Here is everything you wanted to know about the most modern tool of connectivity i.e. Wi-Fi

What is Wi-Fi?

Wi-Fi or Wireless-LAN (WLAN) is a standard that allows devices to communicate with each other using a Wi-Fi router as a central hub.

All devices with Wi-Fi connect to the router via witch data exchange take place.

Depending on the router and the surrounding conditions – such as walls, Wi-Fi networks can have a range of 20-25feet indoors.

What Is 2.4GHz, 5GHz?

The 2.4GHz sticker that you see on the router means that it transmits data at that frequency. Most gadgets use this 2.4GHz frequency to transmit, which lead to network congestion and interference. Due to this, never Wi-Fi routers use the less-crowded 5GHz frequency band, which provides better transfers. However, higher the frequency of a wireless signal, the shorter its range. So a 2.4GHz router may cover a much larger area than a 5GHz device.

ADSL/DSL + Wi-Fi routers?

ADSL/DSL technology is used to provide broadband connections to many households. Commonly, a phone line wire is inserted into DSL or ADSL modem, via which your broadband connection works. Wi-Fi routers with built-in ADSL or DSL modem can be purchased, thus eliminating need for a separate modem and router. It is, however, recommended that you use a separate modem and Wi-Fi router, since it turns out to be cheaper and better. Most budget Wi-Fi routers with built-in modem lack important features.

What does Wi-Fi a/b/g/n mean?

With time Wi-Fi has been updated with new standard to meet the demand of the latest device. Wi-Fi standard ‘a’ and ‘b’ are now nearly non-existent. Both of these standards provide very low bandwidth to transfer data. Wi-Fi standard ‘g’ which uses the 2.4GHz frequency to transmit data is most common standard in use currently. It has a theoretical maximum transfer rate of 54Mbps. Wi-Fi ‘n’ is the latest standard the features a much higher theoretical speed of 300Mbps.

Single band, dual band?

There are three kid of router:

1. Single band: - Single band routers operate at the 2.4 GHz frequency, and do not support the 5GHz band.

2. Dual band: - Dual band router Support both bands (2.4GHz and 5GHz), but can work with only one band at a time.

3. Simultaneously dual band: - Simultaneously dual band routers can work with both bands at the same time, thus providing for more flexibility an speed.

What about the all-important issue of security?

A simple and effective way of protecting a Wi-Fi network is by hiding its name, know as SSID (Server set Identity) – that is, the router will not show up when someone seeks a connection. Because if no one can see it, they can’t access it. While a Wi-Fi router comes with tones of security modes to protect the network, the most common are the WEP, WPA, WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) is the most advanced, secure and common.