7 steps to build a better and faster wireless network

7 steps to build a better and faster wireless network

The goal of wireless networks is always to connect users to the Internet. If we look forward to the wireless networks around us in the next few years, this has not changed. However, wireless networks have become very large, which we cannot imagine when installing 802.11b networks.

As early as that time, design was very important, but it was easy to think back. With the entry of 802.11ac Wave 2 into the wireless field, we are at this stage: the meaning of the wireless LAN is completely different from that of the sun. As many enterprises continue to accept and rely on the advantages brought about by wireless LAN, commercial wireless networks are becoming increasingly important. At the same time, a more stable and reliable wireless network itself is more complicated. A lot of problems need to be considered when building and making it run at the highest speed.

The primary task of a network is to connect devices and use applications. As more types of devices and applications enter the wireless field, the quality of network design is crucial. Using more and smaller cell networks to meet the needs of more devices, this trend is becoming increasingly popular in the enterprise environment. As 802.11ac Wave 1 moves to Wave 2 and the current 11n environment is switched to the highest performance thanks to the latest standard, it is worth mentioning that if many access points and a large number of client devices are involved, successful wireless design is not easy.

When carefully designing a wireless environment, you must take into account every object that it clearly serves. In addition, as the wireless LAN becomes more and more important, there is still room for expanding new clients and access points in the future. If you are perfunctory or make a bad choice in this process, and then place more services on the unstable network, the high-end 802.11ac Wave 2 network you plan to build will surely be disappointing.

1. Understand requirements

The best wireless networks are designed (or improved) by skilled employees using excellent tools. The successful Wireless LAN design is derived from the rational analysis of the specific needs of a specific environment, and takes into account the unknown factors brought about by the rapidly changing client environment, this environment is subject to the Internet of Things and built-in devices (BYOD) and other unclear factors. Obtaining a good design from sometimes vague needs is sometimes both an art and a skill, but understanding the needs is essential. Only in this way can we determine the appropriate hardware combination and Access Point deployment location, in order to achieve the design that has been verified to meet the enterprise's objectives.

Your enterprise strengths and organizational structure should be related to your wireless LAN Solution. As a common element of each wireless solution, system maintenance and updates, client troubleshooting and reporting are required. All this can be done by internal staff, value-added dealers (VAR), or both. Before you build the next version of the wireless environment, you must clearly define your own needs to make a lot of complicated decisions to build the next generation of wireless networks.

2. Start with reliable design

In terms of the basic Wireless LAN design, there must be a way to ensure consistency. I use the Cisco VoIP for WLAN basic guidelines and the Ekahau Site Survey program as the basis for design. Strive for 5 GHz wall-to-wall signal strength and high quality as a benchmark, and then take into account the customer density based on the estimated number of users and devices, and take into account the applications that users and devices need to run. Then, we can leave room for an increase of 25%. I have greatly simplified this process, but this is the starting point for reliable design. If you do not want to work on your own, you need to invite experienced design partners.

Iii. Scale is very important

Although all wireless environments share the same purpose: to provide good connections to any service used on the network, the actual situation becomes more complex for large wireless LAN networks of different sizes. If a medium-sized environment includes dozens of access points and hundreds of clients, it is subject to different operating constraints from an environment with only one or two access points, or an environment with thousands of access points and hundreds of client devices. If you need to change the network, a smaller wireless environment is generally easier to recover from poor system selection or system defects than a larger wireless environment.

During system construction, the number of switch ports, Ethernet power supply budget, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) policies, and even the number of cables pulled to each 11ac access point must be considered during system construction. These seem common, but it is important to build networks for large campuses.

4. select an appropriate system

Wireless Networks must run smoothly before they can support enterprise operations. However, when clients happily connect to the edge of the network, enterprises must endure the backend problems they bring. The continued investment in the wireless LAN raised the question of the choice of solutions to the basic goal of the total cost of ownership and the basic goal of providing reliable access services. We should not only do a good job in daily management of Wireless LAN, but also ensure the reliability of client access. To this end, we need to make some important choices, which will determine the success or failure of the system in the future.

For example, do you want to take care of the server, maintain your own network management system (NMS), or would you rather unload this part to the cloud? Do you really need the numerous features promised by the Controller-based wireless LAN, or do you prefer to discard the burden that the controller brings to the Administrator and favor cloud management access points and a series of simplified system functions?

Once you have decided on these important strategic fundamentals, you need to make an assessment before purchasing the product to ensure that you have reasonable functional features, troubleshooting functions, and management options that meet your needs.

5. Integration considerations

In addition to network Scope Design and basic system building, we also need to carefully review any new wireless LAN: How it is integrated with other systems of the enterprise. Wireless Access is rarely the ultimate goal in this regard. We are increasingly finding that the previously completely isolated network functions have become the option of closely integrated basic Wireless LAN systems, this system can reshape most of the network infrastructure.

For example, many of us run independent RADIUS environments, Traffic Shaping hardware devices, enterprise firewalls, and Independent Visitor user services. All these and more components/components have become an integral part of wireless systems, big and small. In my own environment, I moved the Traffic Shaping task from products from vendors such as Packeteer and Palo Alto Networks to Cisco wireless controllers.

In my branch, visitors used to access the primary network all the way, but now they are locally accessing the access points managed on the cloud. The ClearPass suite of Aruba Networks is a NAC + solution with the features of onboarding, visitor access, and other on-demand purchase licenses, these features can disable a whole batch of old-fashioned features for those Aruba customers who choose this path. You will notice that all these examples are beyond the scope of the actual Wireless Access Service in the wireless network environment, but it is expected to redefine many key network functions.

Remember that when you select the option required to improve the wireless LAN, you do not have to be bound by the same vendor that originally provided the Access Point or cloud management service. For example, finding the best vro access and RADIUS services of the same type is not as convenient as sticking to the same vendor.

6. Consider social and other impacts

The development of wireless networks over the past decade is quietly different from that of Ethernet. Ethernet greatly improves bandwidth. There is no dispute over Ethernet, and it is not very difficult to design it. The same VoIP that runs smoothly on the standard Gigabit Ethernet link requires a well-designed wireless network. However, due to the interference of the wireless network, the design is still very fragile.

Sometimes wireless is a topic of political and industrial soap opera. From Marriott Hotel litigation to Global Star's ground-based Low-Power Service (TLPS) and social wireless network ethics, wireless LAN is closely related to other technical stories. Those who are connected to the enterprise's wireless LAN need both technical expertise and a clear awareness of civil rights and political climate, because when we consider building the latest network, the wireless LAN will affect the RF spectrum.

VII. Planning for the future

The Internet of Things is approaching. Recently, people are infatuated with location services using wireless and Bluetooth, and more new consumer devices want to use our wireless network, although they are not intended for use by enterprises. Software Defined Network (SDN) wants to play a role in a wireless LAN, and each of us must determine when to open the door for SDN. If we do not realize or accept this, the new wireless network will suffer.

Looking forward to the future, better skills, tools, product combinations, and client design are required to design Wireless LAN. However, as far as building a new wireless network is concerned, the most important element is a smart mind, which not only understands the related complexity, but also can gain insight into the next trend related to the wireless network, such trends are always close at hand.