The Task at Hand

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Just when most people understand how Wi-Fi technology can improve their business, the technology evolves again. Now, there are wireless adjuncts such as wireless voice over IP and Power over Ethernet that also should be considered. This fast evolutionary pace makes it difficult to assess the proper timing for adoption of a wireless networking strategy. Nonetheless, there are many organizations developing wireless strategies to streamline productivity and increase their data throughput.

But organizations often underestimate the effort required to deploy a wireless networking system. To get the full benefit that automation and wireless technologies offer, a plan is needed-a strategic plan that matches the end-users' needs and wireless technology capabilities with how those needs are expected to evolve over the next five or so years. Designing a WLAN, especially an enterprise WLAN, can be a daunting task. It requires an understanding of how 802.11 radios work, the differences between vendor implementations, and how varying building structure and outdoor elements and sources of external interference affect a WLAN's performance.

Before the initial installation, invest time in the plan and design of your system. While a wireless system will enable worker mobility, the supporting infrastructure is not mobile and its placement for performance and coverage must be carefully planned. The exact design steps needed depend on the organization's critical requirements for performance coverage and future growth.

The designer also will need to address core network services-IP address management, authentication, encryption, access control, accounting, and maybe even Quality of Service-that must be delivered to wireless users.

Once you've assessed the WLAN's requirements, you need to develop a plan for day-to-day management, service, and support to ensure your wireless network investment will continue to meet the changing demands of the organization.

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