Now that the final version of 802.11n has been approved and products based on that standard are shipping, many expect rapid adoption of high-speed wireless networks in the enterprise. Access points (APs) that support 802.11n are up to six times faster and can reach up to twice as far as legacy 802.11abg APs. Moreover, networks based on 802.11n can support larger user populations much more reliably, making Wi-Fi a competitive alternative to 10/100 Ethernet for enterprise network access.

Most businesses use Wi-Fi to some extent already, but a considerable number have been awaiting next generation 802.11n APs and clients before deploying company-wide coverage, implementing multimedia applications, or undertaking Ethernet replacement projects. In this tip, let's review several key questions that network security pros should think about as part of any 802.11n upgrade.

1. How will deploying an 802.11n upgrade affect legacy Wi-Fi clients and their security policies?
A top concern for any upgrade is minimizing the effect that changes have on the rest of the network, its services and its users. To avoid service degradation for old and new users, deploy new 802.11n access points (APs) on different channels, preferably in the larger, relatively unused 5 GHz band. If there's a need to support old clients with 802.11n APs in the crowded 2.4 GHz band used by legacy 802.11g APs, configure new APs to operate in "mixed mode" on 20 MHz channels only.

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