Wireless LAN Switches: The Best Solution

There are two types of wireless access points Intelligent (Fat) and Thin wireless Access points. A fat wireless access point has everything it needs to handle wireless clients. A Thin wireless access point is basically a radio and antenna that is controlled by a wireless switch. If you deploy several Fat wireless access points they need to be configured individually. With thin wireless access points the entire configuration takes place at the switch saving you time and money.

Wireless LAN Switches provide many benefits:

Wireless Mobility – Intelligent access aren’t managed in a central location which means there is no third party monitoring the movement of a user. If a user moves to another work area traditional wireless access points have a hard time passing off the user to the new access point. Thin wireless access points are controlled be the wireless LAN switch who will manage the users movement.

Security- Using the wireless LAN switch the administrator can check logs, configure is security settings, make group polices for wireless users all in one spot. Also built in to many wireless LAN switches are RADIUS servers which will give another layer of security on top of your encryption policies. In enterprise wireless networks the administrators biggest fear is rogue wireless access points. Wireless LAN switches can detect when a new wireless access point comes into the area and decide if it is a trusted or non-trusted device.

Placement – Power over Ethernet is another great feature of wireless LAN Switches. Power over Ethernet eliminates the need for an power outlet to be near the wireless access point. This saves your company money by not having to install new power outlets. Also this improves security by not having the wireless access points within easy reach of passerby’s.

If you are deploying a wireless LAN for a company I would be scared if you don’t utilize wireless LAN switches and wireless thin access points. The upfront costs of these products are more but your total cost of ownership will be less than having to administer each wireless access point separately. To sum it up home owners should stick with Fat access points and businesses should use thin.

As the digital bandwagon makes its way around the world, we are seeing its tracks touch almost every part of our daily lives. From digital chips in automobiles, coffee makers, telephones, televisions and credit cards, one of the most booming industries the digital era has revolutionized is photography.

While film-based SLRs have been around for nearly a century, digital SLRs have only been around for about a decade. Once a luxury and strictly for the professional crowd, digital SLRs have evolved into a camera that today is being picked off the shelves by amateurs and advanced hobbyists. This change has been brought on by falling camera prices, better picture quality and increased capabilities of these cameras.

But why SLR?

Today’s digital SLRs have the best of both worlds: these cameras can morph from a full manual camera to a point-and-shoot camera with a turn of a dial. They often sport higher mega-pixel image sensors, interchangeable lenses, more on-board functionality, beefier and more durable bodies, faster shutter speeds and instantaneous response from the camera once the shutter button is pressed than standard point-and-shoot digitals.

If you’re accustomed to the point-and-shoot cameras of today, there are a few things you’ll probably miss with a dSLR. To accommodate interchangeable lens mounts that are backwards compatible with older lenses, to allow for larger image sensors and to mimic the feeling of traditional SLR cameras, dSLRs are generally much larger than point-and-shoot cameras. While there are many pluses for having a larger body, tourists and those hoping to stay inconspicuous may want to stay with the small confines point-and-shoot cameras.

Another drawback of dSLR cameras compared with point-and-shoot cameras is that there is no live preview on the rear screen. dSLRs lack this for two reasons: first, there is a shutter and a mirror blocking the path of light from the lens to the image sensor; secondly, more and more of today’s dSLRs are using CMOS image sensors (which are less expensive to manufacture and take less energy to use compared to its CCD rival) do not offer a way of having a live preview due to the inability to map pixels into a matrix.

So while dSLRs may not be for those who need live previews or small camera bodies, their capabilities are much greater than point-and-shoot cameras — at a price.

Larry Huckabee has been a photography enthusiast for over 25 years. He has worked professionally with two large clothing retailers for modeling catalogs and takes his passion for photography all over the world for his beautiful calendars. Check out more articles by Larry at http://www.autoabout.com.

The Internet consists of a number of individual computers, each of which are connected to a single network. Access protocols, in turn, govern these connections. Internet access protocols are essentially rules that facilitate communication between individual machines (computers) and the Internet. Programs, such as web browsers and search engines, use Internet access protocols to search for and retrieve desired information. However, no one piece of software has access to every file that’s housed on the Internet; thus, it’s necessary to build up an arsenal of web sites, subject directories, search engines, and Usenet and email groups for your research needs.

Some of the more customary protocols include HTTP (”The Web”), TELNET, FTP, Usenet, and email.

1. The World Wide Web

The World Wide Web (WWW) is oftentimes confused with “The Internet.” This is understandable, since the WWW represents a large portion of what’s available on the Internet. However, the WWW is only one of many Internet access protocols.

The access protocol that forms the basis for the WWW is the HyperText Transfer Protocol, or HTTP. HTTP is a distinct protocol that also offers access to other protocols, including TELNET, FTP, and Usenet and email groups. This is one reason for its popularity – users can search and retrieve information from a variety of protocols without needing to learn and connect to each one. The Web is also adept at handling multimedia files and advanced programming languages, and is relatively simple, boasting an easy-to-use interface. When conducting online research, you’ll probably turn to the WWW 99% of the time.

The Web’s Internet access protocol is called HTTP because the WWW uses hypertext to retrieve information. Hypertext is a means of linking documents together via words (or graphics) called links. Each time the user clicks on a link, he’s directed to another document, one specified by the link’s creator. When you visit a web site, you use links to navigate from page to page within the site. Most sites contain links to other web sites as well.

In order to view a web site, you need to use a piece of software called a web browser. Many browsers employ plug-ins so that they may display multimedia materials such as images or audio/video files. Even if you’re not sure what a web browser is, chances are that you’ve used several. Popular browsers include Internet Explorer and Mozilla.

2. TELNET

Another Internet access protocol you might encounter is the TELNET protocol. Machines that are connected to the Internet sometimes use this program to enable other computers to connect to their databases, catalogs, and chat services. For instance, I made frequent use of TELNET when taking an online distance learning course from the University of New Mexico a few years ago. In lieu of regular class meetings, we were required to log onto TELNET once a week and discuss the week’s readings and homework assignments with our virtual classmates. Some university libraries use TELNET, though many have moved their online catalogs to the Web.

In order to launch a TELNET session, you first need to install the software on your computer and then find a compatible web browser. You probably will not work with TELNET very often – and in the instances you do, it will most likely be at your library, which will already have TELNET installed on its machines. So, in other words, there’s no reason to rush to your computer and install TELNET ASAP!

3. FTP

File Transfer Protocol, or FTP, is exactly what it sounds like – an Internet protocol for transferring files between machines. Users can choose to share files with specific individuals; this is common in the workplace, where coworkers may use FTP to share documents, videos, and other resources with one another. Users may also make their files available for anyone to download. Anonymous FTP allows users to download files from host computers onto their own machines; KaZaA, BearShare, and LimeWire are some popular examples.

FTP search engines permit you to search the Web for files that can be downloaded using the FTP program.

Some (free!) file search engines include:

FileSearching – http://www.filesearching.com/
FileWatcher – http://www.filewatcher.com/
Ftp search engines – http://www.ftpsearchengines.com/
FTPSearch – http://www.ftpsearch.net/

While all of the above engines are “general” file search engines, you can also use file search engines that will specifically search for images, audio files, video files, and new web pages. Many of the popular search engines, such as Google and AltaVista, have options to search just for multimedia files, too.

4. Usenet and email discussion groups

Usenet is a system that uses Network News Transfer Protocol, or NNTP. Usenet groups, commonly referred to as newsgroups, are discussion groups devoted to a specific topic. With thousands of newsgroups available, every topic from environmental conservation to Taco Bell is covered.

Email groups are another form of discussion groups. Instead of NNTP, they use an email protocol called Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, or SMTP. Like newsgroups, email groups are also centered around certain subjects. The main difference between the two is that email discussion groups deliver the messages that users post right to your computer (talk about convenient!). On the other hand, newsgroup posts are stored on a central computer. In order to view the messages, users must connect to the machine on which the messages are stored and either read them online or download them onto their own computers.

These discussion groups are very useful for networking and connecting with other individuals, particularly if you need to find an expert on a certain topic.

When conducting research, it’s helpful to understand how the ‘Net functions. For example, files available on web sites and messages posted to newsgroups can both be helpful resources to the student researcher. However, both are governed by different protocols and sometimes require dissimilar research techniques to unearth them.

The speed of incoming and outgoing internet computer data can vary between broadband DSL and cable modems. Understanding how cable modems operate in comparison to DSL provides a better understanding of why broadband DSL is the preferred choice in broadband technology.

Cable modem internet service is used mainly in residential settings rather than for business use because it is usually offered as a package deal with cable television programming. Cable programming uses separate channels within one main cable for television broadcasting, outgoing internet computer data
from subscribers, and incoming internet computer data to subscribers in specific locations. Unlike DSL, all cable television and internet subscribers in a specific location share the same cable to and from the provider. This means that every cable subscriber sharing that single cable also share bandwidth. The speed of internet service via a cable modem doesn’t depend on
the distance to and from the provider. It depends on the number of other subscribers on the same cable who are using the internet simultaneously.

Broadband DSL allows subscribers to use the same telephone line for telephone communication and internet access. Broadband DSL uses frequencies that go way beyond the frequency range of regular telephone service, so data transfer speed with DSL is considerably greater than other options. Unlike cable modem
internet service, the speed of broadband DSL depends on the distance the provider is to the DSL subscriber and connection speed chosen by that DSL subscriber. DSL is generally faster than broadband cable modem service because of greater amounts of bandwidth availability. Broadband DSL is a dedicated internet link that can be counted on for speed and reliability.

DSL is clearly the best choice of broadband technology for the general public as well as businesses relying on fast connections and internet downloads. Internet users can rely on broadband DSL for faster internet browsing, game plays, and emailing, as well as all other internet-based activities.

Stephen Kreutzer is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides information on broadband and cable modems at Goto Broadband!

We are now well ensconced in a time when the Web is riddled with graphics, animations, sounds, and videos, bringing about a necessity for superior internet access such as that which broadband can provide. The fact is that anything less than the speed supplied by a broadband cable has become inadequate for today’s Web users.

Of course, if you use the internet only once every so often, you wouldn’t be as heavily dependent upon high-speed internet access as is provided by broadband, however, if you’re a regular user, it’s virtually a necessity.

But wait a minuteeven though you use the internet, it doesn’t mean you know exactly what this high focus form of internet access actually is. So lets start there. In essence, broadband is a very fast form of internet connection. Broadband Will provide you with a noticeably faster internet speed than a dial-up connection.

Broadband used to be a challenge only because of it’s limited availability, however, today there are many ways that you can have a much faster connection. The delivery methods of broadband have been expanded to the following types of broadband cable:

- Copper telephone wires
– Cable TV wires
– Radio microwaves from local base stations
– Satellite microwaves from geo-stationary satellites

Now lets look at why this faster style of internet access is actually better. The benefits of broadband actually include much more than faster downloads. Broadband is the connection that is always “on”. As soon as you start up your computer, it’s already connected to the internet. For anyone who has waited for a modem to dial up and connect, the advantage of this is quite apparent. Furthermore, broadband allows you to download movies, music, and web pages that were virtually inaccessible in practical terms when using dial-up.

But the benefits of broadband aren’t just felt by individual users. Businesses, governments, schools, and communities can all experience the superiority that broadband cables can provide.

Here are some examples of benefits for each of those types of organizations:

- Businesses will notice an increase in productivity when large data files transfer quickly and directly among local and head offices, no matter the distance between the locations. Moreover, with the popularity of net-meetings and videoconferencing, a face-to-face meeting becomes entirely possible without the travel costs.

- Schools can now offer equal opportunities to their students no matter their location or funding. A student in a remote community is now able to use a broadband connection to receive violin lessons from the same revered instructor as a student in a large city. Moreover, rural students can take virtual field trips and see the same fascinating and educational museums as city kids.

- Local governments are now enjoying broadband benefits that let them provide one-stop shopping for town business transactions, as well as licensing, permits, billing, and utility payments.

- Communities have been quick to jump on the broadband band wagon to promote their local historical and other various tourist attractions. No other marketing resource reaches as far and as effectively as the internet.

There are so many fantastic benefits to a high-speed, broadband internet connection, that it is becoming as “basic” a need as a computer in today’s society.

Dave Gonzalez
http://www.broadband-dsl-directory.com

First thing you need to do is purchase a wireless adapter card with a prism2 chipset. Just go to google and type in linux wireless adapters and track one down.

If you are using a fairly good wireless distro it should pick up the card automatically.

Ok, Now you have the card now what, you plugged it in and look to the bottom write where the Windows XP wireless Icon usually is and find nothing.

There is no Zero config utility with linux, but they do have built in tools to help connect to wireless networks.

Now you need to find the Command line terminal, it usually looks like a window with a shell because it is a shell.

Now let’s test to see if you have your card working. Type in iwlist at the command prompt. If it doesn’t let you, then you might have enter administrator mode.

You can enter administrator mode by typing su at the command prompt. Then you will be asked for the administrator password.

Now type in iwlist at the command prompt. This will give you a ton of tools to work with. Once you have typed in iwlist and nothing happens then you probably don’t have the right card or it’s configured wrong.

Check and make sure you don’t have any other wireless network adapters active and disable them if they are. Also make sure that your wireless adapter is set to start up at boot time. You need to look for your system utilities area..it’s like the Microsoft control panel called Yast.

By the way your wireless adapter should be named wlan0

The iwlist command will give a list of options that look like this:
usage: iwlist [interface] scanning
[interface] frequency
[interface] channel
[interface] bitrate
[interface] rate
[interface] encryption
[interface] key
[interface] power
[interface] txpower
[interface] retry
[interface] ap
[interface] accesspoints
[interface] peers
[interface] event

All of these options can give you various detailed information about surrounding wireless networks.

If you type in iwist scanning it will give a out of all wireless networks available to you with an output like this:
wlan0 Scan completed :
Cell 01 – Address: 00:14:BF:75:31:FD
ESSID:”Len”
Mode:Managed
Frequency:2.462 GHz (Channel 11)
Quality:2/94 Signal level:-84 dBm Noise level:-154 dBm
Encryption key:on
Bit Rate:1 Mb/s
Bit Rate:2 Mb/s
Bit Rate:5.5 Mb/s
Bit Rate:11 Mb/s
Bit Rate:18 Mb/s
Bit Rate:24 Mb/s
Bit Rate:36 Mb/s
Bit Rate:54 Mb/s
Bit Rate:6 Mb/s
Bit Rate:9 Mb/s
Bit Rate:12 Mb/s
Bit Rate:48 Mb/s
Extra:bcn_int=100

This gives you the Network Name, MAC address, Frequency, encryption and much more. This information can be used to join your preferred network.

If you are monitoring certain access point you can type in iwlist accesspoints and get the listing of each nearby access point with the MAC address.

Once you have located the access point you want to connect with it’ time to start using another command called iwconfig.

iwconfig is used to configure your wireless adapter so you can connect it to your preferred network. You can configure every thing from the ESSID to the transmit power of your wireless adapter.

sYNOPSIS
iwconfig [interface]
iwconfig interface [essid X] [nwid N] [freq F] [channel C]
[sens S] [mode M] [ap A] [nick NN]
[rate R] [rts RT] [frag FT] [txpower T]
[enc E] [key K] [power P] [retry R]
[commit]

The syntax for using the iwconfig command is: iwconfig (interface name) then what ever you want to configure. So if you want to configure the ESSID you would type iwconfig wlan0 essid “network name”.

Now that you know that the tools are there go to work!!!

Learn everything you could ever want to know about wireless networking technology at http://www.wirelessninja.com Learn how to prevent hackers from exploiting your wireless network. Also learn how to prevent the most dangerous computer threat, social engineering.

I’ve been fascinated over the years by the rapid advances in technology. None more than Internet speed. The Internet is defined: a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange .

Speed is defined: the act or state of moving swiftly . When you combine these two, you get Internet speed. High Speed Internet!

Over the last few years the Internet has seen major advancements in the ability of the average Internet user to achieve speeds that could of never been imagined in the days of dial up Internet. According to Nielsen//NetRatings, the global standard for Internet audience measurement and analysis, reports that in the United States there are 39 million, or 13 percent of Americans, connecting via broadband in the U.S., the highest number to date. That number is expected to grow to 61.5 million by 2008.

In Europe the numbers were even better, broadband households in Europe increased by nearly 65% last year, a rate twice as fast as the US. The highest growth was in France, until recently an Internet laggard.

With Broadband provider prices continuing to decrease and subscribership continuing to grow, you can bet that Internet Speed will continue to amaze.

For more interesting facts on Internet speed & to take a speed test for your internet connection please visit our website. Internet Speed

About the Author: Gio Mangano is the owner of T1 Providers which offers Instant quotes on T1 Line and T1 Service. She also publishes a blog on Best online casino gambling & reviews Best Online Gambling

When I opened Todd Cardin Answering Service twenty years ago there were not a lot of options in phone service. Today there are so many options and choices in telephony that it is mind boggling. It is confusing living with so many choices. Even those of us in the telecommunications industry find it impossible to keep up with everything. This is especially true for voice over IP.

Many people hear the term Voice over IP or broadband telephone service and still are not sure what that means. VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. Using VoIP, voice information is converted into digital packets and sent over the Internet, and then converted back into analog signals before reaching the phone receiver at the other end. This is a growing and new technology which will surely expand as the number of broadband connections increase.

There are two types of VoIP service. The first is called hardware based VoIP. People using this type of VoIP phone services, have their phone fitted with an adapter that will connect to a high-speed Internet connection. When a call is made, it goes through your local telephone company to the VoIP provider, and then over the Internet to the other parties telephone .The second type is software based VoIP phone services, where you use a microphone headset plugged into your computer and make calls, which are routed through your cable modem, by using the keyboard. VoIP can also be run over a private data network.

The big advantage of VoIP is that voice information sent over the Internet avoids using the fixed circuitry of traditional telephony networks – avoiding the tolls charged by traditional telephone service.

The big disadvantage of VoIP is quality of service. While in theory because packets are sent over the best route at the time rather than through fixed routes, VoIP services would be reliable and consistent, in reality problems such as packet loss, bandwidth and plain old Internet outages make VoIP quality and reliability inconsistent.

VoIP is the future of telephony and the quality and reliability will improve and the industry will explode even further.

Todd Cardin is the east coast marketing team leader for Specialty Answering Service. For more information about Specialty Answering Service, please visit our answering service / call center website and explore our services. This article may be reprinted and republished without permission as long as it remains wholly intact.

If you’re wondering how to save big money on your phone bills, VoIP can
help. VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol. VoIP has gone from little known a few years ago to widespread use today. Why are millions of business and residential customers using VoIP everyday?

VoIP does not need landlines to operate. If you have a broadband connection to
the internet, you can call any phone, internet or landline in the country or
around the world. Making phone calls using VoIP can save you quite a bit. Most
residential users are charged $25 per month or less for unlimited calls made
throughout America and only a few pennies per minute for international calls. If
you want high quality calls without the high price look into VoIP.

VoIP provides some advantages not found on land-based lines, or traditional type
cell phones. By taking your VoIP phone along with you on a trip, you can
receive calls anywhere you can connect to the internet. This is great for
business travelers who spend a lot of their time on the phone in hotel rooms,
etc. VoIP phones can be easily used with other services available over the
Internet, including video conferencing , text messaging and data transferal.

You can use VoIP very easily. Most service provider give you a phone adapter
that is plugged into your broadband internet connect at home or special software
for downloading onto your computer. By using either your computer or a regular
landline phone attached to the adapter, you’ll soon be making phone calls
throughout the country or worldwide.

There a a few drawbacks associated with VoIP service. Emergency 911 calls are
currently unavailable with some VoIP providers. Be sure you have a back-up plan
for emergency situations. Also unlike those using a traditional land line phone,
you will be dependant on electrical power and your computer to make your calls.

Find more Financial Tips at Pftown Personal Finance.

DSL And High Speed Internet

There are many ways you can access High Speed Internet using the Web. One way to do this is through a cable modem. Another way to do this is via a digital subscriber line, otherwise known as a DSL connection. A DSL connection is one of the fastest ways to connect to the Internet, and uses the same technology your phone does to connect to the Web (only it’s a lot faster).

Of course not everyone can take advantage of DSL technology. Service is sometimes limited to specific locations so you’ll have to see if DSL is available in your area prior to taking advantage of a DSL connection.

How DSL Works

How does DSL work? It carries digital rather than analog data (analog data is carried by phone lines) over a telephone line without interference. Most DSL providers provide asymmetrical DSL service. This means that the available frequencies that data can be transmitted across in a line are divided so that most of the time the end user will have access to much faster connections when downloading and uploading information.

There are of course other forms of DSL services including VDSL, which works over short distances, SDSL, which won’t allow you to use your phone at the same time but is often faster for sending information and RADSL where the modem automatically adjusts the speed of your connection based on the quality and length of the line it is using to connect with.

Article by Frank Owen, visit his web site on high speed internet for more information on cable, dsl and other high speed internet services
http://www.highspeedinternetchoice.com