T 1.17 Failure or malfunction of a wireless network

In wireless networks, information is transmitted using electromagnetic radio waves. If there are other electromagnetic sources radiating energy in the same frequency spectrum, these emissions could disrupt wireless communication and, in extreme cases, prevent the operation of the WLAN. This can occur unintentionally due to other technical systems (e.g. Bluetooth devices, other WLANs, microwave ovens, medical equipment, wireless security cameras etc.), or deliberately by operating a source of interference (jammer) in a denial-of-service (DoS) attack. Furthermore, denial-of-service attacks can also be carried out, for example, by repeatedly sending certain control and management signals which can then lead to the loss of availability of the wireless network.

Application Developer

Examples:

• Due to the selection of an unsuitable installation location for an outside antenna and poorly planned lightning and weather protection, a WLAN could fail as the result of lightning or weathering.
• In WLAN systems operating according to the IEEE 802.11b and IEEE 802.11g standards in the ISM band at 2.4 GHz, interference can be generated by a number of other wireless systems permitted to operate in this frequency band, e.g. Bluetooth devices, microwave ovens or other WLAN networks.