June 01, 2011, 10:04 AM — All too many businesses start a wireless network by installing Wi-Fi the same way you would at home. They will buy a low-end, consumer-grade access point from a Linksys, D-Link, or Buffalo Technology and put it in a common area, such as a conference room. Just like that, potentially for less than $100, you have a wireless network that is convenient for your employees and guests to use. You saved a bundle, but it's a big mistake.
Let's assume you have enough technical savvy to deploy the WAP (wireless access point) properly and transmit on a channel in which there is limited interference. If not, you could create a self-inflicted denial of service by choosing a frequency currently being used by your secretary's cordless phone. Because cordless phones often transmit on the same 2.4GHz or 5GHz frequencies need for Wi-Fi, your browser may time out or your email stop every time someone calls the secretary -- and now you know why.
[ Also on InfoWorld: Meraki Enterprise Cloud Controller is a fantastic, cloud-managed wireless LAN solution | Netgear ProSafe wireless LAN system is also a first-rate solution for small and mid-sized networks, as long as you don't need first-rate technical support ]
But let's assume you were smart enough to avoid that. Let's assume you also know to enable best security practices such as using WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2), because if you botch the security you may have an even bigger problem on your hands. Choosing weak encryption/authentication, or none whatsoever, is an open invitation to the bad guys and a security breach.
If you've passed the deployment and security configuration tests, congratulations, but you're far from home free. These are just the beginning of the issues a business will trip over if it chooses to rely on consumer-grade gear.
Wireless LANs: Consuming questions What happens when you have a guest or customer who needs to check his email and asks to use your Wi-Fi? Will your consumer-grade access point have the capability to run a simultaneous SSID (service set identifier) and 802.1q to isolate the guest traffic from your business traffic? Will your consumer-grade solution have a guest Web portal that supports a variety of operating systems -- and devices such as Android, Apple iOS, and BlackBerry smartphones and tablets? Even if it does, who at your organization will know how to set this up properly?
Who at your organization will know what to do when your neighbor installs his WLAN on the same frequency, or when a cordless phone, Bluetooth device, or security camera interferes with your network? Will your consumer-grade WAP vendor provide firmware upgrades to fix the latest security issues? Will your consumer-grade WAP need to be rebooted three times a day, because it crashes whenever more than five people try to use it at the same time? What happens when the wireless network grows to five or ten access points? How will they all be managed? How will you manage network accounts? Will they be integrated into your wired network?
These are the types of questions that any business needs to think about as they grow a wireless network. The consumer-grade solution is like eating a Pop-Tart for dinner. You get an immediate sugar high, but the lack of sustenance will eventually catch up with you. Weeks and months down the road, your company will be less fit because you have installed a solution that is lacking the management, security, usability, reliability, and scalability features found in business-grade equipment. But all is not lost. We have a couple of affordable solutions to recommend.
We recently tested two good WLAN systems that would allow a small business to move into an enterprise-grade solution without paying an enterprise price. The Meraki Enterprise Cloud Controller combines a full-featured WAP ($649) with a pay-as-you-go, Web-hosted management system (starting at $150 per WAP per year) that effectively outsources the most painful aspects of WLAN deployment and maintenance. The Netgear ProSafe WLAN system is more traditional, combining a WAP ($300) and an on-premises controller ($600) that have the features businesses need at a bargain-basement price.
