Managing Wireless Networks

Article (36)

Beta testers praise Fluke's AirCheck Wi-Fi Tester
It's hard to schlep a laptop around to test a WLAN, a fact not lost on network test specialist Fluke, which has a new portable WLAN testing device - the AirCheck Wi-Fi Tester - that beta testers and analysts alike praise.
Multivendor WLANs getting easier to manage
New software may make it easier for network admins to manage WLANs comprising products from multiple vendors.
Q&A: How to boost wireless mesh network performance
Get tips on how to achieve the maximum throughput for a wireless mesh network from our Wi-Fi networking expert, Lisa Phifer.
Can rain slow a WLAN?
A reader asks why their WLAN won't work in the rain. Our expert explains that rain can be as "solid" as a wall to radio signals.
Detect rogue WLAN access points to secure your wireless networks
Learn how to detect rogue WLAN access points before they are exploited to access your sensitive data.
How to find your SSID and distinguish it from nearby WLANs
Learn how to identify your WLAN and use its SSID to distinguish it from nearby neighbours.
How to create persistent, secure connections for roaming WiMAX, 3G and 802.11x
Learn how to create persistent connections for WiMAX, 3G and 802.11 users, so that your mobile colleagues are never out of touch with your office.
Take your WLAN to the next level with "Beamforming" and RF management
Looking to scale your 802.11n WLAN? "Beamforming", "Adaptive Radio Management" and RF management are your friends!
Using iPerf to measure WLAN performance
Learn how to measure TCP/UDP, throughput, loss and delay with iPerf, an open source network testing tool.
WLAN lessons from military deployments in Iraq
The team that designed a WLAN covering a 25 square kilometre air base in Iraq share their experiences.
Improve your WLAN's peformance with Pilot
Pilot is a graphing tool that can improve the performance of the WLAN. Here's how to make it work.
How to extend a WLAN's range with 802.11n and WDS
Learn how to increase Wi-Fi range beyond your four walls in this tip from Lisa Phifer.
Networking Lesson: Prioritising wireless traffic
Learn how Wi-Fi multimedia can help your WLAN offer better service to users by prioritising traffic flows.
Prevent latency when using different WLAN cards
If your users connect to WLANs at different speeds, can it slow your whole network? Lisa Phifer explains how to mix access speeds without messing up your WLAN.
Cisco smartens up the wireless network with Motion platform
Cisco will soon release a new product that integrates wireless devices and wired networks to enable seamless handovers and uninterrupted data access.
How to maximise WLAN performance
Wireless LAN performance can vary according to many factors. Boost yours with these tips from WLAN expert Jim Geier.
What's next for Wi-Fi?
Wireless expert Lisa Phifer explains the future of corporate Wi-Fi, in this summary of a presnetation at the Interop conference.
802.In-depth Day Three: 802.x performance
In the final part of his series on the 802.x WLAN protocols, Michael Martin explains the performance you can expect from these networks.
Wireless LAN performance
Benchmarking your wireless LAN performance is tricky. This tip examines key issues and offers advice for effectively measuring your WLAN performance.
Wireless interference can be frustrating (and fun?)
Since Wi-Fi operates in unlicensed bands, the enterprise wireless spectrum can be shared by other, seemingly innocuous devices like Bluetooth and wireless game controllers. But interference from such devices, or from having too many devices on one wireless network, can have a strong impact.
WLAN interference and clogged pipes -- happy holidays!
WLAN interference caused by decorations and slowed traffic due to online shopping are just some of the network woes of the holidays.
Five wireless myths debunked
Cisco, along with Forrester Research, recently issued a report calling most wireless LAN fears mere myths, and a campus-wide, all-wireless deployment appears to prove that theory.
Wireless security push fueled by paranoia
Wireless security became a necessity for Intermagnetics, but when the company used its access points to monitor the spectrum, performance suffered.
Wireless security boost for laptops outside the office
Most companies do a pretty good job with wireless security within the office walls, but what happens when end users take their laptops home -- or to Starbucks?
Intel's Centrino gear vulnerable to attack
Chip giant Intel says a trio of flaws may lead to remote code execution, privilege escalation and disclosure of security information. AV firms say the flaws could spawn a new wireless worm.
Wired, wireless access control unified with HP ProCurve module
HP ProCurve today announced a module to its 5300 switch that unifies the wired and wireless networks and makes them centrally manageable.
Weighing the costs of wireless network management
Wireless devices may be getting less expensive, but the cost of managing those devices is rising. Before jumping into wireless network deployment, there are some things that SMBs need to know.
Wireless IDS/IPS thwarts mall intruders
Siemens yesterday announced the addition of IDS/IPS and location services to its HiPath wireless line, which the largest shopping mall in the world will use to secure its WLAN.
Wireless LAN brings old-school academics into modern times
Loomis Chaffee School is more than 100 years old but it's also progressive, with its new state-of-the-art WLAN. The wireless network turns any space on campus into a classroom.
New WLAN survey, analyzer tools kill dead spots
AirMagnet this week announced a pair of tools it says can ease wireless site surveys and also find more than a dozen different devices that could be running interference, virtually eliminating dead zones.
Property management company beefs up network security
Enterprises could learn a lesson from Managed Services Inc., which rolled out wired and wireless network access to dozens of its properties nationwide, but in doing so found security could suffer.
Cisco 'leapfrogs' in WLAN switch ranking
Coming off its purchase of Airespace earlier this year, Cisco is breathing down Symbol's neck in the race to be the WLAN switch leader.
Cherokee Nation sniffs out, snuffs WLAN troubles
From the comfort of his truck, Jon James has found rogue and unsecured access points and has found out what is causing interruptions on the WLAN in Cherokee Nation.
Cisco introduces unified LAN, wireless mesh
Cisco made truth of the rumors yesterday, introducing new WLAN products and spinning its own web of wireless mesh.
Wireless LANs, the new 'secure' network
Once thought to be extremely vulnerable to attacks, wireless LANs are gaining security traction. Learn why experts and vendors say wireless hackers are no longer an issue and why wireless networks can be more secure than wired.
WLAN security flies high with intrusion detection
Trapeze this week tapped AirDefense to add security features to its wireless network access points to protect against threats.

News (2)

Cisco aims for unstoppable video over WLAN
Cisco plans jitter-free video to multiple endpoints over WLAN, thanks to "unicast" technology.
Cisco, Cognio team up on Wi-Fi interference detection
Cisco and Cognio have partnered to troubleshoot and diagnose problems on the Wi-Fi network.

Expert Answer (1)

Put 802.11n Greenfield mode to work
802.11n high throughput (HT), or Greenfield mode can help you to improve WLAN performance.

Tips (12)

Do WEP or WPA reduce WiFi signal quality?
Wireless networks need encryption. But can this security measure slow their performance?
Using Netsh to configure WLAN connections in Windows Server 2008 and Vista from the CLI
David Davis explains how to use Netsh to configure wireless connections from the command line,
Creating a wireless bridge to connect clients distant from APs
This tip explains how to use one Wi-Fi module to create a wireless bridge in order to connect clients that are distant from your access points.
Avoiding 802.11n and 802.11g coexistence problems
802.11n networks can experience interference from nearby 802.11g networks. This tip explains how to cope with coexistence problems.
Help a WLAN AP to find its lost IP address
Find out how to find a missing IP address for an Access Point from network security expert Puneet Mehta.
WLAN troubleshooting with spectrum analysers
Learn how spectrum analysers can help with troubleshooting RF interference on your WLAN.
Upcoming wireless standards promise managed WLANs
Learn about two new IEEE standards, 802.11k and 802.11v, which aim to improve wireless the problems over overlapping wireless networks, in this tip.
What can we do to connect our wireless router to our wireless client?
Experiencing a persistent inability to connect a wireless router from your wireless client? Lisa Phifer details how to fix this problem.
Cisco WLAN design best practices
Wireless LAN (WLAN) technology has built-in security features, but a one-size-fits-all approach won't ensure adequate security for your organization. This tip provides best practices for designing your security architecture, including user community considerations, controller architecture and access point placement.
Creating a WPA2 compliant network
Our expert, Lisa Phifer, goes through the basic principles of creating a WPA2 compliant network, in this Q&A.
Set up an ad hoc WiFi network
What if you wanted to do pretty much everything you can do on a network, but didn't have a router? You can set up an ad hoc network, in which you can connect on a peer-to-peer basis with other computers and PDAs. You don't need any extra software; the capability to do this is built right in XP.
Upgrading your WLAN to WPA2
As WPA2 becomes widely available, why should you upgrade your WLAN to use it, and what will you need to do so.

Q&A Interview (2)

Cisco Spotlight Series: Service with a smile
Gary Moore couldn't be prouder. During the past four years, the Cisco Systems Inc. senior vice president has transformed the networking giant's advanced services group from an organization that helps fix products to one that addresses what Cisco calls the product lifecycle. What's the difference? Now, Moore said, Cisco can help any customer with any problem â€“ whether it's products, processes or planning for the future -- better and faster than ever before. SearchNetworking.com spoke with Moore about the state of the professional services industry, how Cisco avoids stepping on its resellers' toes and whether Cisco will become the next Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS).
Cisco Spotlight Series: An afterlife for Airespace
A little more than four months ago, networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. acquired Airespace Inc., a wireless LAN switch startup, to enhance its wireless networking products line. In an unusual move, Cisco assigned two individuals to lead its combined wireless business unit: desktop switching veteran David Leonard, the former chief technology officer of Grand Junction Networks who has led Cisco's wireless effort for the past four years, and Brett Galloway, the former CEO of Airespace and Packeteer who made a name for himself at Metricom in the mid-1990s during the launch of its Ricochet wireless Internet service. SearchNetworking.com recently spoke with co-vice presidents and general managers Leonard and Galloway, and asked them to explain the impact of the Airespace acquisition and what the resulting technology integration effort will mean for enterprises.

General Content (4)

Wireless troubleshooting
Wireless network troubleshooting basics are discussed in this guide.
Wi-Fi interference
In this research report, undertook the challenge to quantify the problem of interference in wireless LANs and defined a methodology for evaluating the effects of interference on WLANs.
Wireless network security testing
The abundance of wireless devices is making wireless networks -- both authorised and unauthorised -- more common. Attack your own wireless networks to find vulnerabilities before malicious hackers do. Security testing expert Kevin Beaver covers the tools and techniques you'll need to find and exploit insecure wireless networks.
Using VLANs to compartmentalize WLAN traffic
Virtual LANs have long been used within enterprise networks to create logical workgroups, independent of physical location or LAN topology. This tip describes how to use these same VLAN capabilities, found in both wired and wireless devices, to tag and compartmentalize Wi-Fi traffic, supporting your company's security and traffic management policies.

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