Wireless: the real world and what's to come

Wireless LAN (local area network) technology is maturing: that's the good news. However, there's still a lot of hype about, and while many will at least be aware of WLAN (wireless LAN) in the commercial environment, little is happening on the factory floor, in warehouses, or indeed in the supply chain. It's also important to note that there's nothing truly in the camp of integrated networks yet: the seeds are being sown, but there remain perils in WLAN set-up and management. But it's well worth keeping up to date here because the near future looks awesomely interesting, with everything from universal, mobile business access, to machine-to-machine (M2M) communications and distributed computing – with all that these imply – and even RFID (radio frequency identification) tags potentially creating always-on mesh networks. All of which could revolutionise how we manage business and manufacturing and material movements and processes, the associated costs, automation, skill requirements, manning levels… In short, what's possible both inside operations and outside in supply chains, with customers, partners and sales and service organisations, is set to change substantially. At the business level, wireless is already resulting in lower cost network infrastructures that also allow more flexible working environments, with hot desking, remote working and the rest. Externally, in field sales and the commercial world, for example, that's being extended to include full-function auto connection through a range of technologies, from Bluetooth to GPRS, wherever your people are – meaning the potential for smarter, faster business. At the shopfloor level, we can imagine the technologies providing for a nirvana of peripatetic machine/plant minders, with their PDAs, running multiple large machines single-handed; or machines talking to other machines about their health, events, current and upcoming processes and schedules – without physical comms wiring. Can it be done yet? So how much is real? When will some of it be real? What's pie in the sky? And what do you need to know? You can go wireless now – as the references below show – but the investment in mobile solutions must be carefully considered to achieve the desired aims. There's a plethora of standards, for example, many of which won't see the light of day. Wireless enables mobility, and is a key part of the convergence of networks (telecom, internet, mobile data, storage), access (PC, TV, PDA, phone) and sales and service (IT, information providers). It's all about getting information from anywhere at anytime on anything – again enabling companies to change the way they do business, working with customers, partners, employees and suppliers whenever, however and whatever the choice. Sounds great, but for many now is the time to consider, not to act. A lot that's discussed about wireless is possible. What's not so clear-cut, however, is just how (and in some cases if) the new networked devices will connect to existing (wired) enterprise networks. Whatever, you can't ignore wireless – it may be being used somewhere in the supply chain, or the sales team will be clamouring for it. When to move? Market researcher IDC expects over 100 million mobile workers in Europe by 2007. That's probably sensible. Dan Petrone, global client technology manager, British American Tobacco, offers three key messages: be clear about what mobility means to your business and how you can achieve it; have a road map so people can see what you're doing, and when, in a measurable way; and evolve your infrastructure by building in mobility. Benefits he cites include: improved productivity, reduced costs (less cabling, easier moves and changes, and support costs) and better customer service. What about issues? First note that in planning a WLAN, one size does not fit all. If you're looking to deploy in admin and sales, for example, the still-evolving nature of the technologies means you need to establish what level of performance is needed for users, where it needs to be available, how you are going to ensure you can manage the security and operational issues, and who will be given access. Also, do visitors to your site need access? The IEEE 802.11 committees and Wi-Fi Alliance have been busy, and features recently introduced have to be considered when designing a WLAN – but look below the covers. Capacity, for example, is a key issue: the channels used will be 802.11b, a, or g. While 802.11b is rated 11Mbps, its actual output is 5.5Mbps, and 802.11a and g, although both touted at 54 Mbps, work at 30 Mbps max (reduced even more if g and b users are sharing a channel). 802.11a also offers 12 channels in the 5GHz band, unlike the others which all work in the unlicensed 2.4GHz ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) radio band. Capacity concerns need to be constantly watched, and as usage grows, more access points will need to be introduced so there are detailed cost considerations around numbers. Today, the most widely deployed WLANs are b and g, but enterprises – the serious stuff – will need 802.11a due to the number of channels and the fact that it operates in the less-congested 5GHz band. It's also more than possible that the number of channels could be doubled soon. Then there's security – or is there? Richard Webb, directing researcher for WLANs at analyst Infonetics Research, says: "There's a perception that security remains a major issue with WLANs. It isn't, but in our [US-based] survey it still figured as the leading barrier to deploying wireless in the enterprise, with 51% of respondents. That was way ahead of cost [20%], WLAN management [16%] and ease of use [15%]… Overcoming perceptions represents a major hurdle. It's a pity. Hopefully it will change this year." What about security? In fact, security remains the bugbear of WLANs despite most analysts today being upbeat and suggesting that the latest standard 802.11i will lay fears to rest. This standard – ratified last month – incorporates the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), which offers protection well beyond the original leaky Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) protocol, and even an algorithm used with secure virtual private networks. It's not all roses; it rarely is. The new standard uses an encryption engine involving hardware, so you can't just stuff in a software upgrade and sit back. Users have to seek out systems that will upgrade to 802.11i. Also, before 802.11i, the Wi-Fi Alliance had released WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access), constituted from three key components (temporal key integrity protocol, message integrity check and extensible authentication protocol). WPA is entirely standards-based and can be applied through a software upgrade. Finally, there are nearly 200 compliant products. Although a security breach has been identified, if WPA is implemented correctly it addresses all of WEP's deficiencies. But, cautions Joel Young, vice president of engineering at Digi International: "WPA has many options: you must be specific about what options and authentication scheme you want to use. There's a lot of miscommunication out there. WEP may have been inferior but it was very simple to understand." Raj Virdi, network analyst at motion and control equipment manufacturer Parker Hannifin in Hemel Hempstead, was charged with running a feasibility study for wireless networking for Parker's UK facilities. Security was a major issue for him. Virdi evaluated various WLAN products using their own individual embedded security – most of which were proprietary and unable to manage the variety of vendors' WLAN cards in staff and visitor laptops. He chose Bluesocket kit, which is based on WPA. "Our international data centre employs 200-plus and receives many external visitors every day. It was vital for our data security that each user could be authenticated and then assigned network access based on their role in the company or as a visitor." Bluesocket's gateway enables Parker to provide hot desks for visitors – on entering the premises each is given a visitor's badge and WLAN card. Brewing up a solution Meanwhile, David Geliher, IT director at Charles Wells Brewery in Bedford, home of Bombardier Bitter, barely mentions security. He says: "We put in an 802.11b WLAN and use it for admin, sales force and training applications." The firm wanted to build an infrastructure to support field sales in the office – where there was limited space, frequent office moves and a legacy token ring network – and at home via broadband. "Wireless solved this by providing all the flexibility we required. To address the additional need for communication on-the-road, we equipped the sales force with Bluetooth-enabled laptops and mobile phones." While that project was in progress, Charles Wells built a new staff restaurant and conference facility, and decided to go wireless throughout. "We were looking for an easy-to-manage system, and Madge provided an out-of-the-box solution which, at that time, was the only one we found with 802.1x digital certificate security, which we felt was necessary due to the proximity of housing to the brewery site. We're now in the process of installing wireless networks on the end of broadband links to our managed pubs." Not only does this WLAN work, but there's been no problem with security. Nevertheless, what suits one still doesn't necessarily suit all. This 802.11b WLAN does all the brewery needs for now. Any move to 802.11a is something for the future. Then again, the Centre for Engineering and Manufacturing Excellence (CEME) in East London is a big wireless user. CEME was a greenfield site with no communications infrastructure, and chose to deploy Microsoft software, IBM hardware and Cisco networking with Omnetica as implementation partner. Ajay Pamneja, IT operations manager, says: "Wireless has been positively embraced by students since we started last September. Security has not been a problem, although obviously we had to segregate certain parts of the WLAN." CEME, which has implemented 802.11b ("we're not rushing into 802.11a just yet, given we only started less than a year ago"), uses Wi-Fi right into its manufacturing. "We possess a Multi-Training Machine, which is £2m-worth of kit – one of three in Europe – for teaching students in manufacturing," says Pamneja. "MTM can be programmed to manufacture tools, or build an element, for example of a car. Students in a classroom can access the MTM through a wireless interface, and watch components being made… We also use RF signals to record inventory movement, and in placing orders with suppliers." Which leads us to M2M networking, esssentially telemetry between hitherto non-networked machines and devices, like doors, air conditioning systems, warehouse items, assembly lines, cells etc. Pervasive wireless in this sense is about monitoring and control. In monitoring it's asset tracking, inventory management and supply chain automation, maybe with RFID tags – and data transfers going one-way. For control, data is two way, with decisions being returned based on inputs from multiple sources. We can think of controlling a cooling system via a network of wireless distributed temperature sensors, saving money on implementation. M2M networks like this will one day be able to create themselves when devices move within radio range. However, that's not today. In terms of choice, Wi-Fi is a good one for any new wireless application, given its commonality with the enterprise level. Its speeds are also capable of coping with small amounts of telemetry data likely to be required. An argument for this selection is that by making use of the LAN access network for telemetry, RFID and even voice over IP (VoIP), there is no need to duplicate access points or wiring. Management is easier, costs are lower and there'll be scant radio interference. Also, with access points already in place, the telemetry and voice traffic ride gratis. Sounds great, but there are limits: VoIP over Wi-Fi doesn't grab the masses as an alternative to cell phones. 802.11 soaks up power (its phones need larger batteries and provide shorter talk times than cell phones). A further problem is Wi-Fi releases only one 'hop' in a network. Devices link wirelessly to an access point, but these points are linked to each other and the network through Ethernet. If that cabled network is also used to transport non-wireless traffic, the network administrator will have to check for extra loading. It might mean new cables: an alternative is Wi-Fi meshes, but the problem is it's early days. There are few suppliers and no standards; indeed the standards committee will not be producing anything for three years! Machine mesh networks Proponents are, however, enthusiastic. "ZigBee meshes [802.15.4] are network-orientated," says Young. "802.11 is infrastructure-orientated; Bluetooth is cellphone-orientated; and all ZigBee devices relay each other's traffic, bypassing the wired network completely. Optimally, this infers passive RFID and active ZigBee mesh networks. All that's needed is a ZigBee-to-Wi-Fi gateway." Ah, but the full ZigBee spec isn't ready yet! Now Forrester Research enters the fray: the 3G mobile services being launched across Europe this year face lower-cost, higher performance fixed-wireless competition from the outset. Users are realising that the promised unified wireless environment envisaged with 3G is not going to happen. The 3G acronym UMTS "modestly claims to deliver universal mobile telephony services." The introduction of fixed-WLAN 802.11 (aka Wi-Fi) technology shattered this vision, and next year's 802.16 (WiMAX) broadband wireless access systems services will challenge it still further. IEEE radio technology, known as OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) is much more efficient than 3G radio technology WCDMA (wireless code division multiple access). Forrester doesn't believe the WiMAX broadband fixed-wireless solution will obviate the need for mobile-wireless 3G services, but a low-cost, high-speed service with much wider reach than Wi-Fi will introduce new competitive pressures in the mobile WAN market. The task of 4G will be to reconcile the two. Forrester also points out that Bluetooth is already built into twice as many devices as Wi-Fi (OK most of these are cell phones etc, but laptop/notebooks and PDAs including both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth could validate potential enterprise applications). The disadvantages of Bluetooth are that it's cellphone-centric and handles eight nodes per network max. Going for a WLAN? Best advice is to check out manageability, and in particular (proprietary) WLAN switches, which also handle security management. There's expected to be a shakeout of the many vendors here, but you can be sure Cisco will survive. Do bear in mind Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee and even passive RFID. Whatever you do – particularly if you're in the 'security is a major issue' camp – you can't ignore wireless. Future network canvases will embrace many technologies working together.