Wireless networks are everywhere and Wireless Applications are getting more sophisticated each day (Voice, Video, Security, 802.11ac, 802.11ax, IOT).

If, for any reason, you have gaps in the following:

1. Your IT staff is not ready and prepared to design, deploy and troubleshoot Wireless RF issues that can impact critical applications like voice, data and video.
2. your wireless network is not compliant with industry-specific regulations: DoD Directive 8100.2, SOX, GLBA, HIPAA, FISMA, and PCI-DSS and you are required to meet one of the standards
3. you or your customers are not network 802.11ac, 802.11ax ready
4. your wireless network is not optimized for the future

If you don’t have any in-house Wi-Fi experts to handle the above points then the best option is to engage a Professional Services (PS) Provider. They can help you with the following:

• Handle the entire WLAN lifecycle — from design to site survey to security, auditing, ongoing security and performance management to expansion planning
• Minimize security risks and legal exposure, maximize performance and productivity, and optimize cost and manage IT staff resources better
• Analyze the critical layer between the wireless LAN infrastructure and mobility applications, ensuring that the wireless network is secure and complies with internal and external policies or regulations and delivers at required performance levels

Wireless Design

Whether your wireless network will be used for voice, video or data, PS Wireless Specialists will design your network according to best practice and industry experience.

PS Wireless Specialists are experienced with multi-vendor deployments such as: Cisco, Aruba, Motorola, Mist, Meraki to name a few

They will work with you or your customers in order to achieve full compliance in case of third party network audits, doesn’t matter if it’s a bank, government, retail or health care

PS design expertise goes beyond just wireless (RF, LAN) and integrates the WLAN with the rest of the network such as: WAN and SIP integration for Wi-Fi-voice, firewall, active directory, RADIUS, QoS, security polices, proof of concepts and more to give customers best options for a network that is integrated, secure and reliable

RF Analysis

Interference can stem from a variety of sources including competition from other Wi-Fi devices, so-called “hidden nodes” in the network, and even non-802.11 wireless devices

PS Wireless Specialists can quickly see the impact of competing Wi-Fi devices, identify any hidden nodes affecting the channel, and track noise in the RF environment

They can use a spectrum analyzer to identify non-802.11 sources of interference for even deeper Layer 1 analysis

Detailed Packet and Frame Analysis

PS wireless specialists can show you real-time packet flows for any Wi-Fi asset (Voice and Data). Track data and management packets live, watch CRC errors, utilization, packet speed, media type and much more

View a real-time decode page for detailed network analysis: decode the most popular protocols such as FTP, HTTP, SMTP, POP, and Telnet, with advanced filtering options that allow you to focus on particular conversations based on IP address or port number

They can side step the technical Jargon and explain in plain-English, including why something is important and what steps you should take to resolve issues

Generate Compliance Reports

PS Specialists can provide detailed compliance reports for a variety of regulatory standards including Sarbanes-Oxley, Basel II, EU-CRD (Cad 3), ISO 27001, FISMA, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, DoD 8100.2, and GLBA

These reports provide a step-by-step pass/fail assessment of each section of the standard,  in a professional customized report

Detect Rogues and Network Vulnerabilities

•PS Specialists can identify hundreds of performance problems, such as 802.11n misconfigurations, 802.11b/g conflicts, 802.11e problems, and QoS, as well as dozens of wireless intrusions and hacking strategies, including Rogue devices, Denial-of-Service attacks, Dictionary Attacks, Evil-Twins, RF Jamming, “Stumbler” tools, and many more

They also have techniques to conveniently track down rogue AP and non-complying devices that compromise network security.

Lockdown Security Policies

PS Wireless Specialists will help you set detailed security policies for all devices in their network

Designate encryption and authentication methods then monitor your wireless LAN to check all devices for compliance with those policies

Also validate that the encryption methods themselves function correctly over the WLAN. Establish an even higher level of organized security by designating a list of approved APs for client access, and monitoring for exposed wireless stations, ad-hoc devices, and other vulnerabilities

Perform Live, Interactive Network Tests

With a suite of active troubleshooting tools they can help you to quickly pinpoint network problems, misconfigurations, RF interferences, traffic/infrastructure overloads, hardware failures, connectivity issues and more

PS can provide step-by-step progress of a connection between a client and AP to pinpoint exactly where the process has broken down. Run AP performance tests to identify mismatched settings in the network, coverage, multi-path interference, jitter and roaming

802.11n/ac/ax Site Survey and Deployment

With varying 802.11n/ac/ax access point and station capabilities, different uplink (station to access point) and downlink (access point to station), which accounts for multipath and a variety of other factors that can impact end-user performance

With their survey tools, they can plan for optimal 802.11n/ac/ax AP placement and configuration and ensure quality and reliability for the 802.11 network

Their tools assist with legacy AP/station coexistence planning and channel assignment and verify readiness for 802.11n/ac/ax deployment and helps make critical deployment decisions for new networks or adding 802.11n/ac/ax devices and even visualize signal bleeding between floors

Detailed Spectrum Analysis

They can conduct both Wi-Fi and Spectrum Analysis data to be collected in a single walkthrough for efficiency and reduce site visits

They can detect and identify the presence of non-802.11 devices that are interfering with the Enterprise WLAN at the site survey locations

They can display a location-specific FFT spectrum plot for every data point, giving you the most complete view of your wireless environment possible. One can also use the RF spectrum heat map to visualize the average power level in the RF spectrum for each channel at any given point on the map.

Perform Outdoor Surveys

With the combination of GPS support, 4.9 GHz support and integration with Google Earth, Microsoft® MapPoint™ and Microsoft® Virtual Earth™, survey tools provide a clear path to fast, fully automated outdoor surveys. With an NMEA compliant GPS device they can automatically collect outdoor wireless data. The results can then be analyzed and exported into Google Earth

Professional Service Providers have all the expertise and tools, plus they don’t need any training and so can deliver quickly and efficiently. As it is only a one time fee, the costs will be much less than hiring a full time employee(s)