Wireless Network Software - Remote Management Of Resources
With the increase of data, there arose a need for efficient management of data. This led to the invention of computers which revolutionized the field of information management and storage. With further increase in the amount of data related to companies, there started a need to localize the data. For example, a company might have various branches in various cities. It is not practically possible for a manager to travel to all the branches and check the information at all the locations. This led to a need for localized data management. So, standalone computers for each location were provided. However, these needed to be connected to each other so that synchronization may be maintained in the records of the company. For this purpose, the concept of 'computer networks' was introduced. Computer Networks refer to a group of computers connected so that they can share information and resources within the group. Information located at one site may be viewed and even modified by a person working on a computer at another site within the network. This greatly enhanced the existing system since it provided more flexibility to the scenario by allowing centralized control to the data. Networks are of two types - wired networks and wireless networks. In wired networks, the computers are connected to each other by means of wires. This means that they cannot be moved from one place to another, thus confining the computers to a small location. This is generally called a local area network (LAN). Wireless networks allow computers to be connected without the aid of any connecting wires.This gives greater flexibility of motion. These networks form a wide area network (WAN). However, even LANs may be wireless. Wireless networks follow the IEEE 802.11 standard. Wireless Network Software form the required framework needed to configure wireless networks. Wireless Networks have to be configured using appropriate software. The technology for wireless networks is called WiFi, which stands for Wireless Fidelity. The wireless network softwares have to be installed only after identifying the wireless adapter. This is because the software and the wireless adapter work hand in hand and should match. Belkin and CISCO are prominent manufacturers in the field of wireless networking software. An example for a wireless network software is the Cisco Unified Wireless Network Software version 4.0. This is the latest version of the network software released by CISCO. This software is compatible with all kinds of computers from PCs to PDAs.The salient features of this software are as follows. Regulatory domain updates, which means that the software periodically connects to the Internet and updates itself automatically so that newer changes made to the software are updated and any new bugs or viruses can be known. There are various security measures included in the software to prevent an intercept i.e., a third party gaining access to the network information. This is called the Cisco Unified Intrusion Detection System(IDS) or Intrusion Prevention System(IPS). Another security enhancement is the management frame protection(MFP) which takes security measures for the management frame that is transmitted along with the data frames. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is another service provided by this software. This enables the client to dynamically choose from all the available servers based on the service it requires. It also enables EoIP i.e. Ethernet over Internet Protocol which facilitates wireless mobility. Other services provided by this software include voice enhancements, guest access enhancements, access control list enhancements, hybrid remote edge access point, unique device identifier, wireless mesh enhancements, etc.
Wireless networks form the backbone of most organizations, hence a software to manage it would be indispensable to the functioning of the organization. |
