Wi-Fi vs Wired/Ethernet technology..

According to Janko Roettgers of Gigaon, Wi-Fi will reign supreme by 2015, for the first time causing more worldwide IP traffic than wired devices, according to new data from Cisco. However, mobile network operators aren't off the hook just yet: Their networks will see data consumption grow 26-fold from 2010 to 2015.

He was talking on a report released by Cisco & here are some other key findings of the report;      --Global IP traffic will reach 966 Exabytes per year in 2015, up from 242 Exabytes in             2010.

• --The biggest driver for the global traffic growth will be video, which will account for 62 percent of consumer Internet traffic in 2015 (up from 40 percent in 2010).

• --P2P growth will slow, and P2P traffic will only account for 16 percent of global consumer Internet traffic in 2015 (down from 40 percent in 2010).

• --The Asia-Pacific region will become the biggest source of IP traffic, consuming 24.1 Exabytes per month in 2015, compared to 22.3 Exabytes per month for North America. In 2010, North America was ahead with 7 Exabytes, with the Asia-Pacific region seeing 5.4 Exabytes per month.

• --Worldwide, the average Internet household will consume 61.8 GB of bandwidth per month in 2015. Last year, it consumed merely 17.1 GB per month. A growing chunk of this bandwidth will be caused by passive networking, e.g. a PC downloading a software update in the background.

Lets compare Wi-Fi & Wired networks..


Wi-Fi is the industry name for wireless local area network (WLAN) communication technology related to the IEEE 802.11 family of wireless networking standards. BTW Wi-fi is a not the short name for Wireless Fidelity as many think. It isn't a short form of anything (read more  http://boingboing.net/2005/11/08/wifi-isnt-short-for.html)

The 802.11 standard is defined through several specifications of WLANs. It defines an over-the-air interface between a wireless client and a base station or between two wireless clients.

WiFi standards include -- 

802.11: This pertains to wireless LANs and provides 1- or 2-Mbps transmission in the 2.4-GHz band using either frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) or direct-sequence spread spectrum (DSSS)

802.11a: This is an extension to 802.11, that pertains to wireless LANs and goes as fast as 54 Mbps in the 5-GHz band. 802.11a employs the orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) encoding scheme as opposed to either FHSS or DSSS.

802.11b: The 802.11 high rate Wi-Fi is an extension to 802.11 that pertains to wireless LANs and yields a connection as fast as 11 Mbps transmission (with a fallback to 5.5, 2, and 1 Mbps depending on strength of signal) in the 2.4-GHz band. The 802.11b specification uses only DSSS. Note that 802.11b was actually an amendment to the original 802.11 standard added in 1999 to permit wireless functionality to be analogous to hard-wired Ethernet connections.

802.11g: This pertains to wireless LANs and provides 20+ Mbps in the 2.4-GHz band.

Five Reasons to Go Wireless

1. Increased mobility and collaboration

2. Better access to information

3. Easier network expansion

4. Enhanced guest access

5. Improved responsiveness

Wired Networks.. also known as Ethernet; Is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks (LANs). Its a system for connecting a number of computer systems to form a local area network, with protocols to control the passing of information and to avoid simultaneous transmission by two or more systems.

There are three basic systems people use to set up wired networks. An Ethernet system uses either a twisted copper-pair or coaxial-based transport system. The most commonly used cable for Ethernet is a category 5 unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable -- it's useful for businesses who want to connect several devices together, such as computers and printers, but it's bulky and expensive, making it less practical for home use.

Depending on how many computers you're working with, the office layout and other factors -- a wired network may make more sense than a wireless one.

Some of the major advantages of a wired network include;

Security

As wired networks are connected by physically plugging in a cable from one device to another, it is much more difficult to access them without authorization

Reliability

Wired networks bring with them a reliable, constant download and upload speed unaffected by the environment. As these networks are closed off and don't travel through the air, they aren't susceptible to fluctuations in speed or interference from other wireless devices. 

Distance

The fastest 802.11n Wi-Fi speed currently in widespread use can achieve a maximum range of 250 feet in the most ideal conditions, although substandard hardware, interference from other devices and physical obstacles such as walls and floors can substantially reduce this distance. Ethernet cabling, in contrast, can stretch up to 330 feet without any loss of quality. If you have a lot of floor space to cover, then a wired solution enables you to stretch your network further than a wireless one.

Ease of Use

The details depend on the computers and devices on your network, but broadly speaking, plugging an Ethernet cable into a laptop or printer is enough for it to recognize the network and get connected. There's no playing around with scanning for available networks, inputting security keys or trying to locate an area with a strong Wi-Fi signal.

There you have it. You now have a clue on the differences between the two types of networks. I personally prefer a wired connection when i need reliability & a wireless for its..wait for it..well for its "wirelessness"!