Happy St. Patrick's Day! Today's newsletter addresses the
issue of tenants installing their own wireless computer networks
and the interference problems that can result from these
installations. It is fairly common for a tenant to purchase
equipment and set up a wireless LAN (WLAN) in their office space
-- without involving or even notifying building management.
Who's responsible for monitoring the boundaries of that network?
As more and more tenants adopt wireless networking, the chance of
interference and compromising network security increases.
Will property managers become responsible for policing the
airspace? Here is Part I of a two-part series on "Managing
the Airspace in Your Building."
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Darlene Pope, President
dpope@crepartners.com |
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Managing the
Airspace in Your Building, Part I
by Dr. Eric Reifsnider
Manager of Software and Technical Training
Wireless Valley Communications, Inc.
Networking
Solutions Create Management Challenges
As in-building wireless networks proliferate, so do the legal issues
surrounding their use. Businesses in multi-tenant office
complexes are becoming more aware of the advantages of wireless
technology at an executive level, setting the stage for tenants to
expect a wireless network in their office building or the ability to
install their own wireless network in their office space. As a
result, todays building owners and managers require tools and
methodology for investigating, planning, and controlling radio
transmissions in their buildings, as well as tracking the location,
status, and identity of installed radio equipment.
Particular attention needs to be paid to unlicensed technologies,
such as IEEE 802.11 a/b/g wireless local area networks (WLANs).
Wireless carriers who provide cellular and PCS phone service over
licensed frequency bands have teams of trained professionals to
thoroughly plan and test their own networks for performance, and
address all legal and safety issues for their equipment. In
contrast, the unlicensed network equipment in a building (e.g., WLAN
access points) are often deployed by novice wireless network
architects and are very poorly planned.
Hey Keep It Down Up There, Would You Please?
Why worry? The main cause for concern is that in the wild west of
casual WLAN build-outs, tenants will contend with each other (and
with systems deployed by the building management) for use of the
limited number of available wireless channels. Interference among
competing transmitters can ruin the airwaves for everyone in the
building, degrading the performance of WLANs and other networks
until they become unusable. The fact that 802.11 b and g WLANs
have only three independent channels exacerbates the problem four
tenants in a building, each having only one access point, are
guaranteed to have an interference problem. (link to
FULL
ARTICLE)
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About Our Sponsor:
Wireless
Valley is a pioneer of site-specific network design and management
software for all aspects of campus and in-building networks. Over 300
companies and institutions throughout the world are using Wireless
Valley's products to sell, design, bid, cost, measure, manage and maintain
campus and in-building networks, all within a seamless, easy-to-use
software environment. For more information please visit
www.wirelessvalley.com
or call 512-821-1560.
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In our Next
Newsletters:
Rooftop Management
and Leasing Strategies -
Tim Dennis,
Mid-Atlantic Tower Mgmt
Managing the Airspace in Your Building, Part II -
Manuel Fishman
Upcoming Industry Events
Realcomm 2004, June 3-4, San Francisco, CA
www.realcomm.com
BOMA International Convention, June 26-29, Toronto, Canada
www.boma.org
CREW Annual Convention, October 13-16, Toronto, Canada
www.crewnetwork.org
NEC Seminar Series -- Tentative Schedule
Washington, DC -- February 17, 2004 (completed)
Atlanta, GA -- February 25, 2004 (completed)
Las Vegas, NV - Summer, 2004
New York, NY -- Summer, 2004
Dallas, TX --
Fall, 2004
Orange County, CA -- Fall, 2004
Miami, FL -- Fall, 2004
Chicago, IL
-- Fall, 2004
For more information about the NEC Seminar series, please contact
CRE Partners, 703-444-5720.
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