I'd like to quickly address some of the comments that were posted in response to my paper on WLAN RF Architectures, which was an attempt to enumerate the technical differences between a single channel WLAN model and adaptive model. The post below has sparked some healthy debate on the topic.
The paper was created to fill a gap in available material on the subject, especially as it relates to a fair assessment of the two architectures. While some level of bias is inevitable given my affiliation with Aruba, I made every effort to stay neutral on evaluating the two solutions and separate the abundance of marketing claims, driven by the fierce but healthy competitive environment, from the actual technical capabilities of the two architectures. The intent of the paper was to provide a technical comparison of adaptive vs. single-channel architectures and should not be viewed as a substitute for an independent (read: not vendor sponsored) test of the competing solutions. I would echo Chuck and Dave's comments about the need for better information about WLAN scalability and encourage more 802.11n tests that expose these differences between vendors. This is critical evaluation criteria for the Higher Education space. I appreciate everyone's comments on the subject and the feedback from my paper. Peter Thornycroft Aruba Networks [EMAIL PROTECTED] ________________________________ From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Johnson, Bruce T Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 8:06 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Open Wireless in Higher Ed Brian, I'm curious about your Meru experiences. Aruba recently released a white paper on the downsides of a single-channel architecture. Its a pretty cogent argument, and I haven't seen any response yet from Meru. You can take a look at it here: http://www.arubanetworks.com/pdf/technology/whitepapers/wp_RFARCH.pdf ________________________________ From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Fruits, Brian Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 10:33 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Open Wireless in Higher Ed We use the captive portal with Bluesocket as well but, we authenticate against external AD/LDAP and allow limited guest access. In our case we can't do client policy enforcement (require AV, patches, etc.) like Cisco Clean Access, but we can require that certain user groups use different levels of security such as L2TP or IPSEC which can be handled by the Bluesocket. The Bluesocket also assigns users into roles that allow us to customize traffic limits and firewall restrictions. Our primary access points are Meru Networks AP208s. The APs will handle our WPA when we start heading in that direction. Both Meru and Bluesocket can operate in multi-vlan configurations allowing for good flexibility for different client classes (i.e. voice) in a single box. Brian Fruits ITS - Network Services UNC Charlotte ________________________________ From: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jamie Savage Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 10:15 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [WIRELESS-LAN] Open Wireless in Higher Ed We use a captive portal scenario with Bluesocket boxes. The Bluesocket boxes redirect the user to a login page and verifies the account/password combination via RADIUS. ................................J James Savage York University Senior Communications Tech. 108 Steacie Building [EMAIL PROTECTED] 4700 Keele Street ph: 416-736-2100 ext. 22605 Toronto, Ontario fax: 416-736-5701 M3J 1P3, CANADA Daniel Bennett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent by: The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv <[email protected]> 03/26/2008 07:54 AM Please respond to The EDUCAUSE Wireless Issues Constituent Group Listserv <[email protected]> To [email protected] cc Subject [WIRELESS-LAN] Open Wireless in Higher Ed We are looking at technologies such as Radius, Cisco Clean Access, etc. to require our wireless client to authenticate to our network. Currently we have an open, unsecured wireless network. What are you Higher Ed institutions implementing to make sure that only valid users are using your wireless networks? If your policy is to do nothing then please indicate that as well. Thanks Daniel R. Bennett CompTIA Security+ Information Technology Security Analyst Pennsylvania College of Technology One College Ave Williamsport, PA 17701 (P) 570.329.4989 ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. The information transmitted in this electronic communication is intended only for the person or entity to whom it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. 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