successfully conduct a survey.

For a Ciscopress book this volume is not very Cisco-centric. There are few references to Cisco devices. The focus is vendor neutral, stressing the 802.11 standard above all.
From my point of view,this book is not targeted at helping the reader to pass any Cisco wireless certification exams. There are no cram sheets,questions, or hints. However, I believe the contents will go a long way in preparing readers for the new CWAP(Certified Wireless Analysis Professional) exam by Planet3 Wireless. This exam focuses on wireless LAN analysis - 802.11 physical layer technologies, MAC frames and the use of protocol analyzers.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to have a good understanding of what goes on behind the scenes on a WLAN.

OK, this book is great. If you are looking for general non vendor specific wireless info this is THE book. The gentleman that wrote it Im told worked for aironet before cisco bought them and supposedly WAS aironet from an engineering point of view. As a result the book is chock full of info but , at times, it will put you to sleep. This is not the fault of the writer , rather, it is the fault of the execellent info. Lets face it folks, a lot of this is about as exciting as counting sand at a beach. I highly recommend this book for the level of detail it provides in a relativly short read. You might have to review some of it twice, but again, that is the nature of the beast. Anyone who has studied TDM or CWDM knows what I am talking about ;-)

The world of Wireless technology is new and constantly evolving to meet the security and real world threats to this infrastructure. Published by Cisco Press, 802.11 Wireless LAN Fundamentals, ISBN 1587050773, by Pejman Roshan and Jonathan Leary, explains the basis of the Ethernet technologies and how it relates to the 802.11x topology.

If you are new to Wireless, this is not the book for you! On the other hand, if you have a firm understanding of the basics of the communication, then this book serves as good reference and guide. The organization of the book is somewhat difficult to follow, but the technical diagrams and charts are very detailed and concise.

"Fundamentals of Wireless LANS", published by Cisco Press, is a most appropriate title. Having read other books that were intended to have a similar fundamental-in-nature content, "Fundamentals of Wireless LANS" definitely offers more detail. The number of pages alone - almost 800, excluding appendices - are an indication right away that this book will contain a sufficient amount of detail. The reference about the book being authorized for the Cisco Networking Academy Program is also appropriate. The book is definitely geared toward the use of Cisco wireless networking equipment.

The level of experience to fully comprehend the subject matter, and to perform the exercises throughout the book, are no more than that required of someone with CCNA-level knowledge. The focus of the book is on wireless networking equipment so, there a minimal references to traditional (wired) networking equipment. Also, the infrequent reference to wired networking equipment assumes that the reader understands the function(s) of this equipment, and again, this understanding is not beyond the level of CCNA knowledge.

The reader that will find this book most useful is someone who wants to develop a solid foundation in wireless LAN principles, and wants to gain that understanding from a Cisco-centric perspective. Also, anyone pursuing the Cisco Wireless LAN specialization certification will find this book as an excellent preparatory source.

There are examples that are illustrated in the chapters, along with examples on a CD-ROM that is included with the book. The examples throughout the chapters are extremely easy to follow; so easy, that each concept can fully comprehended without the use of any actual equipment. Of course, if the reader does have access to the actual equipment (or software utility) that are referenced in the examples, that will only serve to enhance the learning. Each illustration is well thought out, that makes it very easy for someone with good self-study skills to follow. Each chapter concludes with a list of the "key terms" restate where the focus was placed. Also, to challenge and test the comprehension of the material in the chapter, there are 10 questions that serve to reinforce the subject matter. Some chapters also contain URLs to Cisco websites that offer additional materials on the equipment or subject being discussed.

The CD-ROM that is included with the book is awesome. The CD-ROM is comprised of the following components: 1)Test Engine, 2)Photo Zooms, 3)Interactive Activities, 4)Demo Activities, and 5)references to other Cisco-related WLAN resources. The "References" to other Cisco-related WLAN resources include some tools and utilities that are right on the CD-ROM.

The Test Engine on the CD-ROM is consists of 2 components: 1) Study Mode, and 2) Practice Exam. The Study Mode component contains 296 questions, and the Practice Exam includes 70 questions. The questions cover concepts presented in all 12 chapters of the book. The Study Mode allows the reader to customize the number of questions to be tested, the chapters from which the questions will come from, and the time period (number of minutes) that is allowed to answer questions.

The PhotoZooms provide photographs of the Cisco WLAN equipment that is referenced throughout the book. These photographs give a lot of credence to the cliché - a picture is worth a thousand words. Being able to the equipment that is referenced throughout the book is invaluable. Also, along with each equipment photo is a description of the equipment.

The Interactive Activities section of the CD-ROM provides 42 hands-on exercises. The exercises are a combination of dynamic and static illustrations. As the CD-ROM describes, these exercises are intended to help the reader to "...master the basic Wireless concepts." These exercises are a bonus even if the reader has access to the actual equipment.

The Demo Activities on the CD-ROM contains 13 animated exercises. Once again, providing a most needed benefit to the reader that does not possess access the actual equipment and utility software.

On the inside front cover of the book, a comment is made that this book will prepare the reader to attempt Cisco Wireless LAN Specialist certification exam. After examining the chapters' and CD-ROM content, I have to agree with this comment. In addition to certification preparation, the book is an excellent resource for gaining a healthy understanding of WLAN fundamentals.

Without hesitation, I would read (and recommend) titles from Cisco Press - this title in particular. This book is just the book that I needed to gain the solid understanding of wireless technology fundamentals that I wanted. The illustrations and practical applications afforded me an understanding about wireless networking that I hadn't been able to glean from other books; books that were substantial in their own way but, nevertherless, unable to provide that fundamental knowledge transfer. The rating that I would assign the book would be a 5 - on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest.

The author does not waist words when explaining the various 802.11 features. Extremely dry and boring... Kudos to the person who can read this book and absorb the information. I felt like I was reading an RFC.