by Matthew Gast author of 802.11 Wireless Networks The Definitive Guide 04 19 2002 If you re holding back on an 802.11 deployment because of security concerns you re not alone. Research indicates that the perceived insecurity of wireless networks is a major inhibitor to further market growth. This short history of the security issues in wireless...

By Lisa Phifer Wireless LANs based on 802.11 Wi-Fi protocols are deceptively simple to install but achieving optimum or even acceptable levels of security and performance can be tough. Many operators don t really know how their WLAN is being used if outsiders are consuming WLAN resources or whether fine-tuning could improve quality of service. Traditional...

By Jim Geier In the absence of adequate 802.11 security quality of service and roaming mechanisms companies such as ReefEdge Bluesocket and Nomadix offer access control solutions to strengthen wireless LAN systems. The key component to these solutions is an access controller hardware that resides on the wired portion of the network between the...

By Jim Geier As an optional feature the 802.11 standard includes the RTS CTS Request to Send Clear to Send function to control station access to the medium. Generally only the more costly high-end wireless LANs offer RTS CTS in radio network interface cards NICs and access points -- you won t find this on inexpensive home or SOHO products. Through...

By Beth Cohen and Debbie Deutsch At the recent Boston 802.11 Planet Conference and Expo the aisles and booths were bustling with activity giving ample proof that Wi-Fi Wireless Fidelity or more properly wireless networking has finally come of age. The hardware gear venders 5; switch carriers integrators chip manufacturers and antenna 5; were...

By Jeff Vance Wireless LAN security has come a long way in the past few years. 802.11 s initial flawed encryption standard WEP has been replaced by WPA and 802.11i and a slew of new wireless security products have recently entered the market. The problem is that most of these products such as WLAN switches and rogue access point AP monitors...

By Allen Bernard Unlike competition among software and hardware vendors when it comes to 802.11 Wi-Fi standards things are in pretty good shape. Only one body the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IEEE sets worldwide baseline standards for Wi-Fi equipment and software vendors to follow and there are only a handful of standards...

By Lisa Phifer This article is the fourth in a series that explores the purpose and use of 802.11 Wireless LAN Analyzers. Prior installments provided a resource list of open source and commercial WLAN analyzers Part 1 explained how to combine software with hardware to create a WLAN analysis toolkit Part 2 and used several different tools to...

By Lisa Phifer WLAN Analyzers are essential tools for anyone who administers a network with 802.11 Wi-Fi devices authorized or otherwise. Part 1 of this series identified several open source and commercial tools. Part 2 explained how to combine those tools with PDAs laptops desktops adapters antennas and GPS receivers to create an analysis toolkit....

By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols It used to be Gospel truth that if you wanted to deploy a serious 802.11-based network you had to do a site survey . Now as the street price for low-end access points drops below 100 some would-be network administrators are contemplating forgetting about time-consuming and expensive site surveys in favor of simply throwing...

By Jim Geier In order to make the best use of wireless LAN bandwidth you need to be aware of various 802.11 configuration parameters. As an optional user feature the 802.11 standard includes the ability for radio-based network interface cards NICs and access points to fragment packets for improving performance in the presence of RF interference...

By Jim Geier In the old days frequency hopping spread spectrum FHSS and direct sequence spread spectrum DSSS were the only two radio-based 802.11 wireless LANs available. At one point I remember FHSS being among the top choices when deploying a wireless LAN because FHSS access points were less expensive and more available than DSSS access points....

By Jim Geier When deploying wireless LANs most people begin the project by jumping into technical matters such as deciding upon which version of 802.11 to use which vendor to select and how to overcome the limitations of 802.11 security. These are important elements of implementing a wireless LAN; however prior to getting too far with the project...

By Lisa Phifer Like their wired counterparts Wireless LAN analyzers provide packet capture protocol decode traffic analysis alerting trending and reporting for 802.11 networks. Many also provide wireless-specific functions like spectrum analysis net stumbling site survey and rogue detection. In Part 1 of this article we identified several...

By Jim Geier There are many access point vendors now with products on the market leaving you with a tough decision on which one to use. Some of these access points barely satisfy the 802.11 standard making them most suitable for homes and small offices. Others have rich features that extend well beyond the standard which are ideal for higher-end...