802.11a
802.11a
The 802.11a amendment to the original standard was ratified in 1999. The 802.11a standard uses the same core protocol as the original standard, operates in 5 GHz band, and uses a 52-subcarrier orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) with a maximum raw data rate of 54 Mbit/s, which yields realistic net achievable throughput in the mid-20 Mbit/s. The data rate is reduced to 48, 36, 24, 18, 12, 9 then 6 Mbit/s if required. 802.11a has 12 non-overlapping channels, 8 dedicated to indoor and 4 to point to point. It is not interoperable with 802.11b, except if using equipment that implements both standards.
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802.11a Related Products
Anytime, Anywhere, WLAN Monitoring and Troubleshooting. AirMagnet's WiFi Analyzer is the industry's most popular mobile field tool for troubleshooting enterprise Wi-Fi networks. WiFi Analyzer helps IT staff make sense of end-user complaints to quickly resolve performance problems, while automatically detecting security threats and other network vulnerabilities. Although compact, WiFi Analyzer has many of the feature-rich qualities of a dedicated, policy-driven wireless LAN monitoring system.
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AirMagnet Survey delivers fast, scientifically accurate site surveys for any 802.11a/b/g/n indoor and outdoor wireless network. This evolutionary software automatically gathers critical Wi-Fi and RF spectrum information from your enterprise network using multiple data collection methods and generates detailed Wi-Fi performance maps of the results for easy network deployment, capacity planning and optimization. It is the only survey solution to actively associate to APs and get real world uplink/downlink data rates, retry and packet loss information.
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3e-527 Access Point featuring 802.11a/b dual mode with integrated 8 port switch and wireless bridge. The 3e-527 combines the benefits of advanced access point features with an integrated 8 port switch in one secure case, built to withstand the rigors of harsh environments. The user management interface is designed to allow quick set up and installation. A key feature is the ability to auto-detect multiple bridges.
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3e525A-3 Wireless Access Point Maximum security and flexibility with outdoor or indoor use. The 3e525A-3 Wireless Access Point is packaged in a rugged NEMA 4/IP 67 weatherproof enclosure and conforms to 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g wireless standards.
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The AirMagnet Spectrum Analyzer proactively identifies, classifies, graphs and finds sources of RF interference in all Wi-Fi bands. It is an ideal complement to AirMagnet Laptop, the world's most popular Wi-Fi performance and security troubleshooting tool.
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The AirGuard model 3e-527A3 is an 802.11b/g AP, 802.11a bridge, and an 8-port secure Ethernet switch. With DoD-proven security and easy-to-use mesh networking, it is suited for government, military, industrial, mobile, and metropolitan-area wireless infrastructures.
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The AirGuard 3e-527S-2 is the only wireless communications server engineered specifically for public transportation and emergency vehicle operation, featuring 802.11a/b/g dual radios with an integrated 8 port switch. The 3e-527S-2 allows all of your vehicle-based equipment to exchange data with back-end systems while the vehicle is parked at a depot or other location with WiFi wireless broadband access.
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The AirMagnet Enterprise Analyzer for Cisco is a software-only Wi-Fi troubleshooting solution designed specifically for Cisco Unified Wireless Networks. The Enterprise Analyzer software cooperates with your Cisco Wireless LAN controllers and lightweight access points to collect Wi-Fi data for expert analysis.
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802.11a Related Product Families
3eTI offers both a line of highly secure wireless LAN devices that meet NIST standards (FIPS 140-2 Validated) and the capability to help plan and implement a new or improved wireless LAN. 3eTI are also the First Wireless Infrastructure Supplier to Provide Common Criteria Secure Products. When it comes to robustly secure WLAN connectivity, dynamic mesh networking, wireless bridging & repeating, deploying hotspots... 3eTI products are the ideal solution.
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802.11a Related Industry News
Alliance to certify Wi-Fi security specs HANOVER, GERMANY -- The Wi-Fi Alliance expects to certify by May its WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) set of specifications in the first of several efforts to provide greater security to users of high-speed wireless networks, said Andrea Vocale, a technical expert with the alliance, speaking Monday at a news conference at the CeBIT trade show here.
WPA is a subset of the 802.11i security standard, which has yet to be approved by the IEEE ( Institute of El......
[more] Getting a grip on WLAN futures The wireless LAN world is a pretty bad offender when it comes to Alphabet Soup, what with 802.11b preceding 802.11a, and neither being the same type of thing as 802.11e*. So it was useful to hear Jan Haagh, a senior product manager in Proxim's WLAN division, talk through some of latest acronyms.
One to watch out for is WPA, or WiFi Protected Access. This will replace the original WEP wireless security standard, which turned out to be not very secure after all.......
[more] The Wireless-Security Balancing Act If you choose an EAP that doesn't gain de facto standard status, the access point will be to other EAP clients what a two-hole electrical outlet is to three-pronged plugs. Wireless LANs have been billed as the great security wasteland. But thanks to the 802.11b Wi-Fi community's frenetic activity in the last year, an abundance of good security choices now exist, with more on the way.
Wi-Fi security efforts have focused on encryption and authentication, wi......
[more] City sees the benefits of wireless networks Survey shows more businesses are convinced but security is still lax The third annual Wireless Security Survey of London has highlighted a significant increase in the use of wireless networks by businesses.
In the two years since the survey was first undertaken, the number of wireless networks used in the City has increased from 124 in 2001, to 328 in 2002 and 1078 in 2003.
The benefits of the technology appear to have convinced companies, and th......
[more] A quarter of products fail Wi-Fi tests More than a quarter of Wi-Fi products fail compatibility tests the first time, according to the Wi-Fi Alliance, the body that promotes Wi-Fi use. Most users find that Wi-Fi devices work the first time with any hotspot, however, because the problems are always fixed before the product earns the Wi-Fi badge -- the 1000th of which has now been issued by the Alliance.
"Based on testing of more than 1,000 products over several IEEE (Institute of Electrical......
[more] THE A to Z of wireless terms and technologies Everything you need to know about Wireless Jargon 802.11a
54Mbps wireless Ethernet operating in the 5GHz band.
802.11b
The industry standard 11Mbps wireless Ethernet operating at 2.4GHz.
802.11e
Defines quality-of-service for wireless local area networks, to support voice-over IP for example.
802.11g
Successor to 802.11b, providing up to 54Mbps over the same 2.4GHz spectrum used by 802.11b.
802.11h
A supplement to 802.11a to ensure t......
[more] Security group warns of flaw in wireless protocol The Australian Computer Emergency Response Team issued an advisory Thursday warning companies that their wireless networks could be disrupted by an attacker with a handheld device. A vulnerability in the most common wireless networking protocol, the 802.11 standard established by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), allows a device to essentially jam other devices on a network using a low-power signal.
"Previously, at......
[more] Is 802.11a like Betamax? Is 802.11a the Betamax vs. VHS of wireless networking? Betamax was technically better. Why haven't companies adopted 802.11a? We don’t believe that 802.11a will prove analogous to Betamax. The 802.11a radio spec provides a number of advantages over 802.11b for businesses, which more time and usage will make obvious.
At first glance, 802.11g seems to provide a similar performance improvement to 802.11a, with 54M bit/sec as the often-quoted maximum data rate, and the a......
[more] IT managers ready defenses against flaw in wireless LANs Users could face DoS attacks, but the risks are seen as low Information technology managers last week said a denial-of-service vulnerability that affects some Wi-Fi wireless LANs could force companies to develop new skills and rethink the way their networks are set up. But, they added, it should be relatively easy to defend WLANs against attacks seeking to exploit the flaw.
For example, an attacker would need to be within the typical 20......
[more] AirMagnet offers intrusion detection Managing wireless devices is difficult enough without worrying about hackers relentlessly probing your agency's network for weaknesses. AirMagnet Inc., known for wireless toolkits and Wi-Fi management and survey devices, takes security a step further with a true policy-based and distributed wireless intrusion- detection system.
I've tested several products on the market that compete with AirMagnet Distributed, including AirDefense Inc.'s AirDefense and R......
[more] Security concerns still plague wireless take-up Wireless has many benefits, provided companies minimise the risks and rein in ad hoc networks 'Be afraid, be very afraid' is the attitude of many companies when faced with the prospect of using a wireless network.
Because wireless is about broadcasting data that often goes beyond company perimeters, businesses worry that it won't be secure enough. And who can blame them, with a regular stream of surveys highlighting gaping security holes?
Secur......
[more] UK Scientists roll out Wi-Fi proof wallpaper British boffins have developed wallpaper that blocks Wi-Fi traffic but still allows other wireless transmissions to pass through in a bid to prevent unauthorised access to sensitive data via the WLAN.
Developed by UK defence company BAE Systems, the wallpaper uses Frequency Selective Surface (FSS) sheeting, a material more commonly found slapped on military aircraft, naval vessels and radar antennae, New Scientist reports. In this case, the FSS mate......
[more] Intel improves Centrino wireless security Chip firm Intel said it had released support for 802.11a, b and g in the same Calexico wireless chipset.
It said it has also built fresh software for its Pro Wireless 2915 ABG connection, which includes a wizard to allow safer net security, offers profile management, and has better troubleshooting capabilities.
Version 9.0 of the software also includes the latest version of Cisco Compatible Extensions for compatibility with that company's infrastructu......
[more] Intel formally introduces tri-mode Wi-Fi chip Processor supports 802.11a, b and g As expected, Intel introduced its tri-mode wireless chip Thursday with several software enhancements to the product to help improve security and reliability, it said during a Webcast.
The Intel Pro/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection allows laptops based on Intel's Centrino platform to connect to the three most commonly used wireless networks found in enterprises and homes. The first notebooks with the chip will b......
[more] Wi-Fi group says 'no' to pre-standard 802.11n kit The Wi-Fi Alliance (WFA) today formally avowed its aversion to so-called 'pre-standard' wireless products by pledging not to certify kit featuring 802.11n technologies until the standard has been ratified by the IEEE.
That's not expected to take place until November 2006, but if past versions of Wi-Fi are anything to go by, a number of WLAN chip makers and equipment makers will undoubtedly try to beat the rest to market by offering products tha......
[more] Wireless-J standard opens Japan to the Wi-Fi world And boost 802.11a at the same time. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) has approved a new wireless standard that will expand international Wi-Fi roaming to Japan.
The 802.11j standard will also apply to wireless equipment used by US anti-terrorism forces, and will affect the way spectrum is used in other countries.
It brings the 802.11 WLAN family - branded Wi-Fi - into line with Japanese regulations from August of 2......
[more] Motorola Merges Its Plan for Faster Wi-Fi Two camps are ready for a showdown over faster wireless LANs following Motorola's agreement last week to merge its proposal for the IEEE 802.11n standard with that of the World Wide Spectrum Efficiency (WWiSE) consortium.
There are two remaining proposals for the 802.11n standard, which calls for wireless LANs that offer more than 100 megabits per second of data throughput. A task group of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is set to......
[more] High-speed Wi-Fi standards debate stalls The latest proposal for 802.11n, the next-generation Wi-Fi standard, has been sent back to the drawing board after a second failure to be approved by the IEEE The process to establish the next-generation Wi-Fi standard, which promises to quadruple transmission speeds, has stalled as members of the working group developing the standard failed to pass the main proposal onto the next stage.
The proposal, put forth by the vendor group called Task Group 'n' s......
[more] Wi-Fi standard impasse makes 802.11n merger likely The leaders of the rival proposals for faster Wi-Fi are expected to meet face to face next week, to discuss a truce following the failure of IEEE's 802.11n task group to reach an agreement.
"The IEEE .11n ballot was a good result," said Dave Borison, director of product marketing at Airgo Networks Inc. "It's a wake-up call for both camps. We want to move forward and get a standard in place. Within the next quarter, or two at the most, we will......
[more] 802.11n supercharges Wi-Fi The forthcoming 802.11n standard will increase the capabilities of Wi-Fi kit The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), based in the US and not to be confused with our own Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE), creates standards for various aspects of electronics. The best-known standards in the IT field are those written by committee 802, which include the standards for Ethernet, other LAN access methods and LAN security. However, 802 is now mos......
[more] AirMagnet Announces Laptop-Based Wi-Fi Spectrum Analyzer AirMagnet, the leader in WLAN security and performance solutions, today announced a new laptop-based RF spectrum analysis solution for Wi-Fi networks. The AirMagnet Spectrum Analyzer -- based on Cognio's patented Intelligent Spectrum Management System -- is the industry's first to identify the specific sources of interference that can undermine the performance of wireless networks.
The AirMagnet Spectrum Analyzer complements AirMagnet L......
[more] Wireless Noise Hampers DefCon A team of wireless security and performance specialists from AirMagnet today
reported their findings after spending the weekend monitoring wireless network
traffic at DefCon, the self-described "convention for underground hackers." A
representative from the AirMagnet group noted with some surprise that RF
interference from non-Wi-Fi devices seemed to pose the greatest threat to the
conference's wireless networks.
"The wireless attacks we saw--jamming,
de-au......
[more] Next-gen Wi-Fi standard showdown Vendors race to market with non-standard implementations of high speed 802.11n Battle lines are now being drawn over the next-generation WLAN standard, IEEE 802.11n, which promises speeds of 100Mbps and higher, as well as increased range.
Behind a seemingly innocuous announcement last week of a new wireless router from Netgear lies a major WLAN industry schism that pits the likes of Cisco, Intel, and Sony against Nokia , Texas Instruments , and Airgo Networks,......
[more] AirMagnet's WLAN analyzer goes remote The latest version of a wireless LAN analyzer from AirMagnet announced Monday, allows remote scanning over any LAN or Internet connection and can run on a Centrino-equipped laptop without a separate Wi-Fi card.
AirMagnet Laptop Analyzer is software that roving network administrators and installers can load on a notebook PC and use to study activity on an enterprise wireless LAN. Among other things, it can detect radio wave interference and security violati......
[more] Gartner urges 802.11n Wi-Fi restraint Next-gen Wi-Fi will not truly be ready until 2007, analyst firm warns Companies should stay away from next-generation Wi-Fi equipment described as 802.11n compliant, Gartner has warned.
"Plan to stay with Wi-Fi certified products under the 802.11a/b/g banner. Expect these technology investments to be good for at least four more years," a group of three Gartner analysts recommended, adding that 802.11n should not be considered until 2007.
The forthcoming 8......
[more] Dell launches unapproved 802.11n Wi-Fi card Dell has launched a wireless card that promises to boost network speeds to 270 Mbps.The card will be available as an optional expansion on XPS and select Inspiron notebooks for $59.The Dell Wireless 1500 Draft 802.11n dual-band wireless card offers backward compatibility with the existing 802.11a, b and g wireless standards. The card is made by Broadcom.The computer maker touted that the high speed wireless technology would enable new applications suc......
[more] New Wi-Fi standard delayed again The long-awaited next-generation Wi-Fi standard has been delayed again and won't likely be ratified until sometime in 2008. The new standard that will allow notebook users to connect to wireless access points at much faster speeds than is currently available was expected to be finalized later this year. In January, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) approved a draft version of the standard called 802.11n, after much controversy and infig......
[more] AirMagnet Redefines the Wireless Site Survey AirMagnet Inc., the leader in wireless network assurance, released AirMagnet Planner, the most significant enhancement ever to the AirMagnet Survey product line. AirMagnet Planner is a RF planning and wireless LAN design solution that offers unrivaled cost advantages and ease of use. This new solution is available as a stand-alone product or as a fully integrated option for the newly released AirMagnet Survey 4.0. The AirMagnet Planner enables enterp......
[more] 802.11n will change the enterprise As a proposed wireless standard for high-throughput enhancements, 802.11n has been viewed primarily as a consumer technology. However, 802.11n has key applications applicable to the enterprise and is widely expected to drive the next generation of deployments.Enterprise-class, bandwidth-intensive applications like ERP and CRM systems, workgroup computing applications, and some wireless backhaul applications require throughputs larger than current 802.11 techno......
[more] Wireless security 2007 Unraveling the confusion about wireless standards is no mean feat. Justin Peltier takes a look at the latest crop of products in the field of wireless security management.Wireless networks are not about to go away any time soon. The convenience of losing the copper tether and gaining the ability to roam from one end of a campus to another without re-authenticating is just too practical. In the earlier days of wireless networks, the security controls were riddled with flaw......
[more] Wi-Fi Alliance starts testing draft 802.11n gear Routers, clients, and other 802.11n Draft 2.0 networking gear with the Alliance's seal of approval are expected to start hitting store shelves in September The Wi-Fi Alliance launched the action phase of its plan to get faster wireless networking products into the market on Monday, kicking off certification testing of gear based on a draft version of the IEEE 802.11n standard. The industry group that popularized wireless LANs expects 802.11n Draft......
[more] AirMagnet unveils Vo-Fi 3.0 Analyzer The booming voice over wireless (Vo-Fi) market presents its own unique set of potential challenges, according to AirMagnet Inc. The company recently released the latest versions of its Vo-Fi monitoring software -- Vo-Fi Analyzer 3.0 -- designed to monitor the voice quality of all phones on a Wi-Fi network including those transmitting fully encrypted traffic. To that end, Vo-Fi Analyzer 3.0 automatically indicates what's wrong with any given phone on the netw......
[more] AirMagnet analyses 802.11n Wi-Fi Wi-Fi management company AirMagnet has launched an 802.11n laptop analyser, ready for the host of performance issues expected from the emerging fast wireless LAN standard. Wi-Fi vendors are divided over when it is safe for enterprises to adopt the 802.11n Wi-Fi standard which promises up to 600 Mbit/s over wireless links. AirMagnet believes that the standard will emerge in offices quickly, whether IT departments like it or not. "The first thing to happen wi......
[more] Wi-Fi: The next generation Despite interminable delays to the forthcoming 802.11n wireless networking standard, there's a consensus it will finally materialise in March 2009. Meantime, it's being touted as a fix-all for Wi-Fi's various shortcomings. The standard promises to improve range and boost traffic throughput, from the existing 54Mbps (megabits per second) offered by 802.11g-based technology, to between 100Mbps and 300Mbps, depending on a range of factors.The performance improvement takes......
[more] Are You Ready for the All Wireless Workplace? With 802.11n offering performance and security on par with cabled Ethernet, why wouldn’t you embrace wireless? This, anyway, is the vision of WLAN equipment vendors. The most telling slogan is Motorola’s: “Wireless by default, wired by exception.” The truth, though, is this all-wireless vision takes some parsing. All-wireless is coming—if you’re talking about the end-user perspective. No one is proposing wireless data centers. Ethernet t......
[more] Olympic tech's winners and losers The 2008 Olympics are closed, but a few awards have yet to be given out: those for the winners and losers when it came to the games' technology The flame is extinguished, and as such the games of the 2008 Olympics are closed. While the medal count is now final, a few awards have yet to be given out: those for the winners and losers when it came to technology at the games. Beijing had three aims for the Olympics, intending to present them as "People's Olymp......
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