Stories by Craig Mathias

Wireless spectrum shortage? Not so fast

There’s no shortage of the radio spectrum essential to wireless communications, thanks to greater spectral efficiency and improving regulatory policies. But vigilance is required.

How to boost Wi-Fi performance: Experts talk planning, troubleshooting

Wi-Fi experts from Cisco, Aruba, Ekahau, Extreme and Mist share best practices for Wi-Fi performance optimization, focused on three major phases of large-scale Wi-Fi installation: planning and pre-installation, post-installation performance testing and verification, and troubleshooting Wi-Fi performance issues.

What is virtualization?

No advance in information technology in the past six decades has offered a greater range of quantifiable benefits than has virtualization.

AirMagnet breaks new ground in wireless spectrum analysis

Everyone needs a Wi-Fi spectrum analyzer, but there are times when analyzing cellular spectrum is also essential. Fluke Networks' new AirMagnet Spectrum ES provides a broad range of capability at a very attractive price. Spectral analysis, a longstanding fixture in electronics and manufacturing test, and, more recently as a valuable tool for understanding coverage, interference, and other elements of Wi-Fi, is the art and science of extracting meaning and insight from wireless systems at Layer 1 -- radio waves.

Averail Access aces mobility management test

Enterprise mobility management (EMM) can encompass a broad range of functions, from managing mobile devices, to applications, expenses, personnel, and policies. But perhaps the most important aspect is mobile information/data/content management, tracking the distribution and usage of sensitive organizational data, as well as ensuring appropriate security and policy compliance.

Three-stream Wi-Fi hits the mark

The rapid adoption of 802.11n has become a significant milestone in the history of wireless LANs. The MIMO-based technologies used in most 802.11n systems provide enough throughput, reliability, and rate vs. range performance to effectively remove the last major barriers to the broad adoption of WLANs in the enterprise.

A note on nomenclature

Wireless LAN devices (access points and clients) supporting (up to) three spatial streams are often denoted as "3x3" devices, referring to the minimal number of transmitters and receivers required to make this particular configuration of MIMO work. But there is so much variability in terminology here that a standard nomenclature is required.

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