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Pre-n Pre-N Wireless Local Area Network Technology Overview Many organizations utilize wireless local area networks (WLAN) because of their convenience. The trade-off made is convenience for speed. Todays most advanced wireless standard, IEEE 802.11g, operates at roughly half the speed of the most common 100 Mbps wired LAN. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) began to address this speed differential in the middle of 2003. Their vision was IEEE 802.11n, which would provide speeds equal to or greater than 100 Mbps LANs. Their work has yet to be completed. The lack of approval has led some to release so-called Pre-N equipment, which seeks to give the benefits of the 802.11n standard without an official standard. Because there is no official standard, implementing these products has future implications to customers. Standards Standards are made for very specific reasons. Foremost, they ensure that devices can operate with devices made by other manufacturers. Essentially, when a company releases a product before the ratification of the standard, they must infer what the IEEE is going to set. These inferences mean that the product may be incompatible with the final standard. If this does occur, an organization may be locked in to purchasing only identical hardware to that which they own. This would ensure compatibility. Implications Another possibility if incompatibility exists is the release of an upgrade. The company would not be required to release updates, but if it did, there would be considerable work for the support groups. This may include individually upgrading each device, a very time consuming proposition. Despite the time commitment, an upgrade would be the most responsible course of action for the company because the customers would be able to choose any 802.11n solution for their purposes. Implementation If an organization chooses to implement the Pre-N technology, the theory is the same as previous wireless network implementations. The setup would most likely begin with a router. This would be hard-wired to the Internet connection. There are also wired ports on the rear of the router. These allow any wired device to be included on the network. The router would then provide access to any device in its range with a compatible network interface card (NIC.) Currently, NICs exist for both desktop computers and notebook computers. Advantages/Conclusions The advantages to using this technology are clear. It will allow computers to connect easily to wireless networks, without sacrificing the speed possible with a wired connection. Another concern that comes up is that gigabit Ethernet is also available. If an organization were to implement this, 802.11n would again be just one-tenth of the speed. The implementation of any wireless network must be carefully considered. Regardless of which standard is followed, the security threats are common. Data is still being broadcast over radio frequencies. Before deciding whether to use Pre-N technology, one must first decide whether wireless is appropriate for their application. Only then should 802.11n be considered.
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