skip to main |
skip to sidebar
The best pickpockets create a diversion before they dip and run. They'll bump into you, drop an object nearby, or yell something to catch your attention.
Distracted by the commotion, the extraction proceeds unnoticed. That is until you next reach for your money only to find it's gone missing. Never to be seen again.
This week at Interop Cisco created such a diversion when it announced the availability of a new hardware-based spectrum analyzer. With features remarkably similar to Aruba's recently announced software-based spectrum analyzer - and using words so closely paired to Aruba's that a plagiarist would swoon - Cisco proclaimed that the world at last had a solution for dirty air. The secret: a new line of access points containing - drum roll, please - an embedded ASIC. Did that get your attention?
Now for the dip. In order to get this feature you have to replace your existing access points. If you want clean air everywhere then you have to replace all of the access points in your network. Every single one. Brilliant!
You've got to credit where credit is due. Project "CleanWallet" is really a double-dip - once for new APs and once for the 802.11n APs you only just purchased. Even the Artful Dodger would be impressed.
Silly sods, us. Instead of forcing customers to divvy up cash to replace their access points, our new software-based spectrum analyzer works with all Aruba 802.11n access points, including those already installed. Aruba's spectrum analyzer is feature rich, and includes Fast Fourier Analysis, spectrograms, interference classification, and programmable recording/playback.We don't require any new hardware to make spectrum analysis work, and for customers using our Wireless Intrusion Prevention Module the feature comes for free. Aruba's 802.11n access points are already significantly less expensive than Cisco's, so the entire Wi-Fi system, including spectrum analysis, is easy on your wallet.
If Project "CleanWallet" isn't your thing, give us a call. We'll prove that you don't have to pay through the nose or sacrifice features to get clean air.
The computer science graduate students shuffle into class, taking their assigned seats. The professor opens the lesson by asking if there are any questions about the assigned reading.
A student raises her hand and asks, "We live in such a complex world. How could it possibly have been created in just 7 days." Without a moment's hesitation the professor looks up and responds, "Because there was no installed base – it was a new deployment."
Retrofitting 802.11n Wi-Fi to an existing network requires consideration of a number of factors: switch capacity, cable length, cable capacity, power sources. The last item is especially important during the transition to 802.11n. Many 802.11n access points far exceed the current capability of existing 802.3af Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) sources. Some require an astounding 32 Watts or more, far beyond the capabilities of 802.3af.
Unless you read the fine print in product data sheets you could find yourself exceeding the power delivery capabilities of both power sources and a single Ethernet cable. A Wi-Fi network that was supposed to reduce the cost of IT infrastructure by doing away with unneeded wired ports and switches could instead result in a whopping big bill to replace PoE infrastructure.
The Lessons of Wi-Fi #14: a Wi-Fi network should save money, not waste it. If you have to add supplemental power injectors, especially mid-span power sources, labor and hardware costs will soar. Power-hungry access points and high-current injectors also generate a lot of heat, so you'll incur higher recurring cooling costs. And your carbon footprint will grow.
Aruba's 802.11n access points operate from 802.3af power sources. Always have. In fact, we were the first company to introduce an 802.3af powered 3x3 MIMO access point. The access points also feature a lifetime warranty because the company stands behind what it builds.
As you consider an upgrade to 802.11n, be certain that 802.3af delivers sufficient current to power all of the radios to their full operating mode in every access point. If the data sheet says you need something other than a single 802.3af supply operating over 100m of cable to get full performance, consider yourself warned.
So check out our range of 802.11n access points and leave it to someone else to relearn the lessons of Wi-Fi.
The best pickpockets create a diversion before they dip and run. They'll bump into you, drop an object nearby, or yell something to catch your attention.
Posts
