WLAN Market Predictions

In this e-guide, gain access to the most recent expert content on the future of WLAN. From Wi-Fi to 802.11ac, discover what you need to know for 2014. Contents WLAN market predictions: Faster speeds boost Wi-Fi's relevance in 2014 WLAN market predictions: Faster speeds boost Wi-Fi's relevance in 2014 802.11ac 2013 Gina Narcisi standard ratified: What WLAN planners need to know With the 802.11ac standard -- or "gigabit Wi-Fi" -- approaching ratification, network administrators will need simplified performance management tools that combine both wired and wireless network management in order to help the wireless LAN live up to its potential, an increasingly critical role within businesses.

Jim Berenbaum, research director of mobility, wireless and network technologies for Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Research Inc., shared his insight on wireless LAN market milestones in 2013, as well as his vision on what network administrators can expect in 2014.

802.11ac: Breathing new life into the WLAN market

The soon-to-be-ratified 802.11ac standard was on almost every WLAN vendors' mind in 2013, with a slew of new Wave 1 gigabit Wi-Fi access points -- both modular and purpose-built -- introduced to the market from the likes of Aruba, Motorola, Cisco and Xirrus.

A Wi-Fi network powered by 802.11ac gives WLAN technology comparable bandwidth to wired access switches, making Wi-Fi plausible as the default choice for network infrastructure. "The fact that there is a new technology available with increased performance capabilities is allowing WLANs to better position [themselves] as replacements for wired networks moving forward," Berenbaum said.

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The education segment has led the way for 802.11ac deployments so far, but while adoption wasn't widespread in 2013, the standard's ratification -- slated for the beginning of 2014 -- should help increase interest and growth among Contents other industries, Berenbaum said. "One of the nice things about [802].11ac is it's a bit ahead of the demand curve, as [802.11n] is still meeting the needs WLAN market of many organizations," he said. "But organizations are becoming aware that predictions: Faster the rest of their network infrastructure -- like the wired LAN and enterprise speeds boost Wi-Fi's WANs -- need to also expand to take advantage of the capabilities that .11ac relevance in 2014 has to offer." 802.11ac 2013 standard ratified: While Wave 1-enabled 802.11ac products are already on the market, Wave 2 What WLAN planners -- a system of additional capabilities, like multi-user MIMO for 802.11ac -- need to know won't be a big factor in 2014 for enterprises. "Wave 2 will require new chips, not just a software upgrade," he said. "These products probably won't be available until the end of the year, so they won't have a market impact in 2014."

HotSpot 2.0, small cell networks could influence the 2014 WLAN market

HotSpot 2.0, a standard for public Wi-Fi access developed by the Wi-Fi Alliance and the Wireless Broadband Association, could be a game-changer for the WLAN market by allowing users to roam between Wi-Fi networks, as well as between Wi-Fi and cellular networks, without the need to re- authenticate. Some businesses have begun investing in Hotspot 2.0 to address mobile user needs, but it's still yet to been seen how the standard will play out within enterprise environments, Berenbaum said. "The value of Hotspot 2.0 is much clearer for a carrier-based Wi-Fi environment than it is for enterprise environments right now, but there is potential for the standard to be realistically deployed within enterprises."

Enterprise small cell technology for cellular services has also been slow to gain traction within the enterprise, but has potential to blossom in the coming year. Small cells can serve as another mechanism for enabling cellular connectivity into enterprise facilities, but there are still some technology hurdles related to multi-carrier support that need to be worked out, Berenbaum said.

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Will wireless trump wired networks in 2014? With WLANs graduating from a "nice feature to have," to a critical business network, enterprises will be asking for tools that increase ease of Contents management for combined wired/wireless networks, and overall performance across their entire environment, Berenbaum said. As users bring in more WLAN market new devices without Ethernet ports -- like some laptops and all tablets -- the predictions: Faster pressure is on for IT to ensure their Wi-Fi network is up for the challenge. speeds boost Wi-Fi's

relevance in 2014 "Interest and expansion for the all-wireless enterprise is on the rise, but it's 802.11ac 2013 not going to increase tremendously fast this year; it's still going to be more standard ratified: common to mix wired and wireless because the wires are already there in What WLAN planners most cases," he said. need to know

802.11ac 2013 standard ratified: What WLAN planners need to know Lisa Phifer, Wireless Networking Expert

In late December, the IEEE 11ac Task Group finally completed its six-year trek, putting the seal of approval on the final IEEE 802.11ac-2013 standard. This much-anticipated and very high throughput specification pushes wireless LAN data rates well into gigabit territory, maxing out just shy of 7 Gbps. But what does 11ac finalization mean to enterprise WLAN planners?

First and second waves will represent different challenges

In the near-term, expect to see few product impacts. Why? The first Wi-Fi certified ac products have been shipping since mid-2013; new certification tests based on the final standard won't start until 2015 at earliest. In the meantime, a second wave of consumer-grade products that implement new- but-uncertified options will emerge, such as the Asus RT-AC87U router, announced at CES 2014.

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As Aerohive Networks' Matthew Gast, author of 802.11ac: A Survival Guide, details in his blog, the first wave of Wi-Fi certified ac products are likely to be fully interoperable with second-wave products. That's because the features Contents baked into today's certified ac products are based on draft 3.0 of the emerging standard and those features were not substantively revamped in WLAN market the recently approved final standard. predictions: Faster speeds boost Wi-Fi's Any differences that do emerge in the second wave of 11ac products that are relevance in 2014 based on December's final standard will be incremental. The most 802.11ac 2013 noteworthy additions: wider 160 MHz channels, access points (APs) with five standard ratified: to eight spatial streams and multi-user multiple input multiple output (MU- What WLAN planners MIMO). Together, these options will boost maximum data rates from today's need to know 1.3 Gbps to a blistering 6.9 Gbps.

Don’t miss the first wave, because it will provide a foundation

In practice, few enterprises really need 7 Gbps per-client throughput today. But simply migrating from 802.11n to first-wave 802.11ac products can triple throughput. Better yet, first-wave 11ac can noticeably increase WLAN capacity, client density and range. Moving 11ac and dual-band 11n clients onto 5 GHz, for example, reduces competition for airtime and improves connection quality for both old and new devices. This is why enterprises should take advantage of normal device refreshes and already-planned network expansions to gradually incorporate first-wave 11ac APs into their WLANs.

When it comes to the migration of WLAN clients, however, enterprise planners have less control. The bring your own device trend has already brought first-wave 11ac clients into enterprise WLANs; analysts expect 11ac client growth to accelerate quickly through 2014 as more and more new smartphones, tablets and notebooks ship with 11ac on board. When purchasing corporate devices, enterprises should insist on Wi-Fi certified ac, preferably with beamforming, thus laying a foundation to meet growing application demands and higher-density WLANs.

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Do prepare for the second wave of 802.11ac-2013 devices

Adding first-wave 11ac APs to an existing 11n WLAN requires a little bit of Contents planning, primarily to design 5 GHz spectrum allocation -- using wider 40 MHz and 80 MHz channels where higher data rates are needed. In the near WLAN market term, a few 11ac APs here and there, servicing a mixture of 11ac and legacy predictions: Faster clients, aren't likely to overwhelm back-end network infrastructure. In speeds boost Wi-Fi's addition, those APs can probably make do with existing 1 Gbps Ethernet relevance in 2014 links and Power over Ethernet. 802.11ac 2013 standard ratified: Yet as 11ac clients, application demands and user density escalate, the What WLAN planners advantages offered by the second wave of 11ac APs will gain importance. In need to know the enterprise, MU-MIMO will let a single AP simultaneously converse with up to four clients at once (for example, a 4x4 AP simultaneously servicing four single-stream smartphones). Upgrading will mean new second-wave 11ac APs with new chipsets that support MU-MIMO – but that kind of investment will be warranted in high-density areas that by then are pushing the limits of first-wave capacity.

At that time, second-wave 11ac APs will most likely need more power, 10 GB Ethernet/CAT6a backhaul links and beefier back-end infrastructure to avoid upstream bottlenecks that may emerge. Planning ahead for these upgrades now and rolling them out over the next two to three years will leave enterprises well-situated to deploy the second wave of enterprise-class 11ac products in 2016 and beyond.

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Free resources for technology professionals Contents TechTarget publishes targeted technology media that address your need for information and resources for researching products, WLAN market predictions: Faster developing strategy and making cost-effective purchase decisions. Our speeds boost Wi-Fi's network of technology-specific Web sites gives you access to industry relevance in 2014 experts, independent content and analysis and the Web’s largest library of vendor-provided white papers, webcasts, podcasts, videos, virtual 802.11ac 2013 trade shows, research reports and more —drawing on the rich R&D standard ratified: resources of technology providers to address market trends, What WLAN planners need to know challenges and solutions. Our live events and virtual seminars give you access to vendor neutral, expert commentary and advice on the issues and challenges you face daily. Our social community IT Knowledge Exchange allows you to share real world information in real time with peers and experts.

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