Revolutionary impact of wireless networks Chapter 4

 revolutionary impact of wireless networks 

Breakthroughs in technology and IT 

Network

Since the advent of wireless technology decades ago, our lives have never been better 
remain the same. And one thing is certain; it just promises to get better. With the gradual progression of 5G to the masses, we can only imagine 
what will come. One sentence is enough: “Wireless technology has made an impact 
core characteristics of our lives. 
This has affected the way we do business; it has changed the way we learn; 
This has affected the way we communicate and stay in touch with family and 
Friend. Things have changed and this is just proof of what has happened 
arrive. For decades we have had access to wireless networks 
Technology has many breakthroughs. An entire book is possible 
written to discuss the advances that have created revolutionary foundations and 
Infrastructure has made life easier today. 
For the sake of brevity, two of these important advances will be 
discussed in this chapter. That is; VLANs and the Internet. 

VLAN – Virtual Local Area

The VLAN is also known as the Virtual Local Area Network, and from the

name, you can tell that it is bound to have similar frameworks to the LAN.

The concept of VLAN is also simple. It is a sub-network that can group

collections of devices, done on a separate physical LAN. You understand

what a LAN is, right?

What the VLAN does as against the LAN is that it makes it very easy for an

administrator to partition a single switched network to match the functional

and security requirements of their systems. This is achieved without the

need to run cables or make some significant changes to the whole

infrastructure of their network. This system of computer networking is

always done by more significant enterprises in a bid to re-partition devices

for better management of traffic.

The use of VLAN in organizations is very important because they can cause

an improvement in the overall performance of a computer network, as

devices are all grouped based on the frequency of communication between

them.

With the VLAN, there is also the provision of security on more extensive

networks, as there is an allowance of a higher degree of control over which

devices can communicate with one another. VLAN is very flexible, and this

is achieved because of logical connections, unlike the LAN and WAN that

are physical.

There is the possibility of several independent VLAN to be supported by

network switches. This goes on to create the second (2) layer (data link) of

the implementations of the subnet. Broadcast domains are always

associated with the VLAN, which most time is comprised of several

network switches.

Types of VLANs

There are several types of VLANs, which include; protocol-based, static,

and dynamic VLANs.

Protocol VLAN – This type of VLAN handles its traffic based

on the protocols that have been programmed into it. In this

system, there is a switch with the function of segregating and

forwarding traffic based on the various traffic protocols.

Static VLAN – this type of VLAN is also referred to as the portbased VLAN. This system needs a network administrator with

the function of assigning ports on a particular network to a

specific virtual network

Dynamic VLAN – In this system of the VLAN network, there is

a network administrator with the sole function of defining

membership based on the characteristics of the devices. This is

unlike the switch port location.

How does VLAN work?

The working of the VLAN is simple, so also is its function. The ports
situated on switches are capable of being assigned to a VLAN or more than
one. This enables the division of different systems into logical groups. This
division is based on which department the devices are associated with.
When the division is done, there is then the establishment of rules about
how the systems that are located in the various groups can communicate
with each other.
Different types of groups can be formed, ranging from practical and
straightforward groups to the more complex and legal groups.
Then, there is the provision of a data link access by the VLAN, to all hosts
connected to switch ports that have been programmed by the same VLAN.
There is an entity called the VLAN tag, which is a 12-bit field in the
Ethernet header. It is designed to provide support for up to 4,096 VLANs
per domain switch. This tagging by the VLAN is regulated and
standardized by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
802.1Q, which is most times referred to as Dot1Q.
At the reception of the untagged frame from the attached host, the VLAN
ID tag that has been configured on that particular interface is then
programmed to the data link frame header. 802 1Q formats achieve this
programming or configuration. After this, the 802.1Q frame is then passed
to the destination.
Each of the switches, in this case, makes use of the tag to keep each traffic
by a VLAN in a separate lane from the others. Hence, the passage is only to
the specific location where the VLAN is configured. The tags are what is
used to ensure this distinction. When the frame is finally at its switch port
destination, there is a removal of the VLAN tag, before transmission of the
frame to the end device.
It is possible to configure several VLANs on a particular port, with the use
of the trunk configuration. In this case, each frame is sent via the port, with
a VLAN ID, just as it has been described above. Another device interface
that wants to receive and transmit tagged frames must be able to support the
trunk mode configuration. When there is an Ethernet frame that remains
untagged, there is a default VLAN for it, which most likely will be defined
in the switch configuration.
At the reception of an untagged Ethernet by the VLAN switch, the VLAN
tag is assigned to the ingress interface. The frame is subsequently
forwarded to the port of the host that has the MAC address. The MAC
address is the Media Access Control Address.
In the case of Broadcast, unicast and multicast, they are all passed towards
all ports that are located on the VLAN. In the case where there is a reply
from an unknown host to a hidden unicast frame, there is an automatic
learning of the location by the switches. Hence, subsequent frames that are
addressed to that host are not flooded.
The switch-forwarding tables are updated by two different mechanisms.
The very first is that the old forwarding entries are removed from the
forwarding tables from time to time. The interval at which this removal is
done can also be configured prior. The second mechanism is that, whenever
there is topology change, it causes a reduction in the forwarding table
refresh timer, and refresh is triggered. By this reduction in the timer that has
been configured, the time refreshes earlier.
There is the Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) which is used in the creation of
loop-free topology among the switches in each layer 2 domain. You can
always make use of a per-VLAN STP that causes different layer –
topologies to reduce STP overhead, whenever it is the same topology with
the multiple VLANs. With the STP, there is the blockage of links
forwarding which has the potential to produce forwarding loops — thereby
creating a sparring tree from a particular root switch.
Thanks to this blockage, some links will not be used for forwarding. They
have to wait till there is a failure on another part of the network which
causes STP to make the link a part of an active forwarding path.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the VLAN

The benefits of the VLAN include security, a reduction in the traffic from
broadcast, easy administration, and the confining of the broadcast domain.
On the downside, there is a limitation of 4096 VLANs on one switching
domain, which creates several issues for hosting providers.
The communication of data between the several VLAN fostered by a router.
However, some modern switches also feature router functionalities; hence,
they are called layer 3 switches.
The Internet and how it has impacted our lives
The whole of the internet is a vast concept that has defined the very
intrinsic parts of our lives. The world is at a stage referred to as the
information age, and the very core of this is the internet. The internet is a
vast planet of connected devices on which communication, information, and
connectivity are fostered.
The internet is global network of computer networks, which are now based
on wireless communications, ultimately providing a ubiquitous capacity of
multimodal, interaction that is not limited by distance. Right there from
where you are, you can access information and reach out to anyone, in any
other part of the world, and this is done in real-time. There is no loss of
time, and there is no lag, once your internet connection does not lag. This,
is one way in which technology has revolutionized our lives.
Don’t be surprised to know that before the internet, there is something
called the Arpanet. This was first deployed in the year 1969. As of this
time, it was controlled by the U.S Department of Commerce. This control
by the government limited the adaptability of the platform. It was when the
platform was finally privatized in the 1990s that it eventually became
widely accepted and used across the world.
As of 1996, a survey of internet users counted at about 40 million, and in
2013, the number of internet users has risen to 2.5 billion persons. Of this
number, china has the most significant amount of internet users.
In the earlier days, the speed of accessing the internet was minimal, due to
the mode of connection required. However, with the explosion of the
wireless connection, internet speed has become amazingly faster. And with
5G underway, it can only be faster.
The central concept of the internet is the ability of it to production,
distribution, and use of digital data and information in whatever format they
may come.
The effect of the internet on our way of life is beyond words; the closest is
to say it has brought about a revolution. A revolution in every aspect. As
coined by Ithiel de Sola Pool in 1973, the internet is just the technology of
freedom.
Three factors contributed majorly to the growth of the internet.
The developer of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee, was
ready and willing to share the source code of his technology to
the global community, to foster its development caused the major
boom. He also shared the TCP/IP internet protocols of the
technology, and till today, about 2/3 of the internet is operated by
an open-source server called Apache.
There was also an institutional change in how the internet is
being managed, as it was taken from the government, and can be
managed by the global community of users. By privatizing the
internet, it can then be used for both commercial and cooperative
uses.
There was also a significant shift in social structure, culture, and
social behavior. Networking became a prevalent organizational
form
These factors combined to birth the evolution we have today as the World
Wide Web. This is the most significant breakthrough in technology in the
20th century, and it has opened a whole new world to the global community.
The internet is now facilitating Businesses, education, culture, finance,
entertainment, and many other aspects of life.

Social Media on the Internet

The internet opened the door for many other innovations, with innovators
coming up with majestic ways to make use of the internet. This brought a
whole new way of making money. Various structures and infrastructures
popped up rapidly on the internet. This period of rapid development is
referred to as the dotcom bubble.
After the dotcom bubble and in the early 21st century, there was the birthing
of a whole new world. A world where the very natural way of life of
humans – the social aspect, can be fostered. Humans are social animals, and
with dotcom innovations, this aspect was brought online.
The very first in this line was the creation of Friendster in 2002. This
brought about a social-technical revolution, and in no time, several
platforms that allowed for real-time interaction and communication
amongst people.
In the earlier stage of communication on the internet, mails were the order
of the day. However, social network sites have transcended what the emails
could offer. Now, we have fully established companies in this stream of
innovation; Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter, Tiktok, Etc.
New Media (Mass Communication)
With the advent of the internet, we have had a new form of media referred
to as the New Media. New media is a term that is used in the description of
the content that is produced by the use of several forms of electronic
communications, aided by computer technology.
New media is premised on the idea of interaction, and this is made possible
by the internet. Basked in the concept of new media, we have websites,
online video/audio, streams, emails, online social platforms, online forums,
online communities, blogs, web advertisement, etc.
This new form of media might not easily be separated from the old media,
with the only distinction being that the internet serves as an outlet for the
new media.