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802.11n builds upon previous 802.11 standards by adding Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), which employs multiple transmitters and receiver antennas to increase data throughput.

With a range of products that support IEEE 802.11a/b/g and soon "n" technologies, Cisco really does offer a pretty complete and impressive line of in-building and outdoor wireless LAN solutions.

Basically, the split-MAC architecture allows the splitting of 802.11 protocol packets between the Cisco LWAPP-based AP that handles real-time portions of the protocol and the WLAN controller that handles any items that are not time sensitive.

As more vendors migrate to a mesh hierarchical design, and as larger networks are built using lightweight access points, we really need a standardized protocol that governs how lightweight access points communicate with WLAN systems. This is exactly the role filled by one of the Internet Engineering Task Force's (IETF's) latest draft specification, Lightweight Access Point Protocol (LWAPP).

wireless security is nonexistent on access points and clients. The original 802.11 committee just didn't imagine that wireless hosts would one day outnumber bounded media hosts, but that's truly where we're headed.

All Wi-Fi Certified wireless LAN products are shipped in "open-access" mode, with their security features turned off. While open access or no security may be appropriate and acceptable for public hot spots such as coffee shops, college campuses, and maybe airports, it's definitely not an option for an enterprise organization, and likely not even adequate for your private home network.

SSID is a common network name for the devices in a WLAN system that create the wireless LAN. An SSID prevents access by any client device that doesn't have the SSID. The thing is, by default, an access point broadcasts its SSID in its beacon many times a second. And even if SSID broadcasting is turned off, a bad guy can discover the SSID by monitoring the network and just waiting for a client response to the access point.

WPA or WPA2 Pre-Shared Key (PSK) is a better form of wireless security than any other basic wireless security method mentioned so far. I did say basic.

The Cisco Unified Wireless Network delivers many innovative Cisco enhancements and supports Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2), which provide access control per user, per session via mutual authentication and data privacy and through strong dynamic encryption.

There are two new features of the 5GHz radio that are part of the 802.11h specification: Transmit Power Control (TPC) and Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS).

802.11b/g operates in the same 2.4GHz unlicensed band, migrating to 802.11g is an affordable choice for organizations with existing 802.11b wireless infrastructures.

The 802.11a standard delivers a maximum data rate of 54Mbps with 12 non-overlapping frequency channels.

"IEEE 802.11 was the first, original standardized WLAN at 1 and 2Mbps. It runs in the 2.4GHz radio frequency and was ratified in 1997 even though we didn't see many products pop up until around 1999 when 802.11b was introduced"