Three features describe the performance of the wireless Switch

The use of wireless switches brings more convenience to enterprises. Its performance makes enterprise network management easier and more systematic. Let me study the three advantages of wireless switches. I hope this article will help you understand the features of the wireless switch.

The problem is that managing multiple access points is an insurmountable situation for networks that may involve hundreds or thousands of access points. In this case, a new product-WLAN switch emerged. Many network companies that have studied Ethernet and switch technologies are investing heavily in research and development of wireless switches. Wireless exchange not only improves the manageability, security, and deployment capabilities of wireless networks, but also reduces network costs. This has become a new trend in the wireless LAN field.

The traditional enterprise-level wireless LAN adopts the two-level Ethernet switch + enterprise-level AP mode, which enables bridging between the wireless LAN and the wired network. The wireless part of the entire network is composed of an AP-centered coverage area. These regions work independently. As the central node of the region, the AP undertakes data receiving, forwarding, filtering, and encryption, and client access, disconnection, and authentication tasks. All management work, such as channel management and security settings, must be performed separately for each AP. When the enterprise's wireless LAN is large, it becomes a heavy burden on network administrators.

The new wireless switch solves this problem through centralized management and simplified AP. In this architecture, the wireless Switch replaces the location of the original L2 Switch, And the lightweight AP (Light-WeightAP) (also called Intelligent Antenna IntelligentAntenna) replaces the original enterprise-level AP. In this way, security, mobility, QoS, and other features can be centrally managed throughout the enterprise.

Although a wireless switch is connected to an AP in a similar way as a common switch. However, in terms of processing 802.11 frames, it is different from the traditional method: instead of converting 802.11 frames into Ethernet frames, it encapsulates them into 802.3 frames and then transmits them to a wireless switch through a dedicated tunnel. From the perspective of the wired network, the wireless switch + lightweight AP is more like an enhanced AP that extends many external antennas. The advantages of a wireless switch are as follows:

1. Higher security

The application of the wireless switch makes the network administrator more flexible when mixing and matching the security performance of users, without the need to upgrade or reconfigure the AP. Security performance includes 802.1x, WEP, TKI protocol, and AES, including layer-2 authentication and encryption to layer-2 VPN security mechanism.

Wireless LAN switching technology can also prevent illegal access point intrusion. The traditional switch + enterprise AP method cannot control illegal AP access, and it is also very troublesome to check illegal AP access. When a wireless switch is used, when an illegal access point is connected to the network, the wireless LAN switch verifies whether it allows devices or users. If the switch determines that the device is illegal, it will disable the illegal access point and automatically trigger an alarm.

2. lower TCO

Traditional switch + enterprise-level AP solutions, because the modulation of wireless signals, data forwarding, security control, and remote management and processing are distributed, each AP requires considerable processing capabilities; for the wireless switch + lightweight AP solution, because all the processing capabilities are concentrated on one wireless switch, the distributed lightweight AP is only a very simple controlled device, it is only responsible for sending and receiving wireless signals, so there is no need for strong processing capabilities, which greatly reduces costs. In this way, the cost of the entire Wireless LAN is greatly reduced.

On the other hand, a wireless switch can automatically update the firmware or configurations of a lightweight AP when it is enabled, the administrator needs to upgrade or update the firmware one by one, which greatly reduces the repetitive labor intensity and management expenses.

3. More efficient management

The wireless switch dynamically adjusts parameters such as bandwidth, access control, QoS, and mobile users through real-time monitoring of space, network growth, and user density, and thus becomes the brain of the wireless LAN system. A wireless switch can dynamically and intelligently adjust the channel and power of a lightweight AP. This breakthrough technology is unique. For example, when a lightweight AP fails, the wireless LAN switch automatically detects the failure point and guides the nearby lightweight AP to adjust the power and channel settings for compensation. When a new AP is added, the wireless switch can automatically detect, upload appropriate power and channel settings, adjust the channel of the nearby AP, and reduce its power to avoid conflict. When an AP is started, the wireless switch can intelligently determine its firmware version. If necessary, a new version is pushed to automatically upgrade the AP. Because a wireless switch is a dedicated system, a dedicated tunnel protocol and Management Protocol are required between the AP and the switch. Therefore, a lightweight AP of the same manufacturer is required for use, systems of different vendors are often incompatible. However, a standard protocol for wireless switches is being drafted. Its core is the Lightweight Access Point Protocol (LWAPP, Light-weightAccessPointProtocol), which regulates the configuration information between switches and APs, to achieve interconnection between WLAN switches and APS of different manufacturers. We believe that in the near future, wireless switches will become the standard configuration for enterprise wireless LAN.

ExtremeNetworks, one of the members of the Hi-Fi alliance, recently announced the launch of its first product for the latest integrated wired and wireless network access structure: Summit300-48, this is the only wired and wireless network integrated switch in the industry. It provides Ethernet processing capability and Altitude300 wireless port. At present, many manufacturers adopt the WLAN method of placing a wireless switch in front of the second or third-layer switch when developing WLAN products. Although this method is correct in the direction, that is, centralized control of wireless network management, but this method has many drawbacks, the two systems that coexist at the same time need more cost for maintenance, the IT department still has to deploy, manage, and upgrade two network silos, one for wireless devices and the other for wired Ethernet. Many enterprises have postponed the adoption of wireless networks for the market because they have been facing the burden of deploying, protecting, and operating two isolated wired and wireless access networks.