Wi-Fi concerns shift gears

The arrival of wireless networking in the enterprise has been without question one of the biggest stories of 2003. According to many, it will be an important story next year as well.

Despite Wi-Fi’s arrival, enterprises have been slow to adopt wireless networks because of perceived security holes, deployment complexity, management concerns, and perceived low return on investment, according to Steve Nye, general manager of Cisco’s building broadband solutions unit. Speaking at the Wi-Fi Planet Conference & Expo last week, Nye announced those issues are the concerns of the past.

The focus of development in the wireless networking arena has shifted from encryption and authentication to a new crop of issues including interoperability, RF (radio frequency) management, and intrusion prevention.

Newcomers Airespace, Bluesocket, Bandspeed, Motia, and Network Chemistry have emerged to address those issues.

Focusing on interoperability and RF management, Airespace this week will release Version 2.0 of its AireOS and Airespace Control System management system software. According to Alan Cohen, vice president of marketing at Airespace, the software’s enhancements make it possible to identify the location of a client within 10 meters. Cohen said this visibility will give administrators more control by allowing them to better identify who is using their networks.

Airespace has also announced the Airespace 1200R Remote Edge Access Point for branch offices. The new APs (access points) can be managed centrally over long distances.

Cohen pointed out that the tenor of customers’ concerns about Wi-Fi security has changed.

“Security hits of WLANs are not about hacking but the disruption of the environment,” Cohen said. “The concern is physical attacks like denial of service.”

Whereas wired networks can rely on the added protection of shielded cables, Cohen added, wireless networks cannot, leaving them more vulnerable to those types of attacks.

Bluesocket, another wireless upstart, announced last week the availability of its WG-5000 Wireless Gateway. According to Eric Janszen, CEO of Bluesocket, the switch is designed for enterprises that want to trunk hundreds of APs back into a gateway. Janszen theorizes that administrators are asking for ways to provide the right access to the right users.

To do this, Janszen says, technology must be capable of identifying users and assigning them particular privileges.

Another stumbling block to widespread WLAN adoption is its perceived lack of interoperability. Dominic Wilde, senior product marketing manager at Vernier Networks, said the market is demanding standards-based solutions that can be integrated into existing networks and interoperate with other wireless gear.

“Customers want to hear that their vendor can support a heterogeneous network,” Wilde said. “They don’t want to hear vendors say, ‘Buy our access point.’ ”

Vendors such as Bandspeed Technology and Motia are working to improve the quality of service of the RF portion of wireless networks and to give administrators the ability to scale them.

According to Blaine Kohl, vice president of marketing at Bandspeed, enterprises should address WLAN interference issues by using component technologies rather than simply throwing more APs at the problem. Using SDMA (Spatial Division Multiple Access), Bandspeed has developed an antenna that resides within an AP that essentially creates six different sectors, doubling what a traditional AP can provide.

Motia, which launched at Wi-Fi Planet, is also looking to provide quality of service through the creation of new components. The company’s Javelin chip set sits in front of an AP’s transceivers and antennas and creates four balanced signals from two exiting antennas, thereby increasing the range of the signals.

Network Chemistry, another newcomer on the WLAN security scene, makes wireless IPSes (intrusion prevention systems) that can auto-detect attacks launched by an external intruder or an internal user, said Rob Markovich, the company’s president and CEO.

Security requirements for WLANs are no different than for LANs, Markovich said, explaining that a network needs to be both encrypted and protected by firewalls and other intrusion detection devices.

Despite this flurry of activity and the possible acceleration of Wi-Fi adoption it may bring, it will not all be good news for these startups, according to Ken Delaney, a mobile computing analyst at Gartner.

“We’re at a point now where the technologists have exceeded what buyers can handle and consume,” Delaney said. “And we have an excess of vendors.”

Identifying at least 20 startups in this space, Delaney predicted that 90 percent will be gone in a couple of years. He added, however, that many do in fact have technological advantages over more established networking players, including Cisco Systems.