MN603 WIRELESS

NETWORK &SECURITY

hans

Assignment 1

Part 1
Scenario 3
You are travelling on a business trip and are staying in a hotel. But the hotel allows
you only one Wi-Fi connection. As a result, you need to create a hotspot on your
laptop in order to let the rest of your devices connect to the hotels WLAN. You need
to use a software tool that has features that need to be set up in order to have a
hotspot such as the, name of the spot, password of the connection etc.
a) Category of the tool
The software that I decided to use is a OSTOTO WIFI hotspot creator. This software
turns the laptop into a WIFI hotspot by installing the Microsoft virtual adapter that
acts as a wireless adapter that the software uses to broadcast the signal.
b)

2 | Page

3 | Page

c) The first step in this process is to install the software tool on the laptop. Turn
the WIFI on the software on then open network connections to confirm that
the Microsoft hosted virtual adapter is showing. Then proceed to the WIFI
connection and enable the sharing option with the new connection so that
internet can be shared. Connect a wireless device to the WIFI hotspot.

Part II
1. What additional investigation you will need to do so as to provide an
efficient wireless LAN network in Steves cafeteria.

Positon the access point preferably on the most elevated spot

Avoid corners as this can reduce the signal strength

Avoid setting up the router around all the all the metallic objects as this
will affect the performance of

Sign up with Telstra and get to us the Telstra air as an access point

Use an access point that can cater for the seating capacity x2

Setup a test router and analyse the performance to have the best
output.

4 | Page

2. The wired network offers a higher speed than a wireless network. In

your opinion, what are the reasons for this?
The difference is come with the number of interference that occurs in the
wired and the wireless. Wireless is most likely prone to interference due to the
fact that it is using radio frequencies that can be disturbed by walls and
cordless phones, other wireless routers using the same signal and
microwaves. Also the highest theoretical speed for WIFI is 3200mbps while
cable can reach up to 10000mbps. Cable is also subject to interference but
because of the fact that they can be shielded and that the inner structure is
twisted cancel most kind of interference.
3. (i) How would you address the issue of providing Wireless LAN access
in front of the cafeteria that has trees with leafs that can affect RF
propagation.
For this issue I would probably try to set up a wireless access point outside
and run some test to see how the signal coverage holds up around the area.
Depending on the finding I would try to set up a repeater to compensate for
weak signal or if this solution does not work well I would rely on a Telstra
account so that customers choosing to sit outside could use the Telstra air as
access point, also I would use this as a premium service for customers
wanting to have a secure connection to access the internet.
(ii) How would you utilize the information given for Steves cafeteria in
the selection of a 802.11 WLAN type.
From the information provided in the case study I would recommend using a
wireless distribution system for Steves caf. The layout of the building with some of
the interference causes that have been observed will be best tackled with this WLAN
type. The surface area to be covered is big enough to have several access points
and it will be more expensive to for Steve. Repeaters can be used instead and will
be easier to install and less expensive. Depending on Steves budget I would
recommend using either 802.11n devices or 802.11ac due to the MIMO feature and
for the very fast wireless speed of 802.11ac.

5 | Page

4. (i)In your opinion, why cant the same security measures of a wired
network be used in a wireless network.
The security features of a wired network are dependent on its scale and its
infrastructure. In fact, there is no one-way to secure a wired network. When it
comes to wireless the same rule dont apply due to the nature of the
transmission of data. Because all transmission is happening through the air
most wired security measures cannot apply on a small scale unless a
considerable investment is done in authentication, firewalls and enterprise
encryption. Depending on the type of infrastructure that exist the wireless
network will be designed accordingly. The example of Steves caf is a perfect
amalgam of the need for security for customers without going to the extreme
of having firewalls and intrusion detection system but just the use of a WPA
key to authenticate compare to the parliament of the State of Victoria which
will definitely require that no doors are left open and also due to the fact that
there is an internal network that needs to be protected. Also for Steves caf
he doesnt have an internal network and is only supplying an internet
connection to its customers.
(ii) What do you think are the differences between a hotspot access and
a WLAN access in an office space.
WLAN access will grant access to the user to a wireless network within this
WLAN the user can move across several access point and remained
connected. Eg a university campus uses a WLAN access.
A Hotspot access is only for the gaining access to the internet. Examples of
this is the cafs, airports and many public areas.
In an office space the WLAN is mostly to put devices like smart phones and
tablets and laptops.
A hotspot will be used for guests and employees to use only to gain access to
the internet. This will mostly be available in specific places of the building
5. (i)To provide a wireless coverage throughout Steves cafeteria what sort
of wireless LAN topology and wireless LAN hardware you plan to use.
Explain and justify your choice.
Topology
I will use the extended the Extended Service Set topology to set up the WLAN
for Steves caf. The existing structure of the caf and the layout of things will
be best served by having this topology. The plan is to take on a NBN plan
from Telstra which will have its own modem that I will connect to one wireless
access point and two repeaters. I would also provide two choice of use for the
wireless. The first one will be a free WIFI access and the second will be a
premium access for customers who are worried about security and privacy.
The premium access will be a paid.

6 | Page

WLAN Hardware
I would use a 3 WND930 outdoor dual band as repeaters because they can
be mounted to ceilings and place outdoors. One of them will be placed inside
and the two others will be outside. The choice of this device is mostly due to
the fact that it does not require a power point to be installed for it to be
powered as it has the feature of POE (Power over Ethernet) which only
requires an Ethernet cable connection. This will be only necessary for one of
the access points. The two remaining one can be set up as repeaters.

(ii) Draw a rough sketch of the WLAN system that you have planned.
Make sure all the key connections and devices are shown clearly.

References
7 | Page

T. Lammle, CCNA Wireless Study Guide, Chichester/GB: John Wiley & Sons, 2010.

8 | Page