by Alan J. Weissberger alan at viodi.com
The Bull Case
Cisco continues to recommend their “Unified Wireless Network” solution, which they claim “offers secure, scalable, cost-effective wireless LANs for business critical mobility.” The solution is said to enable innovative applications, streamline business operations, and improve productivity through mobility services for location, guest access, enhanced security, and voice services. It delivers the same level of security, scalability, reliability, ease of deployment, and management for wireless LANs that organizations expect from their wired LANs. For additional features and benefits, please see:
http://www.cisco.com/application/pdf/en/us/guest/products/ps6521/c1031/cdccont_0900aecd80473008.pdf
Cisco’s Alan S. Cohen makes a case for wireless connectivity in an on-line accessible interview that promotes “Pervasive Wireless Networks.” He states, “Location was the first mobility service to really take off in the Enterprise and we are seeing this across a series of industries as well as across a series of applications; for example, the ability to track assets from an IT point-of-view. We are working with a very large financial institution right now. They have wonderful applications written for servers, but if the server goes down they don’t know where [the server] is. Also, people [in hospitals] are tracking infusion pumps, or doctors, or medical equipment. We neatly provide granular location tracking in our wireless systems.” For additional details, please refer to:
http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2006/hd_090806b.html
At the June 26th Network World IT Roadmap show, Cisco presented several case studies that highlighted the advantages of a Unified Wireless Network. Cisco would like to greatly increase Enterprise WiFi penetration by offering features like enhanced security, location and tracking services, and secure guest access. Of course, they advocate a single vendor solution to avoid headaches of multi-vendor interoperability.
Cisco’s Unified Wireless Network was said to provide valuable location and tracking services. We were impressed with the following capabilities:
- Accurately locates any WiFi device within several meters
- Simultaneously tracks up to 2,500 WiFi devices, tags, rogue devices
- Historical location playback logs for trending and troubleshooting
Bronson Healthcare was offered as a case study for location based services. They had a problem in locating wheelchairs and lacked mobile diagnostic tools. Cisco’s Unified Wireless Network with location asset tags was said to decrease patient wait-time for wheel chairs, with an estimated monthly savings of $28,000.
Location Services
Cisco commissioned Forrester Consulting to do a study on WiFi asset tracking. The business need: Decrease cost of locating and replacing assets. Improve security and effectiveness of communications. Forrester found that it delivers a potential 55% 3 year ROI, with a payback period of 16 months.
For further details, please refer to:
http://edge.networkworld.com/events/exchange/presentations/santaclara07/em/mobility_Cisco.pdf
In a June 2007 report entitled, “Measuring the Real Value of Wireless LAN Deployments+,” the Aberdeen Group found that 95% of enterprises surveyed have deployed a wireless network in their organization. The bottom line was that “Best in Class” organizations are leveraging their wireless network to both improve the productivity of their work forces while simplifying the implementation and decreasing the ongoing management costs of their networks. The findings are drawn from a survey of more than 315 organizations.
Aberdeen used three key performance criteria to distinguish best-in-class companies from all other organizations. These key performance indicators are the operational metrics most frequently touted as the key benefits of deploying a WLAN:
- 27% increase in the flexibility of the workforce directly attributable to using a WLAN – 50% higher than all others;
- 26% increase in the collaboration of the workforce directly attributable to using a WLAN – over twice the industry average;
- 29% increase in the quality of meetings directly attributable to team members using a WLAN – almost three times that of all
+WiFi vendors Trapeze, Extricom, Blue Socket, Meru Networks, and Wild Packets underwrote the study.
Finally, the Wall Street Journal (see Bearish Case below) states, “Recent advances in software and hardware have eased corporate users’ WiFi problems. Companies such as Cisco, Aruba Networks, AirTight Networks Inc. and Air Defense Inc. have new products that close security holes and alleviate problems with signal strength. For example, Air Tight, Mountain View, CA now makes a wireless switch that allows a wireless network to operate like a wired network. That lets IT staffers note attempted attacks on the network and see whether unauthorized devices are attempting to connect in. Last month, Cisco introduced new software and services that secure and extend the office WiFi network to handheld devices. Some of the new services inspect incoming communications traffic for viruses and block unauthorized users from accessing the wireless network.”
The Bearish Case
Our take: With the exception of certain vertical market applications – like hospitals and college campuses- establishing a compelling ROI for WiFi in the enterprise is not easy. The risks are quite formidable and include: security, scalability, availability (especially when moving from one Wireless Access Point to another), and departmental cost accounting. It is quite clear that wired networking solutions, particularly all flavors of Ethernet, offer better performance and reliability–usually at a lower cost.
Furthermore, as streaming video, audio, and real time graphics are now widely distributed to desktops, current WiFi systems may not provide sufficient bandwidth. [Note that WiFi uses contention- based access, with no priority mechanism]. The emerging IEEE 802.11n standard is expected to significantly increase bandwidth and throughput with an enhanced MAC and a MIMO based PHY. However, an upgrade now to 802.11n could be risky. The official standard is at least 18 months away. Even though the underlying technology is solid and the WiFi Alliance has decided to certify products based on an interim IEEE 802.11n draft standard, the business value is marginal at best when compared to 100 and 1000Base T.
The Wall Street Journal seems to agree with us. In a June 26, 2007 article entitled, Helpless, Hopeless, Wireless, the Journal takes a pessimistic view of this enterprise WiFi networks. “WiFi was supposed to reduce complications, not create new ones. The wireless technology was designed to eliminate the cords and cables used to connect computers to the Internet, enabling users to be more mobile and to stay connected to the office even while on the go. The technology has been widely embraced by consumers.
But in many offices, Wi-Fi has been a headache. Like all radio signals, Wi-Fi is subject to interference. Its relatively low power — less than even a typical cell phone — means walls and cabinets can significantly reduce signal strength. Wi-Fi also creates a more open network than wired networks, raising security issues.
WiFi has also caused problems for virtual private networks (VPNs), which often give users access to corporate networks from home or on the road. VPNs require a lot of processing power. If a wireless access point — at home, at the office or on the road — isn’t robust enough, a user often gets bumped off the connection. The difficulties employees have with WiFi at home are often different from the troubles they face at the office. With home users, problems often occur between the configuration of their home connection and the software they have installed to access the corporate network. Sometimes the VPN software isn’t compatible with the home network. At work, the main issue is often security, and how to prevent hackers and others from gaining access to the system.
WiFi issues have placed a great deal of stress on many corporate IT departments in part because such problems extend beyond the walls of the workplace. Many IT workers are finding that in addition to troubleshooting WiFi problems at the office, they’re also called upon to help when colleagues have trouble connecting to their corporate network using WiFi at home, at a hotel or at a remote conference room.”
All of this has stunted the growth of WiFi in offices, according to market research firm Dell’Oro Group. Some business users have turned away from WiFi entirely. Total corporate spending on Wi-Fi equipment is still relatively small, though it’s growing — last year, companies spent $1.3 billion on WiFi equipment, up from $917 million in 2005, according to Dell’Oro. In contrast, companies last year spent $16 billion on equipment that would allow them to access wired corporate networks.
Some wireless networking companies are taking steps to try to deal with corporate WiFi problems. One major issue is the stability of the wireless signal. Ruckus Wireless Inc., a wireless networking company based in Sunnyvale, Calif., tries to address that problem by providing wireless access points that have multiple antennas. That allows a WiFi signal to have more than one pathway to an access point — which can come in handy if something is in the way. “People want WiFi to do so much more,” said Selina Lo, chief executive of Ruckus Wireless. “Small businesses and people at home want it to support things it hadn’t in the past.”
And that is the major challenge that corporate WiFi faces. In our opinion, a robust market for corporate WiFi networks will not emerge until IEEE 802.11n equipment has been deployed throughout the enterprise wireless LAN. The higher speeds will require one or two Gigabit Ethernet ports on the IEEE 802.11n Access Points to interconnect with the corporate backbone network. We would recommend a single vendor solution to avoid many of the problems sited above.
We note that Nortel has just announced they are developing their own 802.11n gear, which represents a challenge to both Cisco and Trapeze Networks (their former WiFi supplier). Please refer to:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/070607-nortel-wireless.html?nlhtw=0709wirelessalert1
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