Wave 2 Wi-Fi access pointsImage by ThinkstockThere’s a lot to like about Wave 2 802.11ac products, including theoretically faster speeds than Wave 1 products and cool new features, such as multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO.) In this review, we look at five Wave 2 wireless access points, comparing prices and features, looking at usability and doing some performance testing. The products in this review are: Amped Wireless AC1300, ASUS EA-AC87, Cisco Aironet 1852i, Extreme Networks AP3935 and the Linksys LAPAC2600. Read the full review.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
For as long as there have been technology certifications, IT pros have debated their value. Some believe they're the key to a fatter paycheck, while others contend that they're often not worth the paper they're printed on. Others take the middle road and say they can be valuable in the right circumstances, but experience is king.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Economical and flexibleOpen source software offers an economical and flexible option for deploying basic home, SMB or even enterprise networking. These open source products deliver simple routing and networking features, plus they are combined with security functionality, starting with a basic firewall and possibly including antivirus, antispam and Web filtering. These products can be downloaded and deployed on your own hardware, on a virtual platform, or in the cloud. Many of them sell pre-configured appliances as well. We reviewed five products: ClearOS, DD-WRT, pfSense, Untangle and ZeroShell. We found that ClearOS, pfSense, and Untangle could be appropriate for home use all the way up to the enterprise environment.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Open source software offers an economical and flexible option for deploying basic home, SMB or even enterprise networking. These open source products deliver simple routing and networking features, like DHCP and DNS. Plus, they are combined with security functionality, starting with a basic firewall and possibly including antivirus, antispam and Web filtering.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Economical and flexibleOpen source software offers an economical and flexible option for deploying basic home, SMB or even enterprise networking. These open source products deliver simple routing and networking features, plus they are combined with security functionality, starting with a basic firewall and possibly including antivirus, antispam and Web filtering. These products can be downloaded and deployed on your own hardware, on a virtual platform, or in the cloud. Many of them sell pre-configured appliances as well. We reviewed five products: ClearOS, DD-WRT, pfSense, Untangle and ZeroShell. We found that ClearOS, pfSense, and Untangle could be appropriate for home use all the way up to the enterprise environment.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Open source software offers an economical and flexible option for deploying basic home, SMB or even enterprise networking. These open source products deliver simple routing and networking features, like DHCP and DNS. Plus, they are combined with security functionality, starting with a basic firewall and possibly including antivirus, antispam and Web filtering.These products can be downloaded and deployed on your own hardware, on a virtual platform, or in the cloud. Many of them sell pre-configured appliances as well if you like their feature-set or support, but don’t want to build your own machine.We reviewed five products: ClearOS, DD-WRT, pfSense, Untangle and ZeroShell. We found that ClearOS, pfSense, and Untangle could be appropriate for home use all the way up to the enterprise environment.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Economical and flexibleOpen source software offers an economical and flexible option for deploying basic home, SMB or even enterprise networking. These open source products deliver simple routing and networking features, plus they are combined with security functionality, starting with a basic firewall and possibly including antivirus, antispam and Web filtering. These products can be downloaded and deployed on your own hardware, on a virtual platform, or in the cloud. Many of them sell pre-configured appliances as well. We reviewed five products: ClearOS, DD-WRT, pfSense, Untangle and ZeroShell. We found that ClearOS, pfSense, and Untangle could be appropriate for home use all the way up to the enterprise environment.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Last month Microsoft debuted its first major update to Windows 10, technically called version 1607 but generally known as the Anniversary Update. You may have seen stories around the web delving into the update's general improvements including a smarter Cortana, Edge extensions and Windows Ink, but rarely have the Anniversary Update's new Wi-Fi and networking features and interfaces been discussed.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Last month Microsoft debuted its first major update to Windows 10, technically called version 1607 but generally known as the Anniversary Update. You may have seen stories around the web delving into the update's general improvements including a smarter Cortana, Edge extensions and Windows Ink, but rarely have the Anniversary Update's new Wi-Fi and networking features and interfaces been discussed.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Last month Microsoft debuted its first major update to Windows 10, technically called version 1607 but generally known as the Anniversary Update. You may have seen stories around the web delving into the update's general improvements including a smarter Cortana, Edge extensions and Windows Ink, but rarely have the Anniversary Update's new Wi-Fi and networking features and interfaces been discussed.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
After all the work of performing a Wi-Fi site survey, running cable to key locations in the building and hooking up your access points, you might be eager to quickly fill the airwaves. However, there are some things you should check just after powering on those new or upgraded APs and before letting users connect to them.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
After all the work of performing a Wi-Fi site survey, running cable to key locations in the building and hooking up your access points, you might be eager to quickly fill the airwaves. However, there are some things you should check just after powering on those new or upgraded APs and before letting users connect to them.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
There are countless free app lists out there for traditional Windows applications and mobile OSs, but not as many for the newer Modern Windows apps. Most of these apps are still very basic in their functionality, but nevertheless there are some that are quite useful, even for network and IT professionals.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
It's been nearly 20 years since Wi-Fi made its debut, and one of its most significant innovations to date is now beginning to spread: MU-MIMO, an optional feature in Wave 2 of the emerging 802.11ac wireless standard.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
It's been nearly 20 years since Wi-Fi made its debut, and one of its most significant innovations to date is now beginning to spread: MU-MIMO, an optional feature in Wave 2 of the emerging 802.11ac wireless standard.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Forget that bass; in the digital world, it’s all about that bandwidth. You’re paying your ISP for a given amount of bandwidth, but it’s up to you to manage how it’s consumed. Whether or not you have a data cap—and even if your data cap is high enough that you never bang into it—simply letting all the devices on your network engage in a battle for supremacy is a recipe for problems.You could experience poor video streaming, choppy VoIP calls, or debilitating lag in your online gaming sessions. And if you do have a data cap (and yes, they are evil), blowing through it can hit you in the pocketbook, expose you to throttling (where your ISP drastically, if temporarily, reduces your connection speed), or both.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Forget that bass; in the digital world, it’s all about that bandwidth. You’re paying your ISP for a given amount of bandwidth, but it’s up to you to manage how it’s consumed. Whether or not you have a data cap—and even if your data cap is high enough that you never bang into it—simply letting all the devices on your network engage in a battle for supremacy is a recipe for problems.You could experience poor video streaming, choppy VoIP calls, or debilitating lag in your online gaming sessions. And if you do have a data cap (and yes, they are evil), blowing through it can hit you in the pocketbook, expose you to throttling (where your ISP drastically, if temporarily, reduces your connection speed), or both.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Inexpensive appsWe’ve reviewed Wi-Fi analyzers that run on Android, Windows, and Mac OS X devices. These apps allow you to analyze the wireless access points and channels on the 2.4 and 5GHz bands. Now we’re reviewing apps, published as Universal Windows Platform apps on the Microsoft Store, that run on Windows 10 PCs, tablets and phones. The Wi-Fi features that developers can utilize in the Universal Windows Platform are still pretty limited. But these apps are inexpensive and/or free. Here are the individual reviews:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
We’ve reviewed Wi-Fi stumbler and surveying apps that run on Android, Windows, and Mac OS X devices. These apps allow you to analyze the wireless access points and channels on the 2.4 and 5GHz bands in your network. Now we’re reviewing apps, published as Universal Windows Platform apps on the Microsoft Store, which can run on Windows 10 PCs, tablets and phones.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Wi-Fi hardware vendors are coming out with new cloud-based solutions, primarily to ease the remote management of wireless networks. However, they typically only support their own hardware. Here we take a look at three cloud-based solutions that support wireless routers and access points from multiple vendors.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Eric Geier