The new standard for wi-fi – 802.11ac is all set to revolutionise the way wireless networks function. The question that remains unanswered is has wi-fi moved out of enterprise boardrooms? by Pupul Dutta
Till now wireless LAN was looked upon as an alternative to wired connection that would come handy only while travelling. However, things are fast changing now with significant improvements in the number and variety of clients supported by an access point (AP), which has made the experience for everyone better since more bandwidth is now being made available for a higher number of parallel video streams.
The new standard 802.11ac promises to achieve all the speed by pushing on three different dimensions like more channel bonding, denser modulation and multiple input and output.
According to Ericsson Traffic and Market Report, the number of mobile broadband subscriptions globally have reached close to one billion, and is predicted to reach five billion in 2017.
However, despite all the developments, the question that arises often is has wi-fi moved beyond boardrooms? The answer then is that the corporates have done smart partitioning, meaning most corporate wireless networks today run on two different networks a secure wi-fi network for corporate devices and an open wi-fi network for visitor devices. It is important for corporates to select the appropriate BYOD plan in deciding whether employee-owned devices should be allowed to connect to the existing secure corporate network, or if they should be provided with an alternate secure network.
The prime reason for some holding back is the security aspect. CIOs today are still apprehensive about the security of their network and also with the fast catching up trend of BYOD, it has become all the more a grave issue.
Beyond boardrooms
With the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology gearing up for a better broadband connectivity in its National Broadband Plan, the country is all set to witness a major turn around in the coming few years. The ensuing battle for market share currently on in the mobile space is likely to spill over into broadband as a nation starved for connectivity will begin network roll outs. Over the next few years, it is expected that this will create a new digital India with ubiquitous broadband connectivity, both wireless and wired, teeming with an always-connectedyoung generation that is mobile and empowered. At the forefront of this transformation will be a familiar wireless broadband technology wi-fi.
According to industry experts, starting from year 2010, enterprises started implementing wi-fi network in their offices as they realised the importance of the technology. Companies can create a corporate wi-fi network where employees can securely connect their various devices, including laptop computers, smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices. Setting up policies and security keys of secure wi-fi networks that a company would want users to connect to may include corporate wi-fi networks worldwide. Once users bring their devices into the work environment, it will then detect and connect to the network, without needing the user? intervention.
This is ideal as it enables users to be on the corporate wi-fi network whenever available. When users move out of reach of the wi-fi network, their devices fall back to the carrier network,explained Sunil Lalvani Director, Enterprise Sales, RIM India.
Akhilesh Tuteja, Executive Director, IT Advisory Services, KPMG further explained that the trend is picking up more in SMBs as it works out far cheaper than the wired broadband. ?ajority of the companies today put the infrastructure for wi-fi right at the time of the construction of the building,he said.
Security concerns
It is a common misconception that with wi-fi, enterprises need to erect extra walls of security. This however, does not hold true as most analysts believe that with better IT policies all sorts of breaches can be prevented.
Security is of paramount importance for corporates and network and internet access mobile devices without taking requisite security can pose huge risks. It is important for companies to have robust security architecture and with the latest BYOD trend IT managers are looking at efficient ways to provide such devices secure access and eliminate security threats. IT administrators must be able to identify employee owned or corporate devices and differentiate network access privileges for each type of device. Having control over the granular details of the network resources is a key component in eliminating potential security risks while ensuring good network performance and sufficient capacity.
Having said that, most of the time endpoint devices identify wireless networks using a service set identifier (SSID) along with a set of security parameters. Hence, on most wireless deployments, the SSID is broadcast from the access points (AP) allowing the clients the ability to easily associate. It is possible to not broadcast the SSID which provides a little protection from those wireless network attackers with little operating knowledge; however for an experienced wireless attacker this is not a very effective security measure.
Another threat which always looms large on wireless networks in enterprises is the problem of configuration that is often the cause of many vulnerabilities. This is because many consumers/SOHO grade access points ship with no security configuration. A novice user can set up one of these devices quickly and gain access. However they also open up their network to external use without further configuration.
In summary, the nature of a wireless network is to provide easy access to end users, but this ease of access also creates a more open attack surface. Unlike in a wired network wherein an attacker is required to physically access part of the network, a wireless network only requires that the attacker be in close proximity. The best attitude to take towards wireless security is to be constantly vigilant; ensuring that the security used on a wireless network is adapted as the standards change to ensure a high level of security.
Managing usage
With wireless networks enterprises have to be careful not just about security, but also about managing reckless usage. It is believed that many times the quality of service slows down if one or two people start downloading heavy files, which may not even be official. Hence, bandwith consumption assumes importance in commercial establishments like hotels, offices etc. ?or managing consumption among employees, we have models where the establishment provides a service to the end customer and the service provider enters into a revenue share model with the establishment. This brings down infrastructure start-up costs while providing end customers with different levels of service depending on need and ability to pay,said Rao of Extreme Networks.
Tuteja of KPMG opines that organisations should control the usage by approving the devices that can be used on the network. ?n this way not just an enterprise prevents misuse but also ensures no new, unidentified devices are used,” he said.
Sectors driving growth
The enterprise market in India has been one of the primary consumers of wi-fi owing to its dense concentration of mobile computer users which has enabled and continued its positive growth story. According to experts, enterprise wi-fi networks have now become the norm in large organisations, considering that they were earlier used primarily to complement wired networks, and in some cases for building-to-building connectivity. Finally, the consumption of wi-fi enabled devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops etc.) has considerably shot-up in both SMB and large enterprises in recent years and continues to drive wireless traffic.
Yedunandan of Cisco on the other hand believes that it is the IteS and education which has been driving the growth of wireless networks. Hospitality industry too has been big adopter of wi-fi with almost all the hotels and restaurants offering juicy deals on wi-fi to their customers.
Lately, SMBs in order to save cost of laying down infrastructure for wired broadband has been adopting wireless network in a big way. ? majority of SMBs today while constructing their offices install wi-fi network so as to save costs as well as to have better connectivity across the entire perimeter of the premises,noted Tuteja.
Challenges
Despite all the advancements, wi-fi is still faced with some very serious challenges like: physical connectivity issues wherein either there is a limitation of wireless signals or the building may be such that would prevent free flow of strong signals.
On the technology front enterprises are often pitched against connectivity issues where they are unable to connect with supportable technologies for smartphones, PDAs, tablets etc. Meeting user demand, constricted bandwidth, lack of network segmentation etc are some of the other issues plaguing this particular technology.
Future trends
Many IT departments today are faced with the need to connect personal devices via wi-fi (or wired Ethernet) to the corporate infrastructure so that employees can have complete access to specific services. In fact, according to a recent IDC report, the growth in BYOD is driving corporates to update and increase the capacity of their wi-fi networks, thanks to more employees using their own smartphones, laptops and tablets at the workplace. Moreover, as mobile users prefer using wi-fi as opposed to 3G networks, companies have also had to update networks to handle additional demand from business visitors. The report also indicates that the momentum for BYOD will only increase further, ensuring that the market for wi-fi devices and solutions will witness continued traction.
Moving forward, one needs to understand that wi-fi is not new to India and is deployed in enterprises, campuses and SOHO sectors. Indian enterprise wi-fi market is on track for a huge growth curve which is being triggered by an increased usage of wi-fi enabled devices in the workplace coupled with IT exposure to emerging sectors in the country. The necessary market drivers are in place to propel the growth, development and deployment of wi-fi into a mainstream technology across the country.
Starting 2012, it is expected that higher throughput will evolve and there will also be ease of configuration allowing lot more ease for users/employees. Security too is expected to become stronger with the new standard – 802.11ac evolving.
“The next evolution of wi-fi standard 802.11ac promises faster wireless connection speed and higher data transfer rate than its predecessor, and will boost video distribution and uploading and downloading of large files. However, it will not replace Ethernet completely due to the lower cost of wired connections,” said Yedunandan of Cisco.
He further explained that with the evolution of this new technology, the new wireless flavour will offer speeds surpassing one gigabit per second, almost three times that of 802.11n. It also promises to provide better coverage throughout with fewer dead spots.
To sum it up, enterprises are racing to upgrade their infrastructure to support the wave of wireless devices hitting their networks,explains Tuteja of KPMG. ?hile the bulk of expenditures still goes toward wired Ethernet switches, and will for some time to come, the growth is coming from wireless networking gear, up 24% in 2011, compared to flat sales for Ethernet switches,he said.