Should You Go Wi-Fi? Tips for Making Your Business Wireless
by Larry Slusser on April 2nd, 2008
You are considering going wireless in your organization giving you and your staff more flexibility. However, you are not sure how to go about implementing Wi-Fi in your organization. Below are some tips to keep in mind when researching the equipment ensuring that your organization will be secure with the flow of information.
There are certain alphanumeric standards that you to know when researching Wi-Fi, which are 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11i, and 802.11n. It is important to know that 802.11i is a security standard and the rest are networking standards. Moreover, 802.11a is the only one that runs on 5 GHz frequency, while the rest run on 2.4 GHz frequencies, which if you have Bluetooth devices, cordless phones and microwaves in your office, these can interfere with it.
Unfortunately, the 802.11a is not compatible with other Wi-Fi operating systems. Thus, if you plan on using your laptop outside of your organization, then the card will become a liability. Thus it would be best to consider the other alphanumeric standards, such as 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, even though they run the risk of frequency interference.
When you are ready to purchase your wireless equipment, you will need to designate a place for the wireless access point, which will be connected via an Ethernet cable to any port in your network. Then you will need to ensure that all laptops have a wireless card installed. You will need to know the number of access points, such as having an access point every 150 feet indoors, etc.
If you have a smaller office, using the 802.11g equipment may be all that is required to ensure that everyone can work effectively. It is important to note though that the system will not run faster through the internet than your web connection. If you have salespeople who work on the road, it will be important to have 802.11g equipped on the laptops. This will allow them to work at commercial hot spots.
Additionally, when you buy your equipment, ensure that it is Wi-Fi certified-that it will work with other certified equipment. Always check out the product you are purchasing to ensure that you are getting what you need.
Third, security is very important to remember as well. Working with wireless equipment will allow your information to be sent without any security risks. If you have an unsecured wireless network, then your information is not secure and open for the taking. A secure network will send the data encrypted to ensure that it cannot be stolen.
Last, when you have purchased all the equipment you can put it all together in a matter of minutes. The only thing to remember is that the equipment is compatible and your server is secure.