What is Guest WLAN?

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Wireless Local Area Network is the full form of WLAN. A LAN or a Local Area Network is a computer network, confined to a single building such as a school, office, college etc. It allows communication between wired computers. It also allows joint access to shared peripherals such as printers and scanners through wired connections. Connectivity occurs through wires or routers. On the other hand, WLAN utilizes radio signals to connect wireless devices with the network. Guest WLAN refers to the temporary access to the wireless network. It also allows limited mobility to the users within a limited networked area.

What is WLAN? 

A Wireless Local Area Network or WLAN is the linking of two or more computers without using wires. WLAN uses the spread-spectrum technology based on radio waves to enable communication between devices in a limited area. This allows the users to remain connected within a specific coverage area. Originally, WLAN hardware was very expensive. It was only used as an alternative to wired LAN. It was utilized in remote places where wiring was difficult or impossible. Nowadays, with the growing popularity of Wi-Fi devices like tablets, phones, laptops, and televisions, WLAN has become very popular. Many coffee shops and shopping malls offer free Wi-Fi to their customers to promote their business.

What are the different types of WLAN Access?

The different type of WLAN access can be broadly classified into four types -

• Pre-shared keys (PSK): The users can access the network securely using this kind of access. There is a pre-shared key available to all the users who need to access the network and they connect to the network using this shared key.
• Private Pre-shared keys (PPSK): In this kind of WLAN access, there is a private or unique key available to the users who need to access the network. Hence this kind of access is more secure and reliable and also easy to use.
• Open: In this type of access, there is no need to configure any guest devices. It is an open network and anyone can gain access to the network using the SSID(service set identifier).
• Username and password: The users are required to be authenticated by providing their username and password before connecting to the network. This way the network is secure and also it is aware of who is connecting to the network.

What are the advantages of Guest WLAN?

Guest WLAN helps separate the internal and guest traffic on the LAN servers. Different policies and privileges can be implemented for different users. Unauthorized users or devices can be restricted. This technology helps control guest access.

What is Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)?

Wi-Fi Protected Access is a security standard for wireless networks. Home networks can reliably use WEP, whereas, WPA is best suited for business networks. WPA has its improvised version and now it is known as WPA2. This standard runs basically on two modes, namely "personal mode" or "enterprise mode". An authentication server is required for the enterprise mode which processes the credentials of the user. 

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