----- Forwarded message from David Farber <[email protected]> -----
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2011 12:25:47 -0400 From: David Farber <[email protected]> Subject: [IP] Wi-Fi client surge forcing fresh wireless LAN thinking Reply-To: [email protected] To: ip <[email protected]> Begin forwarded message: From: Dewayne Hendricks <[email protected]> Date: June 21, 2011 9:18:15 PM EDT To: Multiple recipients of Dewayne-Net <[email protected]> Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Wi-Fi client surge forcing fresh wireless LAN thinking Reply-To: [email protected] Wi-Fi client surge forcing fresh wireless LAN thinking By John Cox, Network World June 20, 2011 <http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/062011-wifi-explosion.html> Carnegie Mellon University, which saw 1,000 brand-new Wi-Fi clients appear on its campus wireless LAN this past semester, is experiencing the kind of device surge that's forcing IT groups all over to adapt to a new, more dynamic radio environment. "There must have been a lot of iPhone, iPads and Android devices handed out [as gifts] over the holidays," jokes Randy Monroe, network operations manager at CMU in Pittsburgh. IDC reports that twice as many smartphones and tablets, nearly all with Wi-Fi, will ship compared to laptops this year. The number of Wi-Fi certified handsets in 2010 was almost 10 times the number certified in 2007, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance. Tablets, e-readers and portable audio devices are helping to drive this growth. The result is a very different wireless environment in terms of radio behaviors, Wi-Fi implementations, applications, usage and traffic compared to just a year or two ago. This raises a different set of issues from simply managing these mobile devices with tools from vendors like MobileIron and Zenprise. BACKGROUND: Major Wi-Fi changes ahead One complex result is that Wi-Fi infrastructures have to become more sensitive to mobile Wi-Fi clients. That's not easy because the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN standard puts the client in charge of connections, the opposite of a cellular network where the infrastructure takes charge of the client's behavior. (This is changing with new IEEE standards and clever vendor engineering. See "Major Wi-Fi changes ahead.") It's also increasingly common for users to have two -- or more -- Wi-Fi devices, such as a laptop and smartphone, and to use them both at once. [snip] Dewayne-Net RSS Feed: <http://www.warpspeed.com/wordpress> ----- End forwarded message -----
