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networking

Wireless Networks and the Mobile ICT Classroom

3Com

Wireless Networking

Wireless networks have proven their ability to deliver increased productivity, convenience and freedom of movement to schools ICT. However, managing wireless networks can often been time-consuming and cumbersome, especially in large environments. Traditionally, wireless networks have consisted of standalone access points (AP’s) servicing groups of wireless users. While these AP’s have some security and local management capabilities, they lack the capability to track users, manage bandwidth performance, or control security policies across the network. Furthermore, each AP must be configured separately. As a result, wireless networks are often less secure, more complicated to use, and more costly to maintain than they could be.

3Com wireless switching

Wireless switching is a breakthrough technology that brings real benefits to networks of any size by addressing the limitations of larger-scale wireless networks. Wireless switching makes large-scale, cost effective, secure wireless deployments possible for the first time because it brings strong centralised control, user-based management, scalability, and network-wide security policy enforcement capabilities to the wireless infrastructure.

While current wireless networks are appropriate for home and small office installation environments requiring single AP’s, schools should consider taking the next step and deploying a wireless switching solution if their network contains AP’s in sufficient numbers that management becomes an issue.

RF Planning

When considering a wireless network a number of factors need to be identified.

Total number of clients requiring wireless access.
Maximum number of wireless clients requiring access at any one time.
The proximity of wireless clients.
RF Interference from external sources, i.e. Local houses, businesses etc…
Wireless equipment to be used and what wireless standards they can operate on.
Security and encryption requirements.

It is vital that before installing a wireless infrastructure great care is taken in the placement of access points. This will usually involve carrying out a wireless survey, signal strength testing and discussing the number of clients etc… These steps are crucial because access points operate on 1 of 3 channels in the case of the 802.11g standard (1, 6 and 11). In order for the wireless infrastructure to work effectively and efficiently no access point must be in range of another access operating on the same channel number.

Benefits of 3Com Wireless Switching

Centralised management of all access points
Automatic client load balancing across multiple access points – Ensures performance is optimised to all clients
Automatic RF power level – Ensures access points operating on the same channel don’t overlap their coverage
Automatic channel assignment – Ensure no access point share the same channel number