So you have a remote office and you are thinking of connectivity options - wired or wireless? Wireless sounds impressive but does it really work? Is it truly cost effective? Do you need a wired backup (just in case)?
Network Computing has a column addressing the same questions. They have presented a case study - put out the options and now asking for opinions.
Few things that I noticed in the article as advantages of going wireless over wired are:
- Productivity (pretty obvious)
- Ease of deployments (no cables or jacks)
- Cost effectiveness (really)
- Security (No, I am not kidding. Wireless networks can be secured. Period.)
There are two more points I would like to add to that list:
- Scalability. (Increase employee count? Just add laptops and maybe one more access point!)
- Management (including users, performance, configuration etc.)
There are also various options in deployment i.e. thick or thin. Unified switches are also in the market.
If you would like to know more about wireless deployments, security or management, send me a line here - wifi [at] adventnet [dot] com
Wow! That would be exciting, right? Mr. Shen of Sprint said, ?We believe the Internet will be like air, something you want everywhere you go,? at the Samsung 4G conference.
Available wherever you go. Wireless as fast as the fastest broadband. Is it really possible. Well it already is. There was a NY Times article today on "Wireless Networking May Soon Get Faster. Will Anyone Care?". They already have a prototype being tested in Korea. There are various players involved in this too - Motorola, Samsung, Intel, NTT DoCoMo, Qualcomm, Ericsson and the likes.
Something must come of it. WiMAX or 4G, maybe both... With the kind of money that is going to research for the two, there is no way, any of them is backing down now.
The telecom giant, Motorola is buying Symbol Technologies. Symbol is into enterprise mobility - including wireless infrastructure, RFID and the likes.
You can read more about the takeover here:
http://www.symbol.com/category.php?fileName=Motorola_to_acquire_Symbol.xml
http://www.cellular-news.com/story/19435.php
http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/
WiFi Manager supports 5 different models from Symbol Technologies - 4111, 4131, 4121, 3020, 3021. That means we can configure, monitor and upgrade firmware on these models. Check out the whole list here: http://ap.wifimanager.com.
I wonder if we can claim that we support Motorola now!
We are taking part in the New York version of Interop.
At Jacob K. Javits Center from September 18 - 22, 2006.
Come and check us out at Booth 561. Ask for more information or demo of WiFi Manager.
https://secure.interop.com/fall2006/catalog/displayExhibitor.do?ID=1003
See you there!
Last Friday (15 September), we took part in a wireless conference held in India -
Wireless Tech India 2006 - 3rd International Conference at the Le Meridien, New Delhi
Three of us from AdventNet attended the conference - Sudhakar, Mohan and me. Our partners from Delhi region also joined us there. Our product manager, IC was supposed to speak at the event. But he fell sick and I substituted. Our topic - "WiFi & the Enterprise - Are they ready yet?"
It was great meeting you all there and we hope to meet you more often.
Various topics were covered including spectrum, WiMax, Zigbee, RFID etc. There was a lot of talk on Wimax and how it can even facilitate rural development. Lot of enlightening... did you know that there are hundred different deployments of WiMax in India already?
The conference was arranged by Bharat Exhibitions
Sanity Testing is something I understood today... This is what Wikipedia says, "A sanity test or "smoke test" is a brief run-through of the main functionality of a computer program or other product. It gives a measure of confidence that the system works as expected prior to a more exhaustive round of testing." (The link here)
What does that have to do with this post?
Well we just released WiFi Manager 4.5 after all the testings - stress, performance, detailed, .....sanity included. 
And now it is 3.50 in the morning and if I don't go to bed soon, I may just about lose mine! :shock: Thank God for coffee machines!
You may want to try out the new WiFi Manager. Download it here. Highly recommended!
The patch to upgrade from 4.2.1 to 4.3 is available. If you would like to get this patch and if you are running 4.2.1 (Build 4210 and Build 4211), please send us an email to support@wifimanager.com. We will send you instructions on how you can access this patch.
To check your build, open WiFi Manager Web Client. Click on ?About? link on the top right corner. The Build Number will be listed in the new window.
Thank you.
Let me show you how -
1. Click on the Inventory tab in WiFi Manager.
2. Rogue Access Points are detected by the 
symbol next to the "Name". Click on the Rogue Access Point, you want to block and you will get the following screen.
3. Scroll down to "Connected to Switch Port". There is a link called [Block AP], right next to the port number.
Click and voila!, you blocked that Rogue Access Point.
It couldn't get easier than this!
Please note: You will need to provide the correct "write community" for the switch to which the access point is connected.
WiFi Manager 4.3 supports more than 70 models of access points from 17 vendors. If you would like to check whether your model is supported, go to
We have segregated the level of support that WiFi Manager provides for the various models -
1. Monitoring
2. Configuration
3. Firmware Upgrade
The ticks confirm that WiFi Manager supports all three features for those models of APs. The crosses against certain access points (for configuration and Firmware Upgrade) means that those access points do not support those features. WiFi Manager, in most cases, is limited to the extent to which the device allows it.
We are also adding support for newer models of access points daily. If you would like to add your device to that list, you can use the "Request New AP Support" link from the Support tab in WiFi Manager.
After a flurry of activity through the day (and night), we have finally made it. ManageEngine WiFi Manager4.3 is hot off the press and ready for download.
The download link is http://manageengine.adventnet.com/products/wifi-manager/download.html
Key feature highlights in the new release:
- Support for 20 more access point models.
- Comprehensive support for Nomadix gateways and devices behind them.
- Support for backup, restore and repair database.
- SSH Support
Check our website for the complete list at:
http://manageengine.adventnet.com/products/wifi-manager/release-feature.html
Our Integration, Webmaster and Sys Admin teams were there when we needed them (and that also meant at 3 A.M.)
I want to write more but we are off for a dinner out. Maybe next time, I can let you in on some team experiences during the release.
Corp