Wireless Internet Broadband Technologies

Wireless Internet-Based Broadband

• Wireless technology uses the unlicensed radio spectrum for sending and receiving data.
• The unlicensed spectrum is accessible with a wireless router and applicable technology.
• A limitation of wireless access is proximity to a wireless router or modem, typically within 100 feet with a wired internet connection.

Municipal Wi-Fi

• Many cities provide free or low-cost municipal wireless networks.
• City-only networks are used by police, fire departments, and city employees for remote work.
• Connecting to municipal Wi-Fi usually requires a wireless modem with a higher-strength radio and directional antenna versus standard wireless adapters.
• Service providers may supply necessary equipment for free or for a fee, similar to DSL or cable modems.

Cellular WAN Technology

• Cellular service serves many users with smartphones and tablets can use cellular data for email, web browsing, app downloads, and video streaming.
• Cellular technology lets phones, tablets, laptops, and some routers connect to the internet through radio waves and mobile phone towers, using a small device antenna and a larger provider antenna.

3G/4G/5G Wireless

• These are abbreviations for 3rd, 4th, and 5th generation mobile wireless technologies.
• 4G supports bandwidths up to 450 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload.
• 5G is emerging and should support speeds from 100 Mbps to 10 Gbps and beyond.

Long-Term Evolution (LTE)

• LTE refers to newer, faster 4G technology.

Satellite Internet

• Intended for rural or remote locations lacking cable and DSL.
• Users need a satellite dish, two modems (uplink and downlink) and coaxial cables to access it.
• A router connects to a satellite dish directed at a service provider satellite in geosynchronous orbit.
• Signals travel about 35,786 kilometers (22,236 miles) to the satellite and back.
• A clear view toward the equator is required for the antenna, it is where most satellites are orbiting, trees and heavy rains can affect signal reception.
• Satellite internet offers two-way data communications at upload speeds around one-tenth of download speed, with downloads ranging from 5 Mbps to 25 Mbps.

WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access)

• WiMAX is a newer technology outlined in IEEE standard 802.16.
• It delivers high-speed broadband with wireless access and a wide range of coverage comparable to a cell phone network, instead of small Wi-Fi hotspots.
• It resembles Wi-Fi but has higher speeds and greater distances, for more users, and it makes use of a network of cell phone-like towers.
• Accessing a WiMAX network requires subscribing to an ISP with a tower within 30 miles and a special WiMAX receiver with an encryption code.
• WiMAX has been largely replaced by LTE for mobile access, or cable/DSL for fixed access.

VPN (Virtual Private Network) Technology

• VPNs address risks from teleworkers or remote office workers who use broadband to access a corporate WAN over the internet.
• Broadband services offer VPNs, with connections through a network device at the corporate site.
• A VPN is an encrypted connection between private networks over a public network.
• Instead of dedicated Layer 2 connections, VPNs use virtual connections called VPN tunnels.
• VPN tunnels are routed through the internet, from the company's private network to the remote sites or employee host.

Benefits of VPN

• Cost savings: VPNs allow businesses to use the internet to connect remote offices and connect users to the main corporate site, eliminating costly dedicated WAN links and modem banks.
• Security: VPNs employ advanced encryption and authentication for data protection.
• Scalability: VPNs use the internet infrastructure for adding capacity and new users, which reduces infrastructure costs.
• Compatibility: VPN technology supports broadband service providers like DSL and cable, and allows workers to access their corporate network from home.

VPN Implementations

• Site-to-site VPNs: VPN settings are configured on routers, and client data is automatically encrypted.
• Remote Access: Users initiate remote access connection, such as with HTTPS or VPN client software.

Single-Homed

• This is used when internet access isn't crucial, and the client directly connects to one ISP.
• Single-homed connection provides no redundancy and is the least expensive of all connectivity solutions

Dual-Homed

• A Dual-homed connections are used when internet access is important for operation.
• The client connects to the same ISP by two links, offering redundancy and load balancing.
• When one link fails, the other one carries the traffic; when both work, traffic is distributed.
• The dual-homed system loses connectivity if the ISP has an outage.

Multi-Homed

• Used when internet access is crucial for operation.
• The client connects to two different ISPs for added redundancy and load balancing.
• This solution can prove to be expensive.

Dual-Multi-Homed

• This is the most reliable setup of the four
• The client connects via diverse links to multiple ISPs
• It has the most reliable redundancy, and is also the most expensive.

Broadband Solution Comparison

• It includes advantages and disadvantages.
• An Ideal Solution Includes a Fiber-optic cable directly connected to the client network
• Some locations only have one choice, such as cable or DSL, some locations only have wireless broadband.
• Bandwidth of Cable is shared by many users so upstream data rates can be slow whenever usage is high because of over-subscription.
• DSL has limited Bandwidth because of distance restrictions with relation to the ISP's central office, upload speeds can also be proportionally lower than download speeds.
• Fiber-to-the-Home needs direct Fiber installation to the home/Office.
• Cellular or mobile option suffers from coverage problems at some small home or office, bandwidth would also be limited.
• A municipal WiFi does not have a mesh WiFi deployed, and becomes a viable option when available and also in range.
• Satellite Is used whenever there is no other option, is expensive and provides limited capacity for each subscriber.

Virtual Private Network

• Virtual Private Networks or VPNs are used to help secure the network traffic between users and sites, these create end-to-end connections that are private.
• While VPNs are virtual, they carry data within a private network and is actually transported publicly, and are private because the data is encrypted and kept confidential and it traverses a public network.
• ASA or Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance provides a firewall which helps organizations create high performing and secure connectivity along with VPNs and access to remote branches and mobile users at all times.
• VPN Enabled routers inside a SOHO also provide VPN Connectivity to the main corporate network.

VPN Benefits

• Software such as Ciso Anyconnect is utilized by remote workers so that they can perform and create client-based VPN connections to the network.
• Modern VPNs are now providing features such as encryption which would include IPsec or Internet Protocol Security along with VPNs or Secure Sockets Layer which are used to help secure all of the network traffic from various locations.
• Some benefits would include cost savings because Organizations have the capability to reduce overall costs of Connectivity by simultaneously increasing the bandwidth for remote connections by using cost-effective and high-bandwidth technologies.
• The VPNs often provide a level of security by using encryptions with authentication methods to protect the data from any unauthorized access.
• Compatibility is a feature available to remote workers in which connections with various speeds have the capability of gaining Secure Access whenever connecting to corporate networks.
• The Scalability in VPN allow various organizations to use internet whenever adding new users and without any need to include significant infrastructure.

Types of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

• A site-to-site connection is created by pre-configuring various terminating devices such as various VPN gateways, its primary traffic is only encrypted when it is between those devices, and not to be known by internal hosts.
• The remote-access in a VPN is dynamically created so that connections betweeen the client and any VPN Terminating device would stay secure.
• Enterprise VPNs, which are commonly used, also provide a solution in securing enterprise wide traffic that travels on the internet, and utilizes SSL or IPsec.
• Service Provider VPNs are often made and managed on a type of network for a provider, and with MPLS or Multiprotocol Label Switching there can be secure channels created on either Layer 2 or layer 3 to create secure paths.

Types of VPNs

• Remote-access VPNs create an encrypted tunnel for secure enterprise connectivity for remote and mobile users.
• Remote-access VPNs maintain enterprise-level security for email and network applications, and they also limit access for contractors and partners to certain web pages, files, or servers to improve security without impacting productivity.
• In clientless VPN connections, the connection is secured using a web browser SSL connection and mostly encrypt HTTP traffic using HTTPS protocols
• With client-based connections, client software such as Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client must be installed on devices that are used to remotely connect, and authentication will be necessary.

SSL VPNs

• When the client negotiates and connects with a VPN gateway, it connects by using TLS or Transport Layer Security, which is a newer form of SSL.
• SSL utilizes digital certificates with a public key framework for authenticating peers.
• In case security is of concern, IPsec is superior, if support and ease of deployment is a concern, consider SSL.

IPsec VPNs

• IPsec has Extensive Support , since Applications are supported with the usage of a key in both a shared form of digital certificates.
• Encryption Strength is high since, it is of long length ranging from 56 Bits to 256Bits.
• Since VPN is Pre-installed medium complexity is Required.
• With only a web browser and a compatible connection over VPN could be created and installed.
• It can be used on networks similar to the internet.
• In instances where it is a site-to-site network, then the hosts would receive all TCP/IP traffic without any type of VPN.
• Whenever shown by, the ASA firewall is a firewall created as a way to combine.

GRE over IPsec

• GRE is a VPN protocol that is used as a non-secure site to site tunneling environment
• It includes encapsulation and also the capability of supporting Broadcast Traffic that can be made available whenever organization desires the utilization with routing protocols.
• GRE also does not support default encryptions with any traffic that passes throughout and a secure VPN connection can never be available.
• GRE tunnels can not exchange information with the routing or routing over unicast, but these encapsulation can support carrier and transit of the protocol.
• The is usually a original packet whenever encapsulated by transit