Effectiveness of data transfers over wired and wireless media. By Aaron Steed

Bluetooth: wireless This is a wireless technology mainly used on PAN networks. This uses short distance wavelength for a 2.4 to 2.485 GHz bandwidth. This type of connectivity is risky but also gets more and more secured with the newer versions of the product. Things like Trojans and hacking is a common occurrence in Bluetooth. Bluetooth however does not have a long range, it is only a good connection if the two devices are sat very close to each other, what I mean by this is sat meters away from each other, Bluetooth drops, and cuts out when used over a long distance, therefore it is not a very effective way to transfer a lot of data over long distance, but is effective for transferring small amounts of data, between two close devices.

Wireless: 802.11G This is an IEEE standard wireless network and like other versions of Wi-Fi supports WLAN which supports connections between computers and consumer devices. This has a maximum bandwidth of 54 Mbps but typically only ever hit 24 and 32 Mbps due to lack of strength in the network.

Wireless: 802.11 AC This networking standard was developed in the IEEE Standards Association process. This provides high throughput in wireless LAN networks. It has a bandwidth of 5 GHz which is the highest frequency range yet and is an improvement over the old 2.4 Ghz range. This version has expected multi-station WLAN output of around 1 gigabit per second and then with a single line output of around 600 megabits per second, this is with the low end being 433 Mbps and the high end being 1.3 Gbps Peak which only some areas can get. It has improved on its air interference which was present in the 802.11n and now has a wider RF bandwidth of up to 160 MHz and can be used for multi user MIMO for up to four clients.

Assessments of 802.11G and 802.11AC These two wireless standards are very different, 802.11G is old and out-dated, this has a slower speed of 54 Mbps which when downloading files can be a large issue for the user. This standard also can in reality, only support a stable speed of 32 Mbps before interference of the signal comes in. Apart from the low speed issues, the interference problems are a very real factor. When this first came out, this was an effective wireless standard, but as files have become larger for games and documents, and user patience has gone down, this is now an ineffective wireless standard. The 802.11 AC is the newest wireless standard publicly available, this is a very effective standard. This offers users speeds at there lowest of 433 Mbps and a high end of 1.3 Gbps, on top of this they can expect a high bandwidth of 5 GHz. This update in the wireless standards offers users a value for money quality service and will allow them to make higher speed downloads of larger files, which for users who work at home, this can be a major benefit for them, and also businesses using wireless routers in conference rooms can have a more stable and reliable signal for overseas or local calls.

Cat 5 cable: Can be used with Routers! This is a twisted pair cable for carrying signals. This type of cable is used in structured cabling for computer networks such as Ethernet. The cable provides performance of up to 100MHz and is suitable for 10BASE- T, 100BASE-TX (fast Ethernet) and 1000BASE-T (gigabyte Ethernet) this cable is also used for carrying signals such as telephony and video signals. It’s connected using punch-down blocks a modular connectors. Basically data cable. Can Trans 100 megabytes per second. 8 bytes in a bite. CAT5 cable can only reach a distance of around 100 metres before interference will occur.

Assessment of CAT5 cable CAT 5 cable is an effective cable for users within a private home or within a business network. They are effective for the purpose's of being cheap to buy in bulk, and can be setup within a business neatly. These can be also connected to any RJ-45 port on a wall or within a computer. Another reason these are an effective file transfer medium is because of there low range, high speed, low interference modelling. This is a benefit for these cables in businesses, schools and any other institution that needs fast file transfer over a short range. There low interference is a major benefit of these cables, this is because they do not get any electromagnetic or electrostatic interference from computers close by or other cables such as fibre optics or coaxial cable that are wired near these.

Fibre Optic Cable: Single-Mode Fibre These cables are capable of speeds of 10 Gigabits per second over a range of 50 miles which is double the length of multi-mode fibre. The fibres in single mode are 8.3 to 10 microns that has one mode of transmission. The small core and single light wave eliminate any interference with the cables and any distortion of overlapping light pulses.

Fibre Optic Cable: Multi-Mode Fibre This has a larger diameter with a 50-100 micron range. It can transfer high speeds of 10-100 MBS – Gigabit over a distance of around 257m to 2km. Light waves in multi-mode dispense light pulses in numerous paths to travel multiple directions. However in long cable runs greater than 3000 ft. these light pulses can be met with a lot of distortion in the signal making a less reliable signal for the user.

Assessment of Fibre optic cables: Single-mode fibre is a great transmission media for files because of its super high speeds of 10 Gigabits per second over a range 50 miles. This information on the cables alone qualifies this as an effective cable as it benefits mainly home users of fibre broadband, mainly because the company selling them this internet will be able to deliver on the speeds being promised. However, single-mode fibre is a very fragile cable type, and because of the tens to hundreds of fibres in a single casing, means that is incredible hard to replace one strand if it because detached or damaged within the 50 miles. Saying this doesn’t mean it allows interference, this cable type does not allow light wave crossover or any form of electromagnetic pulses which could disrupt a signal. Multi-mode fibre is a more commercial and low range version of single mode, this type of cable is mainly used for housing and small businesses, with it only being able to carry a maximum internet speed of a gigabit per second up to a range of 2KM. Multi-mode fibre benefits the home and small business users and short ranged file transfer and high speeds because of its reliability over a short range making this a very effective cable to use. However this cable does have its issues, if the cable it running transfers over 3000 ft. it risks heavy distortion.

Mobile Technology: 4G This is a type of mobile technology and is now one of the most important mobile networks as it allows users to access high speed internet connectivity from areas that they can’t connect to a Wi-Fi signal. 4G connectivity typically runs at speeds of between 4 and 12 Mbps and can reach peak download speeds of 50 Mbps. This is a very effective signal for smart phone users. This allows users to wirelessly connect over short and long distances and also allows them to send files of there choice, as long as it is set up to accept files of a large size, this is a very effective transfer media. The only downfall of this network is waiting for providers and areas to get this new technology.

Mobile connection: HSPA + This is displayed as an H on screens and is marked just above the average 3G. This runs at a much faster speed of 14.4Mbps to 21Mbps which a theoretical speed of 42Mbps which can only ever be reached on specific networks like EE. This is only a moderately effective way of transferring files between two users, the reason for this being is this mobile standard is the most commonly used, this can be round in both urban and rural areas, this runs fairly well and can allow a user to send not large files but smaller files across this network. This makes HSPA + good for social uses but not very good for business use.