Wireless technologies offered by Hewlett-Packard: applications and security

Wireless Technologies

Background of the organization including its primary products and services, location, and history

How each of the technologies is used

Advantages of using each of the technology

Ease of signal transmission

Degree of security protection

Current availability of technology

Summary of the main points of the entire paper

Wireless technology is nowadays used to solve business problems. In fact, business people use it for competitive advantage purposes over their competitors. HP solutions offer wireless technology that is capable of making remote or mobile workers use information and business applications from any destination. This technology has enabled mobile professionals to be productive and better satisfy their customers (Hewlett-Packard, 2006). This often results into generation of more sales.

Use of wireless Local Area Network, LAN, brings more flexibility with regard to configuring an office. This improves productivity. It also makes office workers collaborate. This gives HP some competitive edge over her competitors because of the value that is created for the customers (Hewlett-Packard, 2006). All these undertakings can be achieved in a cost effective and secure manner. Standard-based technologies that have been developed help in authentication and securing of devices. This ensures that only authorized users can access these networks (Hewlett-Packard, 2006).

This wireless technology paper seeks to address wireless technologies that HP offers. The paper will outline HP's background including its primary products and services, location and history. Some effort will be devoted to how the technologies are used, advantages of using each of the technologies, ease of signal transmission, degree of security protection, and current availability of the technology (Hewlett-Packard, 2006). The paper will finally rate each of the technologies on a scale of 1-5 using Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Summary of main points of the entire paper will also be done.

Background of the organization including its primary products and services, location, and history

HP was founded by William Redington Hewlett and Dave Packard in Palo Alto, California in 1939. It is an American multinational hardware and software corporation (United States Securities and Exchange Commission, 2010). The company develops and manufactures computing, data storage, networking hardware, designing software, and delivery of consulting services. They design, implement, and support IT infrastructure. Some of the wireless technologies that HP currently offers include Bluetooth wireless technology that is synonymous with HP notebooks and HP printers, Wireless LAN, Mobile Broadband, Wi-Fi, Wireless WAN.

How each of the technologies is used

Bluetooth wireless technology-enabled devices form network topologies called piconets and scatternets. Eight Bluetooth wireless technology-enabled devices make a piconet. Upon establishment of a piconet, one device sets a frequency hopping pattern. This device is called a primary device. Other devices are called secondary devices. Each piconet has a unique frequency-hopping pattern that differentiates its signals from the signals generated from other piconets (Hewlett-Packard, 2004). A scatternet is made up of two or more piconets linked by a common Bluetooth wireless technology-enabled device.

The presence Bluetooth devices on HP notebooks can be done by selecting the start button in the lower-left corner of the screen. On the control panel select hardware tab, then device manager button where Bluetooth devices will be shown (Hewlett-Packard, 2004). The BWT-enabled notebook PC is activated by first installing the BWT Software, enabling BTW functionality, and finally setting up BTW software. For the printers like HP 995c Deskjet printer and HP 450 Deskjet printer, the printer software is installed in the notebook then My Bluetooth places selected to manage the Bluetooth Wireless Technology, BWT, printer connection. The same process can also be followed for iPAQ with 802.11 technologies (Hewlett-Packard, 2004).

Wireless Local Area Network, WLAN, links two or more devices using a wireless distribution method. Connection is made to the wider network through an access point. The users can move around within the coverage area. This technology is marketed under Wi-Fi brand name and is based on IEEE 802.11 standards (Hewlett-Packard, 2006).

Wireless Wide Area Network, WWAN, uses mobile telecommunication cellular network technologies like WiMAX, LTE and mobitex to transfer data. It can also use Wi-Fi to provide internet access. This wireless technology incorporates encryption and authentication to guarantee secure connection path (Hewlett-Packard, 2006).

Ease of signal transmission

HP has a wide portfolio of wireless devices like business notebooks, tablet computers, mobile printers and business notebooks. They have the expertise they can use to connect these devices in any environment (Hewlett-Packard, 2006). They are therefore capable of handling any challenge associated with implementing new technology not to mention ease of signal transmission challenges. Because of ease of signal transmission, HP wireless technology is capable of accomplishing the goals of business (Hewlett-Packard, 2006).

Degree of security protection

A lot of questions have been raised concerning security of wireless technology that HP utilizes. Wireless security has since been enhanced and this makes wireless solutions secure. Authentication of wireless network and encryption of data help enhance data security. HP products use security standard 802.1x to ensure that only authorized users are on the network (Hewlett-Packard, 2006). This standard allow for multiple authentication algorithms. HP devices use secure socket layer (SSL) encryption and Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2). This improves the encryption algorithms. Latest HP products are integrated with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). This allows HP computers to remain relevant even as standards evolve (Hewlett-Packard, 2006). Because of misfortunes related to theft or loss devices HP has come up with a leading-edge technology and service that reduces the risk of unauthorized users getting access to lost or stolen devices.

Current availability of technology

HP products like Notebooks/Tablet PC, the handhelds, and the printers use Bluetooth Wireless Technology, WLAN, and WWAN. The iPAQ Pocket PC and PrintPocketCE specifically use Bluetooth Wireless Technology (Hewlett-Packard, 2004).

Summary of the main points of the entire paper

HP wireless technology solves business problems. Bluetooth Wireless Technology, Wireless LAN, and Wireless WAN are some of the wireless technologies that HP uses. The wireless Technologies HP uses has a host of advantages including enabling printing from a BWT-enabled device to a BWT-enabled printer. The technology enhances data security by authentication of wireless network and encryption of data.