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2.1 | |
802.11 Standards | |
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Overview |
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Overview of Standardization Standardization of networking functions has done much to further the development of affordable, interoperable networking products. This is true for wireless products as well. Prior to the development of standards, wireless systems were plagued with low data rates, incompatibility, and high costs. Standardization provides all of the following benefits:
It is important to understand the two primary types of standards. A public standard has not been approved by an official standards organization, but is recognized as a standard because of its widespread use. It is also called a de facto standard. Often, an official standards group will later adopt de facto standards. An official standard is published and controlled by an official
standards organization such as the IEEE. Most official standards
groups are funded by government and industry, which increases
cooperation and implementation at the national and international
level. For this reason most companies should deploy wireless products
that follow official standards. Officially approved standards are
called de jure standards. Some important standards organizations are
shown in Figure
When deploying devices from multiple vendors, it is important that
all devices conform to the same standard to ensure interoperability.
For example, compliance with the current 802.11b standard can create a
functional WLAN, regardless of the manufacturer of the product.
Product performance, configuration, and manageability are not always
the same, or equal, across vendors. Figure
A common issue in mobile environments will be multi-vendor NICs attempting to access a different brand of access point. For instance, a company uses brand A products in the accounting department, whereas roaming users from the IS department use brands B and C. Utilizing products that adhere to the 802.11b standard will help eliminate most interoperability issues. Roaming, security, and manageability issues may still present challenges.
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demonstrates interoperability in a Basic Service Set (BSS)
environment. 
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