Wlan Technology Overview

WTC Outline

Introduction/Thesis:

I. Executive Summary

i. WLAN Technology Overview

II. Need Assessment

i. Current Wireless Standards

III. Solution

i. Conceptual Review

ii. WLAN Configuration

iii. Design Requirement

iv. Design and Implementation Phase

v. Cost of Ownership

IV. Diagrams

Executive Summary

ABC is a chain of sporting goods store that specializes in providing soccer supplies to a regional area served by 10 retail distribution stores. The company has a proven to be successful and wants to expand its business by opening 10 new stores. The management team at ABC has realized that their success depends on exceptional customer service and operational efficiency. To maintain a competitive advantage in the soccer supply market, ABC has decided to explore cutting edge wireless technology as its corporate I.T. solution.

In recent years, there have been a number of substantial developments in the acceptance and functionality of wireless networks. Wireless networks support mobile workers by providing the required freedom in their network access. Workers can thus access networked resources from any point within range of a wireless access point.

Wireless technology will play a central role in ABC's supply chain growth and in helping to maintain its competitive edge. By installing an wireless local area networks (WLAN's) in each of the stores this will improve the daily operations by being more efficient and using a less crowded model of I.T. network deployment. Wireless mobility technology will provide remote sales employees with devices such as Personal Digital Assistants, (PDA's). With this technology ABC expects to improve customer service by enhancing the enterprise communications infrastructure. The integrated mobile phone service will allow these employees to communicate quickly with their customers and managers, thus improving response time, productivity, and revenue. In store operations will see additional business value through addition of wireless tracking for inventory, merchandise receiving, item ordering and price checking.

Assessment

A wireless site survey was performed on ABC for planning and designing a wireless network, and also to provide a wireless solution that will deliver the required wireless coverage, data rates, network capacity, roaming capability and Quality of Service (QoS). ABC is searching for the best and most secure network solution that a service provider can provide them. There are a few service providers out there such as Cisco, 3 Com just to name a few. There will be several steps taken to implement a WLAN for ABC to operate efficiently. Before implementing a wireless network first ABC must analyze, and look at the environment of each individual store to see how the current network infrastructure operates and then visualize how the future network will enhance the old infrastructure.

The assessment will be used to determine what type of changes need to be made for each of the locations and to ensure that there will be very minimal downtime and no existing information will be lost in the integration process. The next phase would be scheduling the procurement of equipment. This stage can be very time consuming since not all locations will order the exact amount of equipment. Some locations may need to buy equipment for the entire infrastructure due to possible compatible issues and others may just need simple upgrade integrations. Once each store has order all of the necessary equipment they will need it will take anywhere from 4 weeks to 8 weeks to allow for delivery.

Retail enterprises are deploying the Cisco Unified Wireless Networks pervasively throughout the organization as a critical component of intelligent retail network architecture. Cisco Wireless LAN Mobility Services are a combination of guess access, enhanced security, location, and voice capabilities, uniquely delivered by the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, that allow retail businesses to deploy value-added mobility applications. Cisco Wireless LAN Mobility Services build on the existing mobile data capabilities inherent in any pervasive wireless deployment.

In order to improve operations and customer satisfaction, retail enterprises need to be able to move beyond simple hotspot or point wireless deployments, and move to a pervasive deployment. Once pervasive, the wireless network becomes a platform for the delivery of intelligent services. These mobility services serve as the middleware between business applications and the infrastructure, allowing existing and new applications to take advantage of the flexible connectivity inherent in wireless networking.

With an infrastructure designed to support wireless LAN mobility services, retail enterprises can:

* Enhance the shopping experience

* Boost productivity by connecting people, places, and information wherever they are located

* Protect brand images and assets securely and reliably

* Decrease the time it takes to react to market shifts

Cisco Unified Wireless Network Location Services create the ability to quickly locate any Wi-Fi device to support enhanced network security, management, and troubleshooting as well as enable location-based applications. Using the Cisco Unified Wireless AirNet access points, Wi-Fi clients, and active RFID tag signals, the Cisco Location Appliance calculates device locations, which are then displayed in real time through the Cisco WCS on site-specific floor plans. A standards-based application programming interface (API) allows integration of the location information into business-specific security, enterprise resource planning (ERP), or workflow applications. Additionally, the appliance provides location-based alerts for business policy enforcement, and it records rich historical location information that can be used for location trending, audit trails and regulatory compliance, rapid problem resolution, and RF capacity management. For retail enterprises, this means improved asset utilization, and improved protection against theft and inadvertent release of sensitive customer data, as well as reduced inventory