High Speed Internet Access Information Technology Essay

High Speed Internet Access Information Technology Essay Computer technologies have evolved new generation in the system of life. Almost in everywhere the computer technologies has been used for several purposes. Even the smallest organizations are depending on the computer technologies to operate most of their activities. One of the most important computer technologies is the computer networking, which provides many advantages. Nowadays, the computer networking becomes very useful to share the information easily. As you know , the computer networking are used in the active organizations, but lately even the small houses have got a home networks. Home network can be two or more computers are connected to each other to share some functions. Having a network are so useful for many reasons such as, hardware sharing. The users on network can use one hardware at the same time instead of using more than one. For example, if we have more than one computer at home we can use one printer base on our home network. Not only does a home net work provi de the ability to share resources found locally , but the fact that the home network can be connected to other networks. Most home networks, big or small, are also now connected to the global network which is the internet. A high-speed Internet connection is suitable in order to connect all computers on the home network to the Internet. There are many different types of internet connection. The three primary ways for home users to obtain a fast connection to the Internet are Digital Subscriber Loop (DSL), cable, and satellite. DSL is provided by telephone companies, cable is provided by cable TV companies, and satellite connections are provided by satellite TV providers. DSL shares the same phone line as the telephone service, but it uses a different part of the phone lines bandwidth. It does not interfere with normal phone service because there is a significant amount of unused capacity in current phone wires. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, including the minimum and maximum speed of Internet access, cost, and availability. I am going to make an active home network in our resident place ,which is located in Kuala Lumpur, Bukit Jalil , Savanna condo block A, 13th floor. This network will be used for many purposes such as using one internet subscription and one printer as well by more than one user. Besides that, I will take the advantages of transferring Data between the network users. As I am going to have a home network for six users or more, I have to pass through some steps. Firstly, I should know which types of internet connection are available and get the information about them. Secondly, according to the information that I will get, I am going to decide and choose one of the internet connections which has suitable costs and speed. Then I will apply to get the chosen connection. After that, I will choose the way to connect the users of the networks which rather will be wireless connecting and cables at the same time, which means I have to provide a wireless router and switch. Finally, as it is ment ioned above, I need to get a printer to be used by the all the network users. If we could make these steps done we will have a useful home network to achieve the particular purposes that I mentioned before, obviously after we implement it correctly. High Speed Internet Access: * Digital Subscriber Line (DSL):- The telephone system in this country has been around for more than a fifty years. And when you think about the actual physical infrastructure that make up the telephone system , you can see why it made sense and still makes sense to take advantage of the long distance of copper wire to connect computers at different sites. The telephone system is a switched network. This means that as a connection is established on the telephone systems network, it can be switched along different paths. For example, when you make a phone call, your voice communication does not necessarily move along the same route, even though you dial the same phone number when you call a particular person. As far as the transfer of data is concerned, the telephone system offers more than one possibility for moving information from source destination. This includes dial- up connection, dedicated lease line, and different switching technologies. One of the newest technologies for data transfer over the telephone system is Digital Subscriber Line. Digital Subscriber Line DSL is one of several popular broadband internet connectivity options. -Types of DSL: DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line.   Your basic high-speed connection that shares space with your phone line. ADSL stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line.   Has a slower upstream (upload speed) and a faster downstream (download speed).   Ideal for personal use like e-mail or surfing the Web. HDSL stands for High bit-rate DSL.   Has a modem on either end of one or more twisted pairs of wires that delivers T1 speeds.   This method requires two phone lines. IDSL stands for Integrated DSL.   IDSL combines ISDN transmission coding and ISDN channels on one circuit.   There are no dial up or per-call fees.   This is a better option for subscribers that may live too far for regular DSL. VDSL stands for Very high bit-rate DSL.   It offers the highest speeds in DSL connections right now.   At present, this method is only being used for limited commercial use.   DSL providers hope to make this form of DSL more common in the future. SDSL stands for Single Line DSL.   SDSL is symmetric, which means that information can be carried upstream and downstream at the same rate. How DSL works: DSL works with a twisted pair of copper wires, just like the kind that connects to your telephone from the telephone company. When you make a DSL connection, your normal phone line becomes the medium for all of your voice conversations and your Internet data requests.   Just like in a cable connection, the line is shared by the two connections and the information is kept separate, so that signals do not cross. The equipments that we need to get DSL connection: A modem (also known as a transceiver) on the subscribers side, this hooks up the computer to the phone line and processes all information and data. In more details, computers work with digital information, the digital data that is, the ones (1) and zeros (0) must be converted so that it can be carried by the analog phone line. This conversation from digital information to analog information is called modulation. When analog information is received on the modem connected to the destination computer, the data must be converted from analog back to digital. This process is called demodulation. You can see that the name for these devices, modem, is taken from modulation and demodulation. Access Multiplexer on the service providers side, stands for DSL Access Multiplexer and it takes requests from many customers and sends them into a single connection to the Internet. DSL filter a filter is sometimes used to separate the information coming from voice conversations and from the Internet.   All signals fewer than 4 KHz are voice signals, everything over 4 KHz is Internet data either being uploaded or downloaded.   The filter acts as a barrier so that signals never cross. Advantages and disadvantages of DSL: 1- Advantages of DSL: There are many advantages DSL such as:- DSL offers a fast connection. DSL allows you to use an open Internet connection and use your telephone line for phone calls at the same time. DSL speed is typically a lot faster than a traditional modem and doesnt require new wiring. Actually you can use the phone line that you have already installed in your home to get DSL up and running. You will be able to download and upload files faster. 2- Disadvantages of DSL: surely, there are disadvantages to anything as is the case with DSL:- The closer you are to the central office of the DSL provider the better your connection will work. For example, if your location is far away you may get more problems of connecting using DSL line. Typically connection speeds are faster when receiving information and data than when sending data using a DSL connection. DSL internet providers in KL: There are many available DSL service providers in KL: * TIME Broadband: Broadband Internet is high speed Internet access with speeds greater than 256Kbps. Costs and speeds of TIME Broadband: Features HomeNET 256 HomeNET 384 HomeNET Pro* Download Speed 256kbps 384kbps 448kbps Upload Speed 256kbps 384kbps 448kbps Monthly Charge RM 78 RM 98 RM 138 One-Time Installation RM 120 RM 120 RM 120 (Author/ unknown, Timebroadband.time.net.my, 2009) The coverage of TIME Broadband: Buildings Postcode Casa Vista Condominium 50480 Mont Kiara Astana 50480 Mont Kiara Mozart Tower 50480 Mont Kiara Damai 50480 Mont Kiara Palma 50480 Mont Kiara Pelangi 50480 Mont Kiara Pines 50480 Mont Kiara Sophia 50480 Sri Wangsaria Condominium 50480 Straits Court Condominium 75050 Suasana Sentral Condo 50470 (Author/ unknown, Timebroadband.time.net.my, 2009) * Giga broadband: Its another DSL technology known as Very high bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL) provides an incredible amount of bandwidth, with speeds up to about 54 megabits per second (Mbps). VDSL Network Sdn Bhd is ready to bring Giga broadband using VDSL technology to the end users to enjoy true broadband speed running internet applications such as business portal, video on demand, voice over broadband, video game and other contents that require high bandwidth. Costs and speeds of giga broadband: residential    (Author/ unknown, Vdslnetwork.com, 2009) The coverage buildings: AsiaLife Building Avenue K Bangunan MBSA, Shah Alam Casa Vista Condominium Chulan Tower Crowne Plaza Empire Tower Hotel Istana Kenanga International, KL Kompleks Antarabangsa KUB.Com Lee Rubber Mahsa College (Author/ unknown, Vdslnetwork.com, 2009) * TM streamyx: Streamyx is Malaysias premier broadband provider, hooking up Malaysians nationwide with the fast-paced online world. The bandwidth provided by Streamyx gives you an unsurpassed Internet experience. Audio and video stream consistently. And youre easily kept abreast with the complex applications and heavy websites that are now in vogue. With Streamyx broadband well be able to: perpetually online enjoying unlimited usage for a fixed rate, and Downloading data at lightning speeds of up to 4.0Mbps! Costs and speeds: Package Download Speed Upload Speed Monthly Price Streamyx 384kbps 384kbps 128kbps RM20 for 10hrs additional usage: 5 sen/min (without modem) Streamyx 512kbps 512kbps 256kbps RM44 for 60hrs additional usage: 1 sen/min (without modem) RM66 (without modem) RM77 (with modem) Streamyx 1.0Mbps 1.0Mbps 384kbps RM88 (without modem) RM99 (with modem) Streamyx 2.0Mbps 2.0Mbps 384kbps RM188 (with modem) Streamyx 4.0Mbps 4.0Mbps 512kbps RM268 (with modem) (Author/ unknown, streamyx.com.my, 2009) The coverage of TM streamyx: You can check if your area is under the coverage or not by these ways: -By going to this website: (http://www.streamyx.com.my) By SMS Message: STXFIXED LINE NUMBER (e.g.: STX 0355195560) Send it in to 33535 And wait for the reply Comparison between the three mentioned service providers: Referring to our case (home network for five users) we should have an internet connection with accomplishment of speed at least 2 Mbps, so that, we are not going to consider TIME Broadband because it does not accomplish the speed that we need in our home network. The attached table shows the comparison according to our needs of our home network. Service provider Speed Monthly costs Availability TM streamyx 2.0Mbps RM188 (with modem) Available in our building Giga broadband 2.0Mbps RM148 (with modem) Unavailable in our building As you can see in the table there is only choice, which is TM streamyx, because its the only available provider we can get in our building. Beside that, it is considered as the most known DSL provider in Malaysia. *Cable internet:- Cable Internet is one of the most used ways of having an internet connection. Cable broadband Internet allows you to have a connection that delivers considerably faster speeds than other types of internet connection without effecting with your ability to make and receive telephone calls. A lot of people prefer Cable Internet to other internet options, such as DSL, because it works the same wiring already used to provide cable television in their resident places. This typically makes installation easier and faster. According to the information mentioned, we can define cable internet as high speed Internet access through a cable line provides the customer with high speed data without using a telephone line. How cable internet works: Cable Internet works same as cable television works. Cable providers use a transportation of backbone optic wires to transfer television channels. These same lines are used to connect the user to the Internet. This is possible because each wire actually consists of multiple channels. Most of these channels are used for television transmission, but some are booked for data and information transfer. Those channels are used for accessing the Internet and separate ones are used for uploading and downloading. The speed, in part, depends upon the number of channels made available for users. The transmissions go to the cable providers local data center. This center is considered as the main port for all of the television and data transmissions for this particular area. From here, the transmissions will be sent out along the fiber optic lines to the Local Node Box. This box collects transmissions for all of the households in this particular area. Since you only have one wire getting cable into your home, it will need to be supplied so that one part can connect to your cable television receiver while the other goes into your cable modem. You will also need an Ethernet card if your computer does not already have one. When your cable modem receives the Internet transmission, it translates it into Ethernet data which will be converted by the Ethernet card into information your computer can understand. The process is also used when you send data from your computer to the Internet. http://www.internetservicedeals.com/faqs/cable-internet cable_setup2 (Author/ unknown, electricinternet.com, 2009) As a summary we can get cable internet connection if we have these equipments -Equipments that we need in order to have cable internet connection: TV cable (the main source). Supplier (to make the cable wire split into two parts, one connected to TV and another connected to cable modem). Cable modem (translate Internet transmission into Ethernet data). Ethernet card (convert the Ethernet data into understandable information). Advantages and disadvantages of cable internet: 1- Advantages of cable internet: Cable internet service is always working and you can watch your TV channels while you are connecting to the internet. It is much faster than dial-up service. Cable internet service can use the cable outlet you already have at your home or business. A Cable Modem is typically supplied to you by your Cable internet provider. The distance between you and your internet provider will not affect your internet speed. 2- Disadvantages of cable internet: Cable internet service is shared between you and other people on your network segment. Cable internet service is not symmetrical in that the upload (send) internet speed is slower than the download (receive) internet speed. Cable internet service is not available everywhere. -Cable internet Service providers: Cable internet service is not available in Malaysia. * Satellite: Satellite high speed internet service is a technology for getting high speed internet connection by using satellite dish connected to the orbiting system. Satellite internet service is one of always on service, this means we can access to internet without affecting on the telephone lines as well. So shortly we can define Satellite high speed internet service as a high speed internet connection to the global internet network by using satellite dish. -How satellite high speed internet service works : Actually, satellite high internet service is divided into two types:- One way satellite service / which must be provided with standard phone line to make the data traveling via this standard phone line obviously trough the phone modem. It is called one way service referring to that the upload speed is very low and the download speed is higher than upload speed. oneway (Author/ unknown, sinosathk.com, 2009) Two ways satellite service / Two-way satellite Internet service can provide both sending and receiving data from the remote very small aperture terminal (VSAT) site via satellite to a hub teleport, which then sends the data via the terrestrial Internet. The satellite dish at each location must be exactly pointed to avoid interference with other satellites. The attached picture gives more explanations. VSAT Star-shaped Networks Equipments that we need in order to have satellite internet connection: Approximately a two-foot by three-foot dish Two modems (uplink and downlink) Coaxial cables between dish and modem Advantages and disadvantages of satellite internet: Advantages of satellite internet connection : Satellite internet connection is faster than dial-up, it can provide up to 1.5Mbps. Satellite internet does not require a hard wired connection to the provider. Satellite internet is almost available anywhere, even in rural areas. Disadvantages of satellite internet connection: The upload speed is not as good as the download speed. Satellite connection is affected by inclement weather. The signals travel for long distance that causes some problems of delay known as latency, which causes problems when playing games online or when making internet phone calls. -Satellite Service providers in Malaysia: * SMART Company: There two satellite services provided by SMART: service availability available speeds approximate monthly cost Smart Ku band anywhere Up to 1512kbps Starts from 350RM per month Smart C band anywhere Up to 2Mbps Starts from 998RM per month (Author/ unknown, smartmalaysia.com, 2009) * Broadband over Power Line (BPL): Broadband over power line is a new technology that allows the users to access to the global network (internet) by plugging computers into any electrical outlet. This technology is almost similar to the other types of DSL in speed and costs. In short, the BPL is defined as a technology that allows Internet data to be transmitted over utility power lines. How BPL works: diagram (Author/ unknown, howstuffswork.com, 2007) BPL works by modulating high-frequency radio waves with the digital signals from the Internet. These radio waves will be fed into the utility grid at specific points. They travel via the wires and pass through the utility transformers to subscribers homes and businesses. Obviously, it needs some necessary modification to the utility grid to allow transmission of BPL. The purpose of using BPL is that the data can be transferred by bundling radio-frequency waves on the same line with a current electric line, so that, data can be transmitted without the need for a separate data line. Because the current electric power and radio waves are vibrated at different frequencies, the two dont interfere with each other. -Equipments that are needed in order to build up BPL connection: bpl1 (Author/ unknown, electricinternet.com, 2006) As you can see in the picture above, equipments are divided into two sections: -Equipments that the provider should install them (disappear to the user):- 1- router: supports the implementation and switches the customer access gateway. 2- Coaxial cable: connects the coupler and the gateway together. -Equipments that appear to the user:- 1- Electric outlet: the source of the power. 2- BPL Modem: makes the data understandable to the computer. -Advantages and disadvantages of BPL: 1- Advantages of BPL:- BPL connection is not affected by the long distance compared with other types of Broadband, as long as there is a power line, BPL can be installed. BPL is generally not limited by technical constraints. BPL is less costly to be deployed than cable and phone companies, because it does not require upgrading the current power lines. 2- Disadvantages of BPL:- BPL can affect to the other radio waves which have the same frequency rang. BPL unintentionally, send broadband signals as radio signals which make some troubles that affect on the radio signals receivers. BPL providers in Malaysia: *Relam BPL communication: BPL is still not implemented in Malaysia. It is still under testing. Soon this service will be launched. This poster has been scanned to show you the costs of this service after being implemented. user posted image(Author/unknown, www.et.net.my) -Comparison between all types of internet high speed connections: Referring to the information mentioned above, here is a table to summarize and recommend which one is more suitable to this particular home network. This table concentrates on the available types in the place that the particular network is going to be launched in (Savanna condo, block A, 13th floor). Name of the provider type speed Monthly subscription fees TM streamyx DSL 1.0 Mpbs 99 RM Smart Ku band Satellite 1.0 Mpbs 350 RM As it is clearly shown, the obvious suitable connection for this particular home network is TM Streamyx, because it has less costs and it is the most known provider in Malaysia as well. Wi-Fi technology: Computer networking is becoming more improved and much useful. Previously, the computer networking started with a traditional way of connecting the devices together by using wires. This way was just the beginning of this technical generation. Recently a new technology has been introduced which made a huge change in the computer networking. This technology is called wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi). Clearly, Wi-Fi technology has been used to give the users the freedom of being connected together without using any physical connectors. -Definition of Wi-Fi: (Wi-Fi is a wireless local area network technology that primarily provides short-rang wireless high speed data connection between mobile data devices and nearby Wi-Fi access point). (Author/ unknown, phonescoop.com, 2004) Description of the technologies involved: Wi-Fi is used for wireless local networking technology that uses 802.11standard. It comes as wireless router which is usually connected to DSL modem. This router transmit and receive the data by using radio frequency (RF) technology, this radio frequency goes through electromagnetic spectrum then it will be supplied to antenna which is usually Laptop or any device provided with Wi-Fi antenna. The wireless signal typically has a range of 300 feet. The connection speeds get slower as the distance the computer and the router increase. -Importance of Wi-Fi technology: Wi-Fi technology gives us much freedom of getting connected without any physical preclusion. It makes the networking much simple and easy, reliable. For example, the user of Wi-Fi networks can connect to the internet anywhere under the Wi-Fi coverage. Besides that, it makes transmitting the data faster compared to other types of wireless technologies. Wi-Fi implementation: There are many standards Wi-Fi technology but two of them are the most common nowadays, the first one is called 802.11b which provides a data transmission speed up to 11mbps, the other one is called 802.11g which provides a data transmission speed up to 54mbps. As it is mentioned the G one is faster, it is more popular and also support the B one devices so it will always be chosen for implementing Wi-Fi networks. Hardware that are needed in order to implement a Wi-Fi network: 1-ADSL modem: usually given by the internet service provider. 2-Wireless router (access point): usually comes with four RJ45 network ports.http://www.datapoint.com.mk/catalog/images/linksys%20wireless%20access%20point.jpg 3-Wireless adapter: in case if there is a computer desktop PC, this computer must have a wireless card to receive the Wi-Fi signal, there different type of Wireless adapter:- PCI card: means Peripheral Connect Interface, this is the name given to a type of port inside the pc, which enables the user to add thing such as network cards, modems, sounds cards. dlink_pci_dwl528 USB Wireless Dongle: any PC provided with USB ports can accept this type of wireless adapter. http://img.alibaba.com/photo/100641524/Wireless_USB_802_11g_Adapter_With_5_Dbi_Antenna.jpg Software: There is no specific software to implement Wi-Fi network. Wi-Fi router can be installed and configured by using any internet browser such as internet explorer. In the other hand, there is some software to manage Wi-Fi networks. It makes managing the network easy and controllable. Costs of implementing Wi-Fi technology: According to the hardware needed for implementing a Wi-Fi home network, the costs will be as it is shown in the attached table. hardware Price Linksys wireless router WRT54G2 168RM DSL modem Provided by Strymex Wireless adapter Linksys USB dongle 140RM So the total costs of implementing Wi-Fi technology is 308RM. *operational requirements of Wi-Fi technology: -Safety: Wi-Fi technology could be harmful to the human-being. The high frequency of radio signals could cause some kind of cancers. Referring to the studies that have been done, no one could prove the negative effects of the radio waves; no one could prove that the Wi-Fi technology is harmless as well. However, to be more secure, we should not allow the children to use laptop for long time. Also we should not use laptops on our laps especially when we use the laptops for long period. Security * Security mechanisms: There are several mechanisms to secure any Wi-Fi network each mechanism has its own concept:- 1-SSID: SSID is the short form of Service Set ID. In other word, it can be considered as the name of the network. The purpose of SSID is connecting the clients to the access point. SSID will be broadcasting to be seen by the clients. Each access point has a name. In case if there is more than one access point with the same SSID, it will be shown as one access point which has the strongest signal. In the other side, SSID can be hidden for more security by changing the settings of the broadcast to be unviewed so that the client must know the SSID. Unfortunately, hiding the SSAD does not mean that the SSID is really invisible; there are some programs to find out the hidden SSID such as NetStumbler. 2-WEP: is the short form of Wireless Equivalency Protocol. When the user set up Wi-Fi network, there will be two options of encryption, one is WEP and the other is WAP. WEP provides lower level of protection. It uses 64bit and 128bit encryption by using RC4 logarithm. WEP uses a secret encryption key to encode data packets before a network client or an access point transmits them, and it uses the same key to decode the packets after they have been received, it also prevents unauthorized access to the network, it performs an integrity check on each packet, and it protects the data from eavesdroppers. Generally, WEP encryption can be easily broken compared to WAP encryption. 3-WPA/WPA2: is the short form of Wireless Protected Area. It was created as a partial solution to the weakness of WEP encryption. WPA is much better than WEP but that does not mean it is completely protected.WPA can be cracked but not as easy as WEP. WPA is more secure because it uses a method called Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) to automatically change the encryption key after a specified period of time or after the system exchanges a specific number of packets. Obviously, there is a question has been on your mind, how does WPA actually can secure the network? Well, WAP works in two different ways. First, in large networks, (WPA uses an authentication server to verify the identity of each network user. The server uses Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service (RADIUS) and the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) to exchange encryption keys with the computers and other devices that are connected to the wireless network.) Second, ((in home networks and smaller business networks that do not have a server, A method called pre-shared key (PSK) mode uses a passphrase stored in the access point in place of the authentication server. To connect to the network, users must enter the same passphrase on their computers or other network devices (or set their devices to automatically enter the passphrase). When you set up WPA encryption, you must specify whether the network uses a server or PSK mode.)) (Author/ John Ross, The book of wireless, 2004) WPA2 is the recent version of WAP. They almost have the same concepts. There are some differences between WPA and WPA2. WPA Personal- Authentication method is PSK, Encryption Method is TKIP