2006 MAM - Wireless Copyright © 2006 The Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI June 23, 2006 Dennis Ward

WLAN Today Copyright © 2006 The Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI a/b/g  Listen before Talk / Half-Duplex  Majority of clients in-use are b/g  b clients continue to be least expensive  Utilizes Unlicensed Spectrum: 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz  3 Non-overlapping 2.4 GHz Channels  12 Non-overlapping 5 GHz Channels - some caveats  11 New Channels Approved in July 2004 by FCC  New Channels use 5 GHz:  MHz  Channels not yet authorized for use  No specific timeline for FCC authorization

WLAN Today Copyright © 2006 The Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI  Every wireless card carries the following statement:  This device complies with part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following conditions:  (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and  (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Predominant Architectures Copyright © 2006 The Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI  Legacy “Fat” AP  Stand-Alone AP individually configured  Higher labor costs due to configuration requirements  relatively mature  Controller / “Thin” AP  AP’s tunnel back to central controller  Higher overall equipment costs - unique appliance  still underdevelopment - complaints of unstable s/w

WLAN Standard Progression Copyright © 2006 The Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI  e - QoS - Approved September 2005  i - Security - Approved June 2004  k - Radio Resource Management  ma - Standards Update  n - High Throughput  r - Fast Roaming  s - Mesh Networking  T - Wireless System Performance  v - Wireless Network Management  w - Secure Management Frames 

WLAN Issues for Education Copyright © 2006 The Regents of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI  Guest Access  Who is a legitimate guest?  What, if any, limitations should be placed on a guest?  Virus Remediation  How to prevent infections from wireless users  Rogue AP’s  One’s rogue is another’s legitimate AP  Is a DoS attack appropriate in Education?  New demands by WLAN users  Indoor / Outdoor / Voice  Shared Media !