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Have you ever thought of having an all wireless office? Do you think it is not possible at this point/ it is not practical? If your answer to that question is yes, then you need to read this article for sure. Let us look at the reverse circumstance first: What could perchance be the vantages of wired networks over wireless networks? Well, the prompt points that comes to our mind could be the following: 1. Speed. Wireless networks are considered to be slow and having a low bandwidth. 2. Real time applications. Wireless networks cannot handle real time apps like voice and video. 3. Security. The wireless signals reach even all over the road. What if an individual hacks in to my network? 4. Incompatibility: Certain widgets like printers etc. are not Wi-Fi enabled. The PC does not have Wi-Fi cards. Let us look at each point on an individual basis (I am writing this article in the point of view of an enterprise/office network, and consequently I am assuming that the Wi-Fi network is built using Wireless Controllers, Access Points and Management Software) Speed: Wired networks had a decent speed of 100 Mbps and these days have a speed of 1000 Mbps. Wireless networks only have a speed of 54 Mbps and that too is shared amidst a heap of users. Give me one application which would take up 1000 Mbps per port, or even 100 Mbps per port and then probably I could receive the above statement. The fact is, even if your office runs demanding apps like multimedia, ERP, video etc, the greatest or most complete or best possible bandwidth requirement per user may not cross even 4 Mbps! Now take the 54 Mbps of Wi-Fi networks and assume that 15 persons are connecting to it, each user may get around 2.5 Mbps, which is sufficient for most of the apps that we have today, and if all the 15 users don’t connect at the same time, a single user might get even more bandwidth. In fact, with the advent of 802.11n general for Wi-Fi, the bandwidth available per access point is around 300 Mbps and will touch 600 Mbps in the near future. So, even if 15 humans connect with one 802.11n access point, they might get in excess of 20 Mbps, which is more than sufficient for most of the apps on the network today. Real Time Applications: What if I run PC based video conferencing in my company? Can the wireless networks handle real time traffic? A decent video conferencing client may not take more than 256-384 Kbps for giving 30 f/s quality video with H.264 compression. How a good deal of such conferences are going to occur simultaneously? And real time apps run very well if your wireless controller may aid WMM – Wireless Multi Media protocol which prioritize the real time traffic over the normal traffic, and most of the controllers today support it. Even voice is supported on the wireless LAN – including the seamless handover from one AP to another, if you are carrying the VoWLAN handsets. There is an interesting engineering that is growing fast, which is called FMC – Fixed Mobile Convergence where your IP Phones and Cell phones may be integrated with a single mobile handset and you have one number for both. Though IP Land line Phones are not supported by Wireless Networks, such inventions (Like FMC and VoWLAN handsets for voice over wireless LAN) aid include further and added features as well as give the basic service much more efficiently. Security The wireless signals may penetrate the walls and in fact go throughout the road – what if a lot of one hacks my network? This is a valid concern. The security is compromised if your wireless communications are not encrypted with the latest standards and proper security policies are not applied. But if the security policies are applied according to the latest standards (like 802.11i etc), then the chances of breaking the network from outside is very less. Also, there are Wireless Intrusion preventative action software’s that are available in the market these days which keep scanning for wireless threats and intrusions and they notify or even thwart attempts to intrude in to your wireless network automatically. Incompatibility: There are sure widgets that are not yet Wi-Fi compatible – like sure printers, fax machines etc. But you will be amazed at how some gadgets are Wi-Fi compliant and have commercially ready Wi-Fi based merchandise already – Surveillance Cameras, Multi-Function Devices, Access Control Card readers, Laptops, Projectors and closely each network based device has a Wi-Fi compliant model. Even if sure productions are not Wi-Fi compliant, cables could be drawn selectively for those apps alone, rather of wiring the whole office with three ports per cubicle! In fact, Wireless Access Points need to be connected to LAN cables at the back end, so a fixed number of wired switch ports is anyway required. And there are always USB based Wi-Fi adaptors that may be employed to make a desktop computer (PC) wireless. So, having established that wired networks are not inherent superior to current generation wireless networks, let us now look at the further and added vantages that wireless networks provide over wired networks : Less Cost – Saving not only in the amount of cables, switch ports required but likewise in the cost of passive components. Comfort and Mobility – The wireless networks are accessible anyplace – even in the canteen and the lawn. All you need is a Wi-Fi enabled laptop to access them. And the users may connect to the network from anyplace – cubicles, group discussion rooms, lawns etc. Redundancy: If an Access Point fails, another neighbouring access point may mechanically connect the users (without having to modify the port connection manually like in wired networks). Network access control, AD integration: The centralized management functionality of the wired networks using Active Directory (or LDAP etc) is available with most of the wireless networks today. In fact, controller based wireless networks may also provide network access control – grouping the users and resolving which users have access to which resources in the network (Restricting sure users from accessing the internet, etc). Load balancing: The access points may mechanically push the users to neighbouring access points if they are overloaded. Some controllers even grant to restrict the bandwidth that a single user/group may access in the LAN, so that they don’t overload the network. There are galore more, but if you want to talk about further on the same or on any peculiar topic, hop over to our blog. There is a whole category on wireless networks!
Most helpful customer reviews 22 of 22 people found the following review helpful. Which means I’m probably a little spoiled for wireless products. The only fault was that the battery life was a bit less than I would have preferred. Indeed, I was also intrigued by quiet typing and water resistance claims. So, I took the leap and got this Microsoft set. First the bad. The mouse is worthless. Really is. I’ve gotten used to the side buttons and other features of my present mouse. This mouse has the two buttons and a scroll wheel. The two buttons work okay, but the wheel makes for entirely random scrolling. It does not keep a steady speed, has no relation to the mouse setting in windows, and the average speed of scrolling is immensely slow, only a couple of lines. Add this to the fact that affects both mouse and keyboard. The wireless connection is rather disappointing. This set comes with a receiver that plugs into a usb port. The receiver is needlessly designed to look like an interesting addon. It is about the size of two mouses put together, with green lights on top that light up when connected. I’m a bit bothered by all the little lights computers seem to insist on and this just makes for more bother. If you could hide it, that might be okay, but the signal isn’t strong enough. I have it right under my monitor and still get popups saying it has lost connection. It was really bad with the mouse, but still occasionally lapses with the keyboard, that is a foot away. Any obstruction causes more problems. A real hassle. And adds to the general imprecision. The keyboard itself is nice. The key noise really is significantly quieter. I’ve not tested the water resistance, but am comforted that it is there. The layout is a bit wider than other keyboards I’ve used, making for an initial bit of transition as I have to reach a bit farther for the higher keys. Those with smaller hands might find it uncomfortably wide. The programmable and media buttons are certainly handy, making for really quick access to programs that might not be always within an easy click. Yet, I’m not sure such ease overcomes the deficiencies. I’ve already gone back to my bluetooth mouse. Now I’m using two usb ports for mouse and keyboard, a situation that may not continue and may get me to retire the microsoft keyboard as well. Which is sad. I wanted it to work better, but am ultimately frustrated by the wirelessness of the wireless. It’s not too costly, but the frustration it brings might justify either a little more money to get a setup that can be used without frustration, or invested in a non-wireless combo that provides all the functions without any batteries or bother. 30 of 32 people found the following review helpful. This keyboard wins points for me by having a small footprint, so it doesn’t take too much room on my desk. I type all day, and my hands creep up, so I want a keyboard that doesn’t require me to move my fingers up and down too much, and one that I can type accurately on. This model has a low action, and its keys are soft, springy, and pretty quiet. It feels a little mushy, especially compared to my MacBook’s keyboard, but it is comfortable and accurate. The keys gently slope down, so that the spacebar and lower arrow are tapered toward the bottom of the keyboard. This seems to be a trend in new keyboards. I don’t like it that much, because it encourages your fingers to slip off the “chording keys” (ctrl, alt, super). My fingers don’t slip off the control key as I thought they would, so I do not consider the key sloping a problem. For a wireless keyboard, it is extremely important that the receiver pick up every keystroke I make. I’ve had older models that wouldn’t pick up certain letters or key combinations. Happily, this keyboard suffers from none of those problems–at least at the 3 foot range from the receiver. The mouse is very pedestrian. It has a hard, plastic shell, which feels pretty cheap. It is solid and fairly weighty (I’m used to smaller notebook sized Microsoft mice). It performs well, but is nothing special. It doesn’t have the horizontal scroll wheel function that many Microsoft mice have now, but that functionality isn’t terribly useful (even to an Excel jockey like me) so it isn’t missed here. Still, it would be nice if the mouse had extra buttons, like Microsoft’s typically excellent Intellimouse line. I believe this keyboard/mouse combination would adequately replace a wired combo for any desktop use. The wireless adapter only takes up one USB port, which I thought was very nice. Unfortunately, the unit’s range is very low. After I get 5-6 feet away from the receiver, the keyboard and mouse don’t work. This is not a problem for me, but it would be if I wanted to use this set with a home theater. Overall, I like this unit and I’m glad I have it. The keyboard is one of my favorites among all wireless keyboards I’ve used or tested, based mainly on its keys, action, and relatively compact size. The mouse and the wireless range are disappointing, however. I’m giving this unit 4 stars because it works well for basic computer use and comes at a reasonable price. 80-90% of computer users would be happy with this, I think. 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. This is the cheapest wireless mouse/keyboard offered at my local Best Buy. I thought I was taking a risk, but the keyboard is great. If you want super fancy, spend $100 on the keyboard that controls your home media station perfectly. Otherwise, get this one. PROS CON MOUSE: I thought the mouse sucked, but you can make it a good mouse, despite being a bit bulky, with just three basic buttons: left/right/middle + scrolling. 1)take the batteries out. Start to finish, less than 5 minutes. This is an easy modification for anyone comfortable using a knife in close quarters. This modification saved me from buying a new mouse for the wireless keyboard that I like. BOTTOM LINE: Great for budget-conscious people looking for a wireless keyboard/mouse. |
I wanted this to work better than it does
Nice, quiet keys. Not too bouncy, nor too mushy. For basic use. Not for home theater.
