Mapping your wireless local area network: How to make your WLAN shine

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  Article

  WLAN troubleshooting for BYOD

  The BYOD era is upon us. Do you have a plan? Optimizing security is only half the battle when it comes to supporting a BYOD-tailored wireless LAN. The rest relies heavily on WLAN troubleshooting to guard against draining critical network assets. This feature details steps you can take to ensure you're practicing the most proactive BYOD WLAN troubleshooting tactics.  Read Now

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  Article

  Provisioning WLAN access for BYOD takes combined tools

  IT shops lacking resources to manually configure hundreds of personal devices are put in a tough position. Asking users to "do it yourself" can lead to security breaches and other problems. It is possible to automate wireless LAN access provisioning for BYOD with the right tools -- and this tip can help. Read Now

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  Article

  Penn tackles WLAN access for 46,000 BYOD clients

  As thousands of new students and their devices arrive on campus each fall, large universities face a particular challenge in managing BYOD. At the University of Pennsylvania, administrators have to handle up to 46,000 clients and 20,000 concurrent connections. In this tip, learn how to integrate WLAN features with mobile device management tools.  Read Now

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  Article

  Creating a WLAN architecture for a mobile workforce

  To deploy a robust wireless local area network architecture, start by evaluating a range of WLAN access control technologies and edge designs. In this tip, learn about the basics of WLAN access control, the proprietary extensions vendors offer to differentiate their products and more. Read Now

1Measuring your WLAN: What you need to know today

There is a lot to consider when it comes to evaluating WLAN approaches, and it's easy to be unsure about which route to take when optimizing your infrastructure and operations. In this section of our guide, we outline everything you need to know about different wireless local area networking options -- including basic requirements, Wi-Fi management, vendor selection and more.

• Article

  Wireless LAN requirements to consider before buying

  When determining which WLAN option is best for your enterprise, start by assessing which wireless local area network requirements are necessary. Here's a five-step process to guide you as you begin your journey.  Read Now

• Article

  Myth busters: Cloud-managed wireless LAN

  New cloud-managed wireless LAN services have many users asking one question: Is Wi-Fi management as a service dependable? In this tip, wireless expert Lisa Phifer puts some myths to rest and uncovers what you should expect with cloud-managed WLANs.  Read Now

• Article

  Evaluating WLAN solutions: Questions for WLAN vendors

  After your company or organization has developed a mobility plan, it is critical to raise certain questions with WLAN vendors. This tip lists 10 questions every IT pro should ask before it is too late. Read Now

• Article

  WLAN testing: From planning to documentation

  "Testing a Wireless LAN," from the book Designing and Deploying 802.11n Wireless Networks by Jim Geier, explores WLAN test planning and documentation. The chapter also addresses crucial testing methods for performance, security and signal coverage. Read Now

2Transforming WLAN: What you need to know tomorrow

Just as the wireless industry continues to evolve, so does WLAN technology. Optimizing your infrastructure -- for application performance, video transport or to guard against unauthorized intrusions -- will mean more changes. In this section of the guide, learn about the future of WLAN and what an optimized network could look like.

• Article

  Benefits of WLAN as the primary access network

  Many companies are examining the advantage of using their WLAN infrastructures as their primary access network, but those benefits will vary by industry. Correctly understanding the gains you might realize is critical. Here is what you need to know. Read Now

• Article

  WPS attack precautions: Avoid unauthorized WLAN access

  WLAN administrators must take certain precautions to protect their networks from Wi-Fi Protected Setup attack tools. In this expert response, wireless expert Lisa Phifer shares her advice on how to achieve complete network protection. Read Now

• Article

  Optimizing network performance for WLAN applications

  Maximizing your WLAN means you need to upgrade your network infrastructure. Among other requirements, you will have to be ready to support real-time applications over a wireless connection. This tip explains strategies to support these types of applications while optimizing network performance. Read Now

• Article

  WLAN design for the best wireless video delivery

  Wi-Fi video can tax networks, so engineers need to use a variety of design tactics to bolster video delivery and thus avoid performance degradation. In this tip, learn about design options that increase the reliability of video delivered over WLAN.  Read Now

• Article

  Ensuring WLAN performance optimization

  To ensure top performance, it's important to not only deploy WLAN measurement and testing tools, but to use those tools on a regular basis to monitor network behavior. Learn more about WLAN optimization tactics and why there is so much fuss over periodic testing. Read Now

• Article

  Learn the basics of enterprise wireless standards

  The various standards and protocols that support enterprise-class wireless deployments differ greatly from the inexpensive home router. This article teaches the fundamentals that govern WLAN and Wi-Fi performance. Read Now

• Article

  New standards increase enterprise WLAN capacity

  The new 802.11ac and 802.11ad standards enable admins to greatly increase enterprise WLAN capacity and throughput. See what kind of benefits you can expect from these newly minted protocols. Read Now

3WLAN definitions

Check out these definitions to deepen your understanding of wireless local area networks.

• Definition

  Wireless LAN (WLAN or Wireless Local Area Network)

  A wireless LAN is one in which a mobile user can connect to a local area network (LAN) through a wireless (radio) connection. Read Now

• Definition

  802.11

  802.11 is an evolving family of specifications for wireless local area networks (WLANs) developed by a working group of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)....(Continued) Read Now

• Definition

  BYOD (bring your own device)

  BYOD (bring your own device) is the increasing trend toward employee-owned devices within a business. Smartphones are the most common example but employees also take their own tablets, laptops and USB drives into the workplace. Read Now

• Definition

  access point (AP)

  A wireless access point (wireless AP) is a network device that transmits and receives data over a wireless local area network (WLAN). Typically, wireless routers are used in homes and small businesses where all users can be supported by one combined AP and router.  Read Now

• Definition

  wireless ad-hoc network (WANET)

  A wireless ad-hoc network (WANET) is a type of local area network (LAN) that is built spontaneously to enable two or more wireless devices to be connected to each other without requiring a central device, such as a router or access point. Read Now