Wireless networks are increasingly being used by businesses to allow flexible working and up to date access to information wherever users may be whilst at work, on a campus, at home or even when using public WiFi.

Guests to business business premises are also increasingly likely to expect some form of Wifi internet access to be offered.

At their simplest, Wifi networks are “plug and play” and will almost work straight out of the box. (Although we don’t recommend this!) The issues surrounding Wifi networks are not so much in their provision but in their security and scalability. Key questions to think about during the planning stage are:

• What information do you want users to be able to access?
• How many types of users do you need to accommodate? (i.e. employees, contractors, visitors etc)
• How long do users need access for?
• How do you want the wireless network cope with overloaded demand? 
• Are the radio frequencies used already over loaded in your locality?

• How do you enforce consistent security and access policies across multiple devices?
• How many devices do you need for effective coverage?
• Do you need a "roaming" facilitiy around your building/campus?

The security of any business is only as strong as its weakest link, and for many, that is unfortunately, their wireless network.

L3n are able to look at, not only the wireless network as a stand alone entity, but to integrate it securely with your existing networks and your existing security policies, so that whilst authorised users can work seamlessly between wired and wirelesss networks, business integrity is not compromised.

Autonomous Access Points vs Controller-based Access Points

If you are looking at deploying just a couple of access-points, then you can probably simply use Autonomous Access Points. This means the access point is a standalone entity and has to be controlled and managed as such. This approach is ideal in a small static scenario where neither users, data nor coverage is liable to change.

Alternatively, you could use a controller-based system which has dynamic control over all the access-points that you need to deploy. These access points can be in different buildings or even different countries and the controller gives you a central point from which to configure and manage your wireless network and allow it to work as one entity.

Controller based solutions can be very powerful and have many features and can perform "self healing" diagnostiocs and remedial actions. For example, in the event of an access point failure it will automatically boost the power, range and availability of adjacent access points to compensate for the lack of coverage.

L3n can help you decide what you need and can supply, install and support your wireless network.