Will 802.11e be enough for Vo-Fi QoS?

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: JOANIE WEXLER ON WIRELESS IN THE
ENTERPRISE
08/29/05
Today's focus: Will 802.11e be enough for Vo-Fi QoS?

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Many factors contribute to Vo-Fi quality
* Links related to Wireless in the Enterprise
* Featured reader resource
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by HP
FROM THE NETWORK CORE TO THE NETWORK EDGE

Traffic management becomes critical as your network
infrastructure expands to support different types of traffic and
users. Most traffic management solutions have serious
limitations: too expensive, difficult to use, and overly taxing
on bandwidth. However ProCurve Networking by HP addresses these
requirements, overcomes the limitations of other solutions, and
gives you valuable insight into LAN performance.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=111721
_______________________________________________________________
SMARTPHONE SECURITY QUESTIONS

Wireless vendors are rolling out a new generation of handheld
computers called smartphones for corporate users, but many
network executives say they won't consider them until the means
to manage and secure them are clear. What are the risks and what
can be done to overcome them? Click here:
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=111559
_______________________________________________________________

Today's focus: Will 802.11e be enough for Vo-Fi QoS?

By Joanie Wexler

Keeping straight all the factors that play a role in
voice-over-Wi-Fi QoS is getting tough. First, there's the
notoriously long-in-coming IEEE 802.11e standard for packet
prioritization and scheduled access, or call admission control.
The prioritization component has been stable for about a year;
the full suite of 802.11e is expected to be approved next month
and published as a standard by the IEEE in October.

But once 802.11e is here in its entirety and is implemented in
purchasable products, it probably still won't be enough to
ensure the quality and reliability of Vo-Fi calls in a large
enterprise environment, depending on how large your installation
is and on your Wi-Fi system vendor's architecture.

For one thing, 802.11e will likely rely on a few other 802.11
extensions to perform at its best. These other extensions relate
to speeding up roaming times among wireless basic service sets
(BSS) so that sessions aren't interrupted, packets aren't
dropped, and quality doesn't degrade:

* 802.11r - This is the fast-roaming protocol in development to
  speed session handoff times as a client device moves from one
  access point (AP) to another while keeping the user's
  authentication credentials and real-time session intact. The
  current working goal is to keep this handoff time under 50
  milliseconds. Standard status: Expected to be stable by
  September 2006 and ratified in April 2007.
* 802.11k - 802.11r actually relies on this, the Radio Resource
  Management protocol, currently in development to hasten a
  client's roaming decisions by pre-discovering all neighboring
  APs, the distances to them and their available call capacity.
  Standard status: Expected to be stable by June 2006 and ratified
  in January 2007.
* 802.11i - The pre-authentication component of the security
  standard reduces roaming time by enabling the client to
  authenticate with neighboring APs before roaming. Standard
  status: Complete.

Next time: Beyond standards.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Windows XP also has plug-and-play vulnerability
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir5959>

2. 2005 salary survey
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir3867>

3. The ROI of VoIP
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir3638>

4. IT staff shortage looming
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir5273>

5. CLECs play a new tune
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir5725>

Today's most-forwarded story:

Police 'futurists' walk fine line between goals and liberties
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir5960>
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Joanie Wexler

Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology
writer/editor in California's Silicon Valley who has spent most
of her career analyzing trends and news in the computer
networking industry. She welcomes your comments on the articles
published in this newsletter, as well as your ideas for future
article topics. Reach her at <mailto:joanie@jwexler.com>.
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by HP
FROM THE NETWORK CORE TO THE NETWORK EDGE

Traffic management becomes critical as your network
infrastructure expands to support different types of traffic and
users. Most traffic management solutions have serious
limitations: too expensive, difficult to use, and overly taxing
on bandwidth. However ProCurve Networking by HP addresses these
requirements, overcomes the limitations of other solutions, and
gives you valuable insight into LAN performance.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=111720
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the Wireless in the Enterprise newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/wireless/index.html

Wireless research center
Latest wireless news, analysis and resource links
http://www.networkworld.com/topics/wireless.html
_______________________________________________________________
FEATURED READER RESOURCE
IT STAFF SHORTAGE LOOMING

Outsourcing. Automation. Downsizing. The industry has been awash
in unemployed IT pros. But experts are now predicting an IT
staffing crunch is just around the corner, and the implications
for U.S. technology innovation are sobering. What might be
causing the shortage and what might need to be done to prevent
it? Click here:
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir5727>
_______________________________________________________________
May We Send You a Free Print Subscription?
You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered
at your fingertips each day. Now, extend your knowledge by
receiving 51 FREE issues to our print publication. Apply
today at http://www.subscribenw.com/nl2

International subscribers click here:
http://nww1.com/go/circ_promo.html
_______________________________________________________________
SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES

To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World e-mail
newsletters, go to:
<http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Changes.aspx>

To change your e-mail address, go to:
<http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/ChangeMail.aspx>

Subscription questions? Contact Customer Service by replying to
this message.

This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com
Please use this address when modifying your subscription.
_______________________________________________________________

Have editorial comments? Write Jeff Caruso, Newsletter Editor,
at: <mailto:jcaruso@nww.com>

Inquiries to: NL Customer Service, Network World, Inc., 118
Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772

For advertising information, write Kevin Normandeau, V.P. of
Online Development, at: <mailto:sponsorships@nwfusion.com>

Copyright Network World, Inc., 2005