All About Wireless

What is Wireless?

Wireless technology is a new way of networking computers together without the traditional limitations and costs of a wired network. With wireless technology, you have the freedom to access your e-mail, the Internet - even your company network - anywhere you have access to a wireless network. And you can stay connected in public places like airports, hotels and restaurants. Where wireless access is available. Additional access charges apply in some locations.

Increased speed and the introduction of industry standards like IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g and 802.11a and WECA Wi-Fi have helped wireless networks offer cost-effective flexibility for growing businesses. Wi-Fi, or Wireless Fidelity technology, uses the same networking standards as Ethernet, or wired networks, with a comparable look and feel. Dell wireless products meet these standards, which means they integrate with your existing network.

Who Uses Wireless?

Whether you run your business from a home office or your organization has a larger network, there's a wireless solution for you. Wireless technology eliminates most of the cabling costs associated with traditional networks and makes mobile working more productive, making it a more cost-effective solution for your business. Built-in flexibility means wireless technology not only integrates with your existing wired network, it grows with your business.

Wireless Home Offices

Stay as productive at home as you are when you're in the office.

With a wireless network:

	With remote access permissions, access your office network from home
	Multiple computers throughout your home can share a single Internet connection or a printer
	No longer need a dedicated home office space

(Range and speed will vary according to environmental and other factors.)

Wireless Small Business

Small businesses use wireless technology as an alternative to expensive wired infrastructures.

A wireless network allows:

	Easy set-up of networks in older buildings
	Addition of new employees to the existing network
	Increased employee productivity by providing network access throughout the office
	Access to the company network from outside the office

Wireless Enterprise

With wireless technology, businesses can benefit from a more mobile workforce with increased productivity and reduced cost.

Wireless technology:

	Helps lower network and installation costs
	Helps lower the cost of adding employees or moving them around the office
	Helps lower the cost of setting up and maintaining common areas and conference rooms

Wireless Myths?

Wireless technology can provide a cost-effective, secure network for home offices and businesses. Take a look at the most popular myths, and see how far wireless technology has come.

Myth: Wireless networks are not secure.

Dell TrueMobile wireless products use a series of security protocols that can provide users with the same type of security that exists on wired networks. You can set up your TrueMobile Wireless network even if you don't have an IT department. And because TrueMobile wireless products were designed and built to industry standards, your data stays secure.

Myth: Wireless networks are costly to set up.

Wireless networks are generally less expensive to set up and maintain than traditional wired networks. A wireless network eliminates one of the most expensive parts of setting up and maintaining a network - Move, Add and Change costs. Setting up a wired network typically requires running Cat-5 cable through the ceiling and walls of your office to each workstation or computer. Any changes to your office layout or design (for instance, if you add employees) require changes to cable.

A wireless network can not only save you the cost of running this cable, it can save you the time associated with running cable to each computer or workstation. In addition, if your company ever moves to another building, your TrueMobile Wireless Solution can go with you. A traditional wired network cannot.

Myth: Wireless networks are slower.

While wireless products cannot equal the speed of a wired Ethernet connection, some PC´s allow users to transmit information at speeds up to 11 Mbps (Megabites per second), or nearly 200 times faster than 56K* dial-up connection. (Range and speed will vary according to environmental and other factors.)

How it Works?

Wireless technology works much the same way a mobile phone works: airwaves, instead of wires, are used to carry data from one point to another. There are limitations to where you can access the Internet- you must be within range of an access point, the part of a wireless network that transmits data to your computer.

To learn more about the different types of wireless networks, click on the scenarios below.

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) - A WLAN creates a range that can reach up to 300 feet. You can connect to a WLAN from your office or public access facilities.

Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) - A wireless PAN device commonly has a range of up to 100 feet, freeing you from the limitations of wires and cords.

Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) - A WWAN's range can reach up to 20 miles, offering users a way to stay connected while they're on the move, away from other network infrastructure.

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)

In a Wireless Local Area Network, a radio communications device called an access point connects network computers. The access point is small and lightweight with an antenna attached to it that sends data back and forth over the airwaves. The illustration above shows how a WLAN works in a typical office environment.

A single access point, like the TrueMobile 2300 Wireless Broadband Router, has a range that can reach up to 300 feet (100 meters). (Range and speed will vary according to environmental and other factors.) The TrueMobile 1170 Enterprise Access Point can extend the range of a WLAN.

Desktops use a TrueMobile_ 1180 USB Wireless Network Adapter, Handheld devices use a Compact Flash solution while notebooks access wireless networks through integrated wireless Mini-PCI cards and external network PC cards.

Wireless LANs are becoming more commonplace in public-access facilities, where users can reach speeds up to 11Mbps (based on IEEE 802.11b and Wi-Fi standards). To access a wireless LAN from a public place, you'll need an account with a wireless Internet service provider (ISP), like T-Mobile. Your wireless ISP can provide you with a list of places, called "hotspots", that are part of the same wireless LAN you access through your account. These hotspots contain access points that send out signals to the wireless network card in your notebook or PDA. (Range and speed will vary according to environmental and other factors.)

Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN)

With a Wireless Personal Area Network, you can:

Connect your system to a printer
Sync a PDA
Download images from a digital camera
Transfer MP3 files
Connect to a Bluetooth enabled Mobile Phone
Connect to another Bluetooth enabled PC

A PAN device usually has a range of up to 160 feet (50 meters).

Bluetooth is an emerging standard in Personal Area Networks, allowing the transmission of data between devices such as cellular phones, handheld devices like the Dell Axim Pocket PC and notebook or desktop computers through short-range radio waves. With Bluetooth technology, you can complete business tasks like updating your calendar in your handheld device and then synchronizing the data with the calendar on your notebook computer.

Latitude D/Family notebooks can be equipped with integrated Bluetooth at point of sale.

Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN)

Wireless Wide Area Networks transmit data using mobile phone signals, through a mobile phone service provider, with connection speeds equal to 56K* dial-up. Their range can reach up to 20 miles (30 kilometers), offering users a way to connect while they're on the move, away from other network infrastructure.