802.11 Wireless Networks : Creating and Administering Wireless Networks

by Gast, Matthew S.

• ISBN13: 9780596001834
• ISBN10: 0596001835
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-03-01
• Publisher: Oreilly & Associates Inc

Summary

Using a wireless network is a liberating experience. But underneath the experience lies a complex protocol, and even more complex issues arise when your data isn't limited to traveling on physical wires. How do you structure your network so mobile users can move around effectively? How do you extend wireless coverage so it's available everywhere you need it? What kinds of security issues do wireless networks raise? How do you tune your network for optimal performance? How do you provide enough capacity to support the users you expect initially, and how do you deal with the problems that arise as more users join the network? 802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide discusses all these issues, and more. This book is for the serious system or network administrator who is responsible for deploying or maintaining a wireless network. It discusses how the 802.11 protocols work, with a view towards understanding which options are available and troubleshooting problems that arise. It contains an extensive discussion of wireless security issues, including the problems with the WEP standard and a look at the 802.1x security standard. Since network monitoring is essential to any serious network administrator, and commercial packet sniffers for wireless applications are scarce and expensive, this book shows how to create a wireless packet sniffer from a Linux system and open source software.

Author Biography

Matthew Gast currently works for an advanced wireless network systems company in the Bay Area. Prior to that, he spent several years as an engineer for a series of network security companies. He is the author of 802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide, Network Printing, and T1: A Survival Guide.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Introduction to Wireless Networks	1	(6)
Why Wireless?	1	(4)
A Network by Any Other Name	5	(2)
Overview of 802.11 Networks	7	(16)
IEEE 802 Network Technology Family Tree	8	(1)
802.11 Nomenclature and Design	9	(7)
802.11 Network Operations	16	(4)
Mobility Support	20	(3)
The 802.11 MAC	23	(28)
Challenges for the MAC	25	(2)
MAC Access Modes and Timing	27	(4)
Contention-Based Access Using the DCF	31	(3)
Fragmentation and Reassembly	34	(1)
Frame Format	35	(8)
Encapsulation of Higher-Layer Protocols Within 802.11	43	(1)
Contention-Based Data Service	44	(7)
802.11 Framing in Detail	51	(35)
Data Frames	51	(9)
Control Frames	60	(6)
Management Frames	66	(17)
Frame Transmission and Association and Authentication States	83	(3)
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)	86	(13)
Cryptographic Background to WEP	86	(3)
WEP Cryptographic Operations	89	(4)
Problems with WEP	93	(3)
Conclusions and Recommendations	96	(3)
Security, Take 2: 802.1x	99	(15)
The Extensible Authentication Protocol	100	(5)
802.1x: Network Port Authentication	105	(5)
802.1x on Wireless LANs	110	(4)
Management Operations	114	(26)
Management Architecture	114	(1)
Scanning	115	(5)
Authentication	120	(4)
Association	124	(4)
Power Conservation	128	(9)
Timer Synchronization	137	(3)
Contention-Free Service with the PCF	140	(11)
Contention-Free Access Using the PCF	140	(4)
Detailed PCF Framing	144	(5)
Power Management and the PCF	149	(2)
Physical Layer Overview	151	(13)
Physical-Layer Architecture	151	(1)
The Radio Link	152	(6)
RF and 802.11	158	(6)
The ISM PHYs: FH, DS, and HR/DS	164	(34)
802.11 FH PHY	164	(12)
802.11 DS PHY	176	(13)
802.11b: HR/DSSS PHY	189	(9)
802.11a: 5-GHz OFDM PHY	198	(16)
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM)	199	(6)
OFDM as Applied by 802.11a	205	(3)
OFDM PLCP	208	(3)
OFDM PMD	211	(1)
Characteristics of the OFDM PHY	212	(2)
Using 802.11 on Windows	214	(22)
Nokia C110/C111	215	(14)
Lucent ORINOCO	229	(7)
Using 802.11 on Linux	236	(26)
A Few Words on 802.11 Hardware	237	(1)
PCMCIA Support on Linux	238	(6)
linux-wlan-ng for Intersil-Based Cards	244	(10)
Agere (Lucent) Orinoco	254	(8)
Using 802.11 Access Points	262	(31)
General Functions of an Acces Point	262	(7)
ORiNOCO (Lucent) AP-1000 Access Point	269	(10)
Nokia A032 Access Point	279	(14)
802.11 Network Deployment	293	(36)
The Topology Archetype	294	(13)
Project Planning	307	(7)
The Site Survey	314	(11)
Installation and the Final Rollout	325	(4)
802.11 Network Analysis	329	(39)
Why Use a Network Analyzer?	329	(2)
802.11 Network Analyzers	331	(1)
Commercial Network Analyzers	332	(1)
Ethereal	332	(16)
802.11 Network Analysis Examples	348	(15)
Airsnort	363	(5)
802.11 Performance Tuning	368	(8)
Tuning Radio Management	368	(3)
Tuning Power Management	371	(2)
Timing Operations	373	(1)
Physical Operations	373	(1)
Summary of Tunable Parameters	374	(2)
The Future, at Least for 802.11	376	(7)
Current Standards Work	376	(2)
The Longer Term	378	(4)
The End	382	(1)
A. 802.11 MIB	383	(13)
B. 802.11 on the Macintosh	396	(15)
Glossary	411	(8)
Index	419