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For those of you unfamiliar with some of the regular features of WiFiJedi.com, I publish poll questions on Tuesdays. Normally, these are multiple choice poll questions where the answers are shown in percentages.
However, this week I would like to ask the poll question in a slightly different manner. This time, I would like to ask an open ended question and for you to answer within the comments section.
Without further fanfare, this week’s question is “What do you think is the Top Wireless Story of 2009?”
I am going to compile and publish a list of such stories and I would like YOUR help to ensure I didn’t miss any of the best stories. 
There are only a few more shopping days before Christmas. If you have procrastinated until this point, perhaps you should view the “wireless gift guide” I recently published on my Computerworld blog.
I have one addition to the list:
- BlueAnt Supertooth Light – I can’t believe I excluded this one from the list because I actually *received* one of these as a Christmas gift this year. It’s a Bluetooth speakerphone/microphone that hangs on a car sun visor. And as Sheldon from the TV show, Big Bang Theory says, “Everything is better with Bluetooth”. I actually had a similar device from a different manufacturer and didn’t like it –mostly because it wasn’t loud enough. The call quality on both ends is excellent with the BlueAnt device.
I also wanted to expand on two of the original suggestions:
- PlayStation3 – The Wi-Fi on this does a lot more than I originally anticipated. Not only does it allow for free online game play, but it facilitates game updates. Once such example of this is in sports games where updated team rosters can be downloaded from online servers. You can also stream movies directly to the PS3 from NetFlix.
- Pet Rock – My Computerworld editor actually pointed out this reincarnation of the pet rock: http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/c208/ Oddly enough, this version of the pet rock *isn’t* wireless. Uhg…
Wondering what to get friends and family members for a last-minute holiday gift? Then check out my latest Computerworld blog post for gift suggestions. I won’t spoil all the fun, but I made four suggestions that deal with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other wireless technologies.
If you are still puzzled about what to purchase, check out the Super Tuesday Poll that I ran here at WiFiJedi.com to see what wireless-related gifts others are buying for their loved ones.
Happy shopping!
What makes up a wireless LAN (WLAN)? Is it just the Access Point(s) and any associated WLAN controller(s)? Does it include anything else? Personally, I think of wireless LANs as a system. In my mind, there are three main parts to this system:
- The infrastructure
- The clients
- The environment
The Infrastructure
This includes not only the access point(s) and the WLAN controller(s), but any of the routing & switching gear used for uplinks. Also included in the infrastructure would be any of the network infrastructure / services leveraged by the wireless LAN (examples include RADIUS, Network Time Protocol, Syslog, etc.)
The Clients
The IEEE 802.11 specification refers to these as “stations”. Clients/stations could be computers such as laptops or tablet PCs. Other examples of wireless stations include dual-mode phones, handheld scanners, etc. When thinking about the clients, realize this includes not only the hardware, but the software (such as a client driver or management supplicant).
The Environment
This most commonly refers to the Radio Frequency environment. The RF environment can be evaluated with a spectrum analyzer, which can show you the signal level of your APs, the noise floor, and any interference in the area. Interference can come from other Wi-Fi devices, or non Wi-Fi devices (such as microwave ovens, cordless phones, and Bluetooth). I also think of the Physical environment, which is the type of construction materials used, the amount of vegitation in the area, the terrain/line-of-sight, etc.
I often get called out in troubleshooting situations. In many of these cases, the infrastructure has been evaluated as a potential source for issues (for example, are the authentication/encryption settings correct), but the clients and the environment have been neglected.
Conclusion
In these troubleshooting scenarios, it is imperative to take a thorough look at all three components. Not only should you take a look at the configuration file of the infrastructure, but ensure that wireless clients have the most up-to-date drivers. Look to see that clients power-save and roaming agressiveness settings are appropriate for the application. Double-check to see there is no interference from Wi-Fi or non Wi-Fi sources, etc. In short, evaluate your WLAN as a system.
I am starting a new series here called “Wi-Fi Masterminds” (TM).
I will ask questions to a series of panelists and they will answer in round-robin fashion, where they can answer the question as well as respond to others.
If you have ever seen the show “Around the Horn” on ESPN, that is the type of interaction I am looking for.
I am planning on a pool of 6-8 masterminds, bit will limit each question to a panel of three members. I will try to minimize my own involvement in the questions to only provide structure where needed or correct any factual errors.
I am drawing the masterminds from several different wireless vendors & VARs as all as individual consultancies. I would like to keep the discussion as vendor neutral as possible. I understand that it may be necessary to refer to vendor specifics from time to time, but have asked all panelists to be respectful of other vendor viewpoints.
My first question is about wireless IDS/IPS systems and is meant to piggyback off of recent content I published here as well as on my Computerworld blog.
Feel free to suggest future topics and/or volunteer as a panelist. When the first post is published (hopefully in the next day or two), let our panel know what you think by submitting a comment of your own.
I have a daughter who is almost three. Something interesting happened when I dropped her off at school this morning.
When I walked into her pre-school classroom (all 2 and 3 year olds), one of the kids pointed at me and said “ten!”. I hadn’t just stuck the landing in a gymnastics competition and I know I wasn’t getting a 10 for my rugged, yet handsome looks. Which made me wonder why this kid would yell “ten” at me?
At that point, I realized I was wearing the following t-shirt:
Sadly, I didn’t have the heart to tell him he should be shouting “two” at me.
Then I remembered that it’s the parent’s job to educate their children anyway…
I have created an accompanying Twitter page to my blog (for those of you who are craving wireless updates more than every day or two… )
My Twitter username is “wifijedi” if you would like to “follow me”.
Or you see my updates at http://twitter.com/wifijedi
Guess what I had for lunch today? 
I hope that you enjoy the facelift that I have given my blog. I am new to Word Press and blogging, so bear with me as I learn.
My recent updates include a new theme, sidebar widgets (including links to some of my favorite websites), a few pictures, and hyperlinks in lieu of URLs.
OK, if you are wondering where I came up with “WiFi Jedi”, here is the short of it – I wanted to come up with something catchy and easy to remember regarding my specialty, wireless networking and security.
I was originally thinking of “The L2 Guru” as much of 802.11 wireless operates at the MAC Layer, but then I thought that Mike Meyers might want to do a sequel to “The Love Guru”.
I live in a house that seems to be semi-obsessed with Star Wars. We have two cats who are litter mates – one of each sex. Naturally, we named them “Luke Skywalker” and “Princess Leia”. Therefore, I just thought “WiFi Jedi” fit the bill.
I chose to start my blog on WordPress because it was free, widely used, and even had a free iPhone app so that I can update my blog while on the go! I also believe I can tie my blog posts into my LinkedIn page (http://www.linkedin.com/in/douglashaider)
More details about me can be seen at:http://wifijedi.wordpress.com/about/
More details about Xirrus can be seen at:http://wifijedi.wordpress.com/xirrus/
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