The prevailing wisdom for enterprise WLAN security is to deploy the same VPN technology that has long been used for secure remote access on wired networks. Although VPN client software is often a pain in the butt for users, most people adapt to it, and some good VPN clients are available. But simple VPNs can be ill-equipped to deal with the roaming and intermittent disconnects typical of wireless connections. Yes, there are VPN variants that address these problems, but they add complexity and cost.
Many people look to 802.1x as the solution to WLAN security. While we expect 802.1x to gain much greater acceptance in the coming year, it doesn't address all the problems. Look for significant progress to be made in 2003 by the IEEE 802.11i committee in charge of revamping security, but don't be shocked if standards aren't here until 2004. Faced with those delays, the Wi-Fi Alliance, formerly WECA, has announced a new set of security standards, dubbed Wi-Fi Protected Access, or WPA, that will be incorporated into its product certification process during 2003. That move will enhance security, but it is best viewed as an interim solution. If you can't wait that long, there are plenty of other solutions to solve WLAN security, but most are proprietary, expensive or both.
Perhaps the greatest challenge you'll face is to select WLAN infrastructure that provides some level of investment protection so you don't need to throw it away next year when new standards emerge. That's an issue that separates enterprise-oriented wireless vendors from low-cost suppliers that target the small office and home office markets.
Not all that long ago, there were AM radios and FM radios, and we chose between the two. Today, we take for granted that every radio is dual-band--AM and FM. But with today's wireless data systems, we're back to the days of having to choose.
Sure, we can dream about a single wireless standard to which we can hitch our wagons, but in the real world of wireless, whether it's voice or data, we're forced to deal with multiple radio standards--those available today as well as those that haven't yet been commercialized or even invented. The challenge is to figure out how to get these alternative radio standards to work together seamlessly.
In the WLAN market, the immediate problem relates to incompatibilities between 802.11b, 802.11a and 802.11g, all of which have their champions. For those who aren't infatuated with speed, 11b has the obvious benefits of an extremely low cost, a large installed base and a relatively good range. Advocates of 11a point to a fivefold increase in performance and easier system design because of more channels, with only a modest price increase. And 11g advocates assert that 11g offers the best of both worlds, a claim that is difficult to challenge because no 11g products exist. But they will in 2003, so we'll see for ourselves.
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