A wired network has long been considered a standard feature in any organisation, big or small and medium enterprise (SME), offering speed, reliability and security that could not be matched by any wireless solution.

Until recently, wireless networks could easily be accessed by people outside an organisation and it was more appealing to protect network access simply by preventing anyone physically hooking into a plug in the wall.  

Speed was also an issue. In the early days of wireless, networks operated at one or two megabits per second and there was a constant battle to establish a reliable wireless connection. This was compared to a stable 125 megabits per second offered by wired solutions at the time.

Today only around 20% of the workforce is deskbound, and wireless technology delivers up to 300 megabits per second.  Many workers now require portable technology in the form of laptops, PDAs and mobile phones to do their job. In addition, many executives are bringing personal devices such as tablet computers to work and requesting their connection. With a device such as the iPad that is without an Ethernet port, this connection must be wireless. These devices all need wireless internet access, and Wireless LAN (WLAN) technology, (Wi-Fi), was developed to do just that. Wi-Fi is now a mature technology, able to solve enterprise mobility requirements and offer significant cost savings.

Issues on the wire

There are several downsides to a wired solution including the high cost of infrastructure, lack of security and mobility.

Cost of infrastructure
Up to four ports at each desk, and the associated cable runs and switches the ports require, drive up infrastructure costs. Since Ethernet terminations are fixed and users move around, there are sometimes considerably more edge ports than users. Once the implementation is complete the network is then often underutilised and moving ports is costly.  Maintenance and management of these ports and the subsequent switches is an unnecessary cost for many organisations.

IT managers can audit these ports via physical inspection or a software monitoring application to determine how many are being utilised regularly. Unused ports can be disconnected, switches can be consolidated, and a right-sized wireless solution using a very small number of ports between many users can provide a better and more cost effective solution overall.

Security
While security was a weak link in the early days of WLANs, these issues have been addressed so effectively that it could be easily argued that wireless networks are more secure than wired networks.

The wired network has no visibility into who or what is plugging into it, and it cannot follow a user to deliver consistent user experience and security policies. Wired network security is set up as a perimeter and so once inside the office, users are wrongly assumed to be “safe” to access the network, and security is applied based on the port into which someone plugs their PC. To combat this, ports may need to be reconfigured to the guest VLAN to allow that PC to plug in without worry of viruses or worms propagating onto the network.

IEEE 802.1x, an IEEE standard for port based network access control, can address some of these security concerns, but it is insufficient for complete identity-based security and has proven costly when adapting to an existing wired LAN.

Mobility
By definition, the existing fixed, or wired, network cannot meet the need for mobility. It is inflexible. As workforce mobility continues to grow, and an increasing number of industries require wireless to do complete their job function (such as hospitals, schools and universities) the expectation is that networks will become predominantly wireless.

Why wireless? Why now?

Reduced capital, operational and management cost
In determining ROI, one can and should consider the increased productivity of a more flexible workforce. However, since that can be difficult to quantify, it’s worth looking just at the associated capital, installation and support costs.

The installation of a wireless solution has shown to provide up to 88% cost savings on capital and support costs, the cost of moves/additions/changes is virtually eliminated with an all wireless edge as the network seamlessly supports users who are presumed to be moving continuously.

Increased security
WLANs are now protected with very strong authentication and encryption technology, and they are able to identify and apply security policies based on who the user is, what type of device it is, how it is authenticating, when and where it is connecting, and more. Some mobility controllers also integrate policy enforcement firewalls, enabling them to implement role-based access control, tying users to policies and roles defined in directory services.

Convergence and voice mobility
Mobile workers need to take their computers with them as they move about, which requires that their phone is “mobilised” as well. Voice over Wi-Fi (Vo-Fi) implementations can deliver both internal phone system functionality and user mobility.

Greater resilience and manageability
Today’s WLANs are usually built using a centralised architecture comprising a mobility controller and thin access points (APs). Thin APs simply provide Wi-Fi access and monitor the air for intrusion; all the intelligence and security is offloaded to the mobility controller. The entire WLAN can be managed from a single mobility controller and consequently WLANs with numerous controllers and thousands of APs can be managed with a small staff.

Mobility and increased productivity
Finally, and most significantly, an all-wireless edge enables mobility. This applies not only within the walls of a single building or across a campus, but extends to branch offices, workers’ homes, and other locations across the wide area network (WAN) and the Internet as well. Users are provided with a consistent user experience and secure access to voice and data resources no matter where they need them. The wireless edge significantly boosts employee productivity and enables a wide range of applications that are simply not possible on a wired network.

* The author is India Country Manager of Aruba Networks.
* The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of SME Times.