SME wireless network solutions There are many potential benefits of wireless networks: strong flexibility, good scalability, low total cost of ownership, improved work efficiency, and enhanced connections. So why don't more companies take action, especially SMEs? There may be three reasons for this: due to the lack of optimism about the economic situation, some companies have postponed major technological improvement projects; some companies have expressed confusion about various emerging wireless standards and do not know 802.11a, 802.11b or 802.11g What kind of protocol is suitable for your environment; and some companies have a reasonable question about wireless security: Is the wireless network as secure as the wired network? Wire To Wire Connectors,Waterproof Connector,Electric Fan Connector,Photovoltaic Line Connector Zooke Connectors Co., Ltd. , https://www.zooke.com
Today, the fact that our economy is booming is indisputable. Newer wireless products can support multiple protocols, so companies can use WLAN technology without worrying about not choosing the most reasonable standard. In addition, the recently released Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) standard, coupled with the IEEE 802.11i specification, will soon be released, and the industry provides wireless networks with security mechanisms that are comparable to wired networks.
As these problems have been resolved. For SMEs, it is time to adopt wireless technology, and it is adopted on a large scale. What is needed is a WLAN product that meets the new security standards, and provides easy-to-use, reliable, high-performance, and low-cost package solutions to provide the features and functions of enterprise-level solutions.
Special needs of SMEs It has always been a challenge to develop products for the SME market. Those products designed for larger computing environments are rarely applicable to smaller networks. Usually, SMEs have limited resources (including capital and manpower), so they are unable to cope with high costs and complex products. In order to facilitate the switch to wireless technology in the SME market, manufacturers must find ways to streamline enterprise-level solutions. The "essential elements" of the wireless network for the SME environment include the following:
Security: Because there is not much time to manage, SMEs need to maintain as little equipment as possible but ensure the safety of important data and infrastructure. The new WPA standard can meet these needs. WPA provides enhanced data encryption through the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP), provides user authentication mechanisms through 802.1x and Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP), and also provides Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) originally used by the first generation wireless products ) The benefits of norms.
Easy to use: The installation, management, modification and expansion of wireless systems must be simple and easy to provide the higher flexibility and lower TCO promised by wireless technology. Since there are not many employees in SMEs, they seek solutions that do not require much worry.
Compatibility: Standards-based products allow SMEs to retain existing infrastructure and easily upgrade or migrate to new technologies.
Enterprise-level features and functions: Just like large enterprises, small and medium-sized enterprises also need extensive and feature-rich networks to improve work efficiency. The features and functions they desire include: virtual private network (VPN) function, advanced security mechanism (WPA) and advanced management.
High performance / bandwidth: Work efficiency and ease of use depend on the highest performance and maximum bandwidth. No matter what other efficiencies are possible, no company is willing to go back and use slower technologies. Wireless solutions are no exception.
Low TCO: In order to prove that new technologies such as wireless must be invested, long-term TCO must be significantly lower than wired networks. Long-term product quality assurance, ease of use, flexibility, and scalability all help reduce TCO.
The choice of WLAN solution The most important thing for SMEs when choosing a wireless access network is to carefully analyze their own needs and then choose the appropriate solution according to their needs. Because the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises vary greatly, the wireless network design for small and medium-sized enterprises is often easier. Generally, the solution that suits you is mainly focused on product selection and wireless network installation and deployment.
Wireless network technology Due to the maturity of wireless network technology, there are many types of wireless network products. When choosing a wireless network product, the most important thing is speed. At the same time, when choosing a product, pay attention to the compatibility of the product, pay attention to the technology used by the product and the corresponding wireless network standard, so that the product can really play a role.
The current wireless network products mainly use the three network protocols 802.11a / b / g. 802.11a works in the 5GHz frequency band. Although the speed is relatively high, it is 54Mbps, but it is mostly used in wireless bridges and rarely used in offices. The speed of 802.11.b is 11Mbps, which is no longer a mainstream product. At present, the products used in indoor office are mainly 802.11g, which uses the 2.4GHz frequency band, the speed can reach 54Mbps, and the products using this protocol can be adaptive to 802.11b and compatible with 802.11b. Therefore, it is best to choose products that support the use of 802.11g when selecting products.
It should be noted that although most current products support the 802.11g protocol, the implementation technology used by different products is different. For example, most current products use DSSS technology, but the latest technology is OFDM technology. This new generation of wireless communication technology has strong anti-interference and high channel utilization. However, these products are currently more expensive.
Wireless network products Wireless network products are roughly divided into the following categories: wireless network card, wireless access point (AP), wireless gateway, wireless bridge. Wireless network cards are mainly used in computers or terminals. At present, there are many types of network cards, including PCMCIA interface, PCI interface, CF interface, and USB interface, which should be selected according to their own terminals. Bridges are connected to different networks, and bridges are rarely used in SMEs.
Here we will focus on AP. An AP is actually a wireless access point, and anyone who can connect a terminal to the network through it can be called an AP device. Some wireless APs are actually wireless HUBs, while others are actually wireless routers. It is best for small and medium-sized enterprises to choose an AP with a router function, which can be used as both an AP and a routing function, and can also serve as a gateway.
Most wireless gateways on the market are products of wireless APs with routing capabilities. Most SMEs now use the AP mode of wireless router AP + wireless HUB to build their own networks. The author once established a wireless network for a chain of coffee shops. In the coffee shop, one AP with wireless routing function and two wireless HUBs were used. The AP with routing function was connected to the Internet via 2M ADSL. When users go online here, the logo of the chain coffee shop will appear on the network, which is not only very convenient for installation and maintenance, but also very low in cost.
Wireless network security Because wireless networks use air as a medium for data transmission, they cannot be controlled as easily as wired networks, so security is very important. The products that generally use the protocol 802.11b include some basic security measures, such as wireless area network device service area authentication ID (ESSID), MAC address access control, and WEP encryption. When using ESSID, a service area authentication ID is set in each AP. Whenever a wireless terminal device is connected to the AP, the AP checks whether its ESSID is consistent with its ID. Only when the AP and the wireless terminal's ESSID match, the AP accepts the wireless terminal's access and provides network services. For MAC address access control, the MAC address of the access terminal is restricted to ensure that only registered devices can access the wireless network. Since each wireless network card has a unique MAC address, a "MAC address" can be established inside the AP "Control Table", only the MAC listed in the table is a legal wireless card that can be connected, otherwise it will be refused to connect. MAC address control can effectively prevent unauthorized users from intruding into the wireless network. However, this kind of setting is troublesome, and it is generally used in small and medium-sized places where safety requirements are not particularly high.
With the introduction of the 802.11i protocol, the security of the wireless network has been greatly improved. It includes TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) and AES (Advanced EncrypTIon Standard), and the authentication protocol IEEE802.1x, but the current products are used in It is still mostly a WPA-compliant security protocol.
However, it is not important to all SMEs for their security issues, so they should be selected and deployed according to their specific needs to avoid unnecessary waste of resources. For example, a chain of bars or cafes can provide consumers with free Internet services. The requirement here is that as long as you use these networks, you can see the company's logo, and the security requirements are not very high.
Wireless Network Deployment Before deploying after selecting the appropriate product, SMEs should be able to understand the office environment and make field measurements to adjust the original product selection in time. In fact, the selection of solutions, products, and testing is almost a crossover. Since wireless devices are used, testing is necessary to ensure that the office premises can be connected to the network. A key to the test is to ensure that the signal is strong enough, and to ensure that it can be connected to the network wherever it goes online. In the aforementioned wireless network chain coffee shop, it took a long time to test to ensure that there is no blind spot in the coffee shop, especially when there are large objects in the corners, corners, and middle of the room. The place is prone to the phenomenon of weak signal or no signal. Therefore, special attention should be paid to testing in these places to exchange the antenna or power of the product in advance.
In fact, for the application of SMEs, the threshold for implementing wireless networks is not particularly high. Although you can choose the wireless network solutions of large enterprises and related products and implementation personnel to build the network, but the general cost will be relatively high. Therefore, users can also choose some small and medium-sized wireless network solution providers with good reputation. As long as you insist on choosing a solution based on your own needs, you should not blindly follow the manufacturers' recommendations.
Finally, there is another point that needs to be brought to the reader ’s attention. When we choose to use the wireless network, do not enter a misunderstanding. We believe that the wireless network can be used instead of the wired network. In fact, the wireless network is an important supplement to the wired network. , To build a corporate network together.