How can we help enterprises improve the Wi-Fi performance of Wireless LAN ?, Wireless LAN wifi

How can we help enterprises improve the Wi-Fi performance of Wireless LAN ?, Wireless LAN wifi

Assuming that your company does not have any funds to upgrade the wireless LAN in its 2018 budget process, it means you need at least one year to manage your existing Wi-Fi infrastructure. Although it is much easier to use the most advanced access point to "remove and replace" the aging Wireless LAN, it will produce a large cost.

At the same time, the overload of WLAN continues to increase, the number of devices it must support is soaring, and users' expectations for seamless Wi-Fi performance are getting higher and higher, enterprise Mobile demand is also increasing. Fortunately, there are many ways to use the existing WLAN architecture to quickly improve Wi-Fi performance. Moreover, these technologies are not expensive, and most of them require time and effort rather than capital investment.

If we try one or more of the Wi-Fi improvement techniques mentioned below, we may find that the existing hardware does support the increasing wireless demand until the next budget cycle. Next, let's take a look at what can help improve the Wi-Fi performance of Enterprise WLAN.

Disable 802.11b Data Rate

In 2018, it was safe to assume that wireless devices running on your network have at least 802.11g capability. Even so, there are still many networks that allow the data rate of 802.11b, which may greatly reduce the speed of other devices connected in the 2.4 GHz band. In enterprise-level Wi-Fi hardware, it is easy to disable the 802.11b data rate. This will force wireless clients to connect at a speed of 802.11g or higher, and eliminate other bandwidth waste.

Identify and eliminate Wireless Interference

Next, to improve Wi-Fi performance, we should identify and eliminate Wireless Interference as much as possible. At this time, the Wi-Fi spectrum analyzer will be used. The spectrum analyzer can scan 802.11 GHz for 2.4 Wi-Fi operation and transmit frequencies within 5 GHz. Some vendors can turn their wireless access points into spectrum analyzers and install special software on their laptops or tablets.

No matter what method you choose, the target should be to determine the location where interference occurs and determine its source. In many cases, interference is caused by microwave ovens, cordless phones, security cameras, or faulty Bluetooth devices. Another common problem is that the commercial environment around Wi-Fi can interfere with your space. Sometimes it is possible to completely eliminate the interference source. In other cases, the more feasible method is to find an area in the 802.11 band and then manually set the corresponding channel. In both cases, low interference increases the efficiency and speed of users.

Reposition a Wireless Access Point

The location of the Mobile Wireless Access Point can make the performance of the wireless LAN different. Wireless signals may be reflected, absorbed, or cannot penetrate some physical material between the Wireless Access Point and the end user at all. Locating an access point can also help reduce the corners of important areas. Of course, you can simply move the wireless access point on the ceiling and have the best hopes. A better way is to do a Wi-Fi site survey, which will tell you where there are blind spots and interference. With this information, you can more appropriately relocate the Wireless Access Point and expect better results.

Manage user and application Throughput

As the number of wireless devices increases, more data is competing for limited Wi-Fi bandwidth. However, there are some ways to prioritize user and application data so as to access some wireless data streams rather than other data streams. For example, if your enterprise adopts a loose BYOD policy, do not place your personal device on the company network. This not only poses a security threat, but also makes it more difficult to distinguish between wireless data in key tasks and video transmission by employees. If possible, create a BYOD or guest SSID and speed limit based on each SSID or each user connection. In this way, you limit the maximum throughput of non-important data transmission, thus releasing most of the bandwidth for business purposes.

In addition, security tools on the network (the following generation firewall) can check the Internet network traffic at the application layer and limit the maximum throughput in this way. Then, policies can be created to form traffic or block application types, such as social networks, point-to-point, game, and streaming media.

Band Control

Many wireless manufacturers provide customers with band control functions. In essence, wireless terminal devices are less likely to be connected to 5 GHz Wireless Interference, which is particularly effective in urban environments with neighboring Wi-Fi interference becoming a major problem. Although some people think that turning to the manufacturer is a reality, it is indeed useful in many environments.

Channel binding

Finally, you can choose to bind channels to improve performance for users who are trying to provide similar wired speeds through Wi-Fi. Channel binding basically combines two, four, or even eight channels. Therefore, communication between Wi-Fi devices and wireless access points can use a wider spectrum to increase throughput by multiple times.

But remember that channel binding introduces more Channel Interference opportunities. For example, a 40 MHz bonded channel can be created within the GHz range, which significantly increases the chance of interference. This is why channel binding is rarely recommended.

However, in the 5 GHz range, channel binding can be performed based on the amount of interference surrounding to create a 40 or 80 MHz channel. Remember, the more channels you bind, the fewer available non-overlapping channels. Although the MHz channel is technically feasible, interference similar to bundling 40 MHz channels in the GHz spectrum may occur.