Wireless LAN (WLAN) Group Test� (Edition 1)

The NSS Group is pleased to announce the launch of a major new group test report on WLAN products. After years of proprietary-based wireless LAN products meeting very few niche markets and little more, the introduction of an Ethernet-compliant, standards-based WLAN with the IEEE 802.11b standard, we finally have a realistic entry into the wireless world at the LAN level. However, no sooner has this 11Mbps standard stabilised than the 802.11a alternative, operating at up to 54Mbps has also emerged, but with critical issues surrounding the acceptance of its frequency range in Europe, which will not be resolved until 2003 at the earliest.

Meanwhile, the take-up of 802.11b compliant products has been further damaged by stories of serious security risks, lower than expected throughput and distance limitation claims. NSS is therefore creating a test-bed which will define the limits � good or bad � of WLAN products as they stand today, as well as looking at just what vendors are doing to create a future migration path to the faster, emerging standards for those investing in today�s technology.

The range of products we are looking to test includes the following:

• Access Points

• PCI/PC Card client adapters

• Gateways

• Bridges

• Security gateways (and related products such as VPN technology)

• Software add-ons that provide added resilience, redundancy or security

Especially we are interested in testing complete WLAN solutions for corporate, remote/branch office and SOHO environments. The test bed will focus on real-world applications simulation. Specifically, the testing will focus on the following areas:

• Overall performance

• Reliability and resilience

• Coverage/Distance limitations

• Inherent security

• Ease of installation and configuration

• Overall scalability

• Cost effectiveness

Testing runs through to the end of Q1 2003 and the finished report will be made available from this site.

Should you wish to participate in the report or would like additional information, please contact us by clicking here.��

Help design our group test criteria

If you are an end-user organisation looking to implement this technology, please get in touch with us and you can help specify the test criteria for this report. By adding your input to our test specifications we can make our reports even more relevant and �real-world� than they already are. It also means you get more focused information which directly relates to your needs.

If you are interested in contributing your ideas, contact us at [email protected], specifying which Group Test you are interested in and what you would like to see included in the test specification.
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