Wireless technologies

Wi-fi is a trademarked name for the IEEE 802.11 standard. It is a medium range wireless

technology used to connect devices together. Wi-fi uses radio waves to provide a connection to
the internet.

The radio waves are transmitted by a Wi-fi Access Point (WAP) that normally has a wired
connection to the internet. Think of how your phone or laptop connects to the internet via the
wireless router in your home.

Examples of wi-fi include:

 2.4 GHz – ultra-high frequency

 5 GHz – super-high frequency
These numbers refer to two different 'bands' your wi-fi can use for its signal. The biggest
difference between the two is speed. Under ideal conditions, 2.4 GHz wi-fi will support up to
450 Mbps or 600 Mbps, while 5 GHz wi-fi will support up to 1300 Mbps.

Wi-fi networks are often protected and usually require a network key (essentially a password) in
order to log in. Devices that use wi-fi need to have a wireless adapter to enable them to
communicate with the wireless router.

A wireless adapter or wireless network card is a hardware device that converts binary data to
radio wave signals. A wireless router is a hardware device that receives the radio signals and
routes them along a series of similar devices to their destination.

Advantages of wi-fi:

 Allows you to set up LANs without wires

 Wi-fi enabled devices are now widely available
 Users can log in from anywhere within the wi-fi network using any wi-fi device
Disadvantages of wi-fi:

 Signal strength weakens the further away you are from the router
 The wireless connection may not be as secure as a wired connection
 Wi-fi signal can be affected by adverse weather conditions. Water droplets absorb the 2.4 Ghz
radio frequency and partially block the signal (however, most WAPs are located indoors)
Bluetooth communicates using radio frequencies and requires no physical cable connections. It
was designed to enable a range of portable devices to connect both to each other and to other,
less portable, hardware.

Common uses of bluetooth are sharing data files between mobile phones, or sending audio to
bluetooth speakers. It operates over a short range (typically between 10-100m). The range can be
 affected by obstacles (e.g., furniture, walls etc.), but devices do not need to have a direct line of
sight to connect.

Advantages of bluetooth:

 Low cost to set up

 Uses relatively little power compared to other types of wireless connection
 You can easily set up bluetooth networks with other bluetooth enabled devices
Disadvantages of bluetooth:

 Short range
 Low level of security
 Low data transmission rate
The behaviour of an electromagnetic wave in a substance depends on its frequency. The differing
behaviours of different groups in the electromagnetic spectrum make them suitable for a range of
uses.

Radio waves

Radio waves are used for communication such as television and radio.

Radio waves - Higher

Radio waves are transmitted easily through air. They do not cause damage if absorbed by the
human body, and they can be reflected to change their direction. These properties make them
ideal for communications.

Radio waves can be produced by oscillations in electrical circuits. When radio waves are
absorbed by a conductor, they create an alternating current. This electrical current has the same
frequency as the radio waves. Information is coded into the wave before transmission, which can
then be decoded when the wave is received. Television and radio systems use this principle to
broadcast information.

Microwaves

Microwaves are used for cooking food and for satellite communications.

Microwaves - Higher

High frequency microwaves have frequencies which are easily absorbed by molecules in food.
The internal energy of the molecules increases when they absorb microwaves, which causes
heating. Microwaves pass easily through the atmosphere, so they can pass between stations on
Earth and satellites in orbit.
 Infrared

Infrared light is used by electrical heaters, cookers for cooking food, and by infrared cameras
which detect people in the dark.

Infrared - Higher

Infrared light has frequencies which are absorbed by some chemical bonds. The internal energy
of the bonds increases when they absorb infrared light, which causes heating. This makes
infrared light useful for electrical heaters and for cooking food. All objects emit infrared light.
The human eye cannot see this light but infrared cameras can detect it. This 'thermal imaging' is
useful for detecting people in the dark.

Cloud computing

'The cloud' is a term used for services or infrastructure obtained via the internet. This includes
internet-based services that store, manage and process data, rather than a local server or personal
computer.

Cloud computing is usually classified as:

 Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

 Software as a Service (SaaS)
 Platform as a Service (PaaS)
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)

Providers offer computing infrastructure as a service to subscribers. IaaS includes cloud hosting
of websites and virtual data centres, servers and Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs).

Examples include: Amazon EC2, Windows Azure and Google Compute Engine.

IaaS can be summarised as: The base layer that provides storage (hard disks), servers and
networks.

Platform as a Service (PaaS)

As the name suggests, PaaS provides computing platforms (a base on which to run applications)
which typically include an operating system, an environment for programming, databases and
virtual web servers.

Examples include: Windows Azure, Force.com, Google App Engine and Apache Stratos.

PaaS can be summarised as: A layer on top of IaaS, which provides the ability to run application
software.
Software as a Service (SaaS)

Upon subscription, you are provided with access to application software. You don't have to
worry about the installation, setup and running of the application. The service provider will do
that for you.

Examples include: Google Apps and Microsoft Office 365.

SaaS can be summarised as: A layer on top of PaaS. Email applications (Gmail, Yahoo mail etc.)
and social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter etc.) are further examples of SaaS.

Advantages and disadvantages of cloud computing

Advantages Disadvantages

Companies do not have to recruit and pay

Requires a very reliable network connection.
local IT staff for managing data.

Data can be accessed from any

Reliant on the cloud company continuing to operate. If
device/anywhere with an internet
the company folds, data may be lost.
connection.

Data can be accessed outside company Companies may be charged for additional costs such as
buildings and work hours. bandwidth usage and additional storage space.

Companies need to ensure that the cloud company is

No need for a company to purchase
reputable and responsible as they still have to ensure
expensive servers.
compliance with data protection legislation.

Energy costs are reduced as companies are

no longer running large servers and
associated cooling fans.

Data backups can be done automatically at

frequent intervals.

The impact of cloud computing

Cloud computing and gaming

Gaming as a Service (GaaS) allows games to be streamed directly from the cloud to any web-
enabled device such as PCs, tablets or smartphones. This gives users 24/7 access to a library of
games stored in the cloud.

Benefits for gamers include not having to purchase new hardware or game discs. They don't even
have to wait for games to download or install on to their device as they can stream them almost
instantly.

Cloud computing and file storage

The cloud offers the possibility of storing files and accessing, storing and retrieving them from
any web-enabled interface.

Web service interfaces are usually very simple and easy to use, offering high speed and security
for your personal files at any time, from any place. Many cloud companies allow free use of their
storage services, but only for a limited amount of space.

If more storage is required, a monthly or annual subscription is usually required. Well known
services include Google Drive, Dropbox, iCloud and One Drive.

Cloud computing and sharing

Cloud file sharing is the process of using cloud computing-based technologies to share files such
as word processed documents or presentations between different users.

Cloud file sharing works when a file is stored on a company's cloud servers. The file is uploaded
using the cloud company's service control panel and, upon successful upload, the file is
generated with a unique URL.

File owners can share this URL with multiple users to access and download the file. The file is
stored on the provider's cloud storage servers and can be accessed globally at any time though
the internet.

As well as file sharing, many of these companies offer cloud collaboration tools. These give
users the ability not only to share but to co-author and edit files in real time.

These collaboration tools allow multiple users to amend, collaborate and comment on these
shared documents as well as track the changes each user has made.