Tag Archive for WLAN

| August 15, 2020
Comments Off on Can Cisco be XaaS-y ?

Can Cisco be XaaS-y ?

tech prognosticatorIt’s not news that these are unprecedented times. No one has seen anything like COVID-19 — or the global response to the virus – before. Many people worry about how this situation will evolve and how it will affect economies, careers, and personal bottom lines. The long-term economic fallout after the crisis passes is unknown. It’s possible it will be bad and last a couple of years. It may be shorter. There’s no way to tell. 

Can Cisco be XaaS-y ?The tightening of the purse strings has led tech prognosticator IDC to lower its 2020 guess forecast for the Ethernet switch and wireless LAN markets. The research firm expects the WLAN market to grow less than 1% from 2019, while the switch market will shrink 0.7%. The revised numbers represent a 3.7% point drop from IDC’s earlier 2020 forecast for Ethernet switches and a 4.8% point decline for WLAN revenue. In dollar terms, IDC says the switch market will reach $28.5 billion this year while WLAN revenue will be $6.2 billion.

To prove IDC’s point, Cisco (CSCO) just announced its ’20Q4 earnings report and it was not pretty. During the fourth fiscal quarter that ended June 30, the tech giant‘s product revenue fell 13% year over year to $8.83 billion. After the presser, CSCO slid by more than 11% – the worst day since February 2011.

Cisco logoAs an answer to declining revenue Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins announced layoffs a restructuring plan was underway:

Over the next few quarters, we will be taking out over $1 billion on an annualized basis to reduce our cost structure.

The San Jose, CA-based company Cisco, which employees 75,000 people, worldwide, did not say how many employees would be laid off restructured going forward. Cisco has been laying off employees over the past few quarters. CEO Robbins said on the earnings call, that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced the company to “re-examine” its entire portfolio and nothing is off the table. 

LayoffsIn theory, Cisco is using the restructuring to accelerate its R&D to focus on delivering everything it can as a service as it transitions to generating more of its revenues from software rather than hardware. In the last quarter, FierceTelecom reports that Cisco now generates half its revenue from software and services.

CRN reports that Cisco‘s infrastructure segment, which includes the core switching and routing businesses as well as wireless and data center products, continued its double-digit decline, falling 16% during the quarter to $6.62 billion. Overall, this segment dropped 10% for the full year.

Revenue was down across all customer and geographic segments. In terms of customer segments, Cisco saw revenue decline in all segments:

  • Public sector fell by 1%,
  • Service provider down 5%.
  • Enterprise declined 7%,
  • Commercial tumbled 23%,

Regional sales also fell:

  • EMEA fell by 6%,
  • APJC was down 7%, and
  • Americas, declined by 12%, 

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Besides COVID, other factors have stopped tech spending including technology shifts into 5G cellular networks, 400-gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 6. The fact is that Cisco wants to transition the majority of its portfolio to an as-a-service consumption model. Cloud expansion could support Cisco’s business. BUT–  Cisco has never been a major player in the cloud. Their go to cloud story proves it

Cloud computingIn 2014, Cisco’s first cloud strategy, InterCloud based in OpenStack was abandoned in 2016. Cisco’s next cloud strategy was to become the Switzerland of the cloud. This strategy was to work across multiple public and private cloud environments – to be a neutral player. It focused on: management, security, analytics,  and being Cisco – advanced networking. This Cisco Cloud phase has morphed again.

Cisco’s current approach to multi-cloud is network-centric and its centerpiece is an architecture called Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) – which formerly only ran on Nexus devices. ACI focuses on policy, management, and operations for applications deployed across cloud environments. 

I’m sooo confused about the Cisco cloud story, are you?

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Stay safe out there!

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| November 17, 2015
Comments Off on Sun Setting on Cat 5e

Sun Setting on Cat 5e

Sun Setting on Cat 5eThe sun is setting on the Cat 5e cabling standard. The long-standing standard defined how most commercial spaces around the world were cabled for nearly 20 years. Starting in 2017 Cat 5e will be considered obsolete for new installations following a decision by the ISO/IEC cabling standards body.

recommendation for Category 6AIn a recent blog post at CommScope (COMM), the ISO cabling standards body JTC1/SC25 WG3 working group agreed to raise the minimum horizontal cabling requirement. The new standard is stated in ISO/IEC 11801-2. Office space requirements change from Class D (Category 5e) to Class E (Category 6). It includes a recommendation for Class EA (Category 6A). Cat 6A will enable a smooth migration to 2.5, 5, and ultimately 10 gigabits per second (Gbps). In the drafts of 11801-5 (data centers) and 11801-6 (distributed services), the minimum requirement is already Class EA cabling.

Ethernet and IP communications everywhere

The original ISO/IEC 11801 standard enabled the explosive growth and mass deployment of Ethernet and IP communications everywhere. In its first edition, the author says the standard defined Class D balanced cabling based on Category 5 copper components. This standard offered an upgrade path from 10 to 100 megabits per second (Mbps) up to 100 meters. At that time, some experts and industry observers argued that 100 Mbps (100BASE-T) to the desk was overkill for the typical office user.

handful of cablesToday, 100BASE-T technology is in a rapid market decline. 100BASE-T is being replaced with 1000BASE-T (1 Gbps) according to the article. 1000BASE-T is commonplace for desktop and laptop PCs. It also benefits a wide range of other devices such as phones, cameras, and wireless access points (WAPs).

The 11801 standard now includes more cabling classes that were introduced to enable support of up to 10 Gbps. The new classes include Class E (Category 6), Class F (Category 7). Even more recently, Class EA (Category 6A) and Class FA (Category 7A).

Technology trends

According to the CommScope blog, a number of technology trends made ISO choose to upgrade the minimum recommendation for horizontal cabling in offices. Some of the trends recognized by the committee that are driving the adoption of speeds beyond one Captain Ethernetgigabit on the horizontal cabling include:

The rapid growth of BYOD is driving infrastructure upgrades to accommodate IEEE 802.11ac. As I have covered before, new IEEE specifications are being developed to accommodate 802.11ac wireless. 2.5GBASE-T is targeted at installed Class D cabling and 5GBASE-T is targeted at installed Class E cabling. It is expected that a sizable percentage of the installed base will be able to support the faster speeds, however, some installed Class D and Class E systems may require some mitigation steps.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| September 3, 2013
Comments Off on 802.11ac Wi-Fi Clears the Way for Collaboration

802.11ac Wi-Fi Clears the Way for Collaboration

802.11ac Wi-Fi Clears the Way for CollaborationThe emerging gigabit 802.11ac, Wi-Fi standard is the current darling of the hype machine. The standard will be finalized in February 2014. However, that has not stopped manufacturers from shipping 802.11ac routers, access points, and mobile devices. Shortel (SHOR) recently provided their opinion on what this means for your business.

IEEE 802.11acThe article points out that more people are using mobile apps and devices. Shortel calculates that a typical worker may have three IP addresses, while digital natives may have up to six IP addresses. These stats suggest that mobility has become a must-have and the author claims that 802.11ac can meet the needs of increasing mobility because 802.11ac is faster, more reliable, and delivers more Wi-Fi capacity. 802.11ac is:

  • Faster – 802.11ac is three times faster than 802.11n Wi-Fi. 802.11ac will deliver up to 1.3 Gbps, which is about three times faster than 802.11n. This capacity will be ideal for real-time applications, such as IP voice and streaming video. Faster data throughput means better battery life for mobile devices, too.
  • More reliable – 802.11ac is more reliable with less interference. 802.11ac operates at 5 GHz, which is far less crowded than the 2.4 GHz band that by 802.11b/g/n access points — as well as cordless phones, automatic garage door openers, and other home appliances. That means that there’s less interference from other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, which will result in a better user experience.
  • Improved throughput. 802.11ac uses multiple antennas for transmitting and receiving RF signals, and that means better data throughput. More specifically, MIMO, or Multiple-Input and Multiple-Output, is key to providing wireless performance that is more switch-like, compared to the shared media nature of 802.11n.

W-Fi Alliance logoShortel believes that Gigabit Wi-Fi can be a real asset for unified communications, streaming media, and other bandwidth-hungry apps. They plan to use the greater capacity of 802.11ac to support more devices and more apps. In the workplace, teams want to engage and share without hassle using modern collaboration tools with the devices of their choice creating the need for BYOD.

The newest generation of workers are digital natives, who are more inclined to use videoconferencing for quick chats or to share ideas. In addition, many people use tablets to stream media, and more organizations are turning to streaming media over Wi-Fi for digital signage, training, company meetings, and customer support. And those bandwidth-hungry applications will love the new gigabit Wi-Fi.

Wave 1 802.11ac only offers incremental benefits over 802.11nShoretel reassures those that have deployed an 802.11n WLAN recently, you don’t need to be in a hurry to move to 802.11ac. You can be confident in the investment that you made, as the first-generation 802.11ac will offer only incremental benefits over 802.11n. But if you are replacing old Wi-Fi or expanding your wireless LAN or looking to downsize your wired network in favor of wireless, you should weigh the options between 802.11n and the new 802.11ac.

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802.11ac will only get faster, the theoretical max speed of 802.11ac is just shy of 7Gbps, which you will never see in the wild, but don’t be surprised to see link speeds of 2Gbps or more in the next few years. At 2Gbps, you’ll get a transfer rate of 256MB/sec.

To reach such Wi-Fi speeds, chipset and device makers will have to figure out how to make second-generation chipsets with four or more 802.11ac streams in software and hardware. The engineers at Broadcom (BRCM), Qualcomm (QCOM), Marvell (MRVL), and Intel (INTC) are already working on ways to implementing four and eight-stream 802.11ac solutions. A lot of work will need to be done by the chipset and device makers to make sure that advanced features, such as beamforming, comply with the standard and are interoperable with other 802.11ac devices.

In general, then, you can certainly expect some impressive speeds from 802.11ac in situations where you don’t need the performance and reliability of wired GigE. But I do not believe that 802.11ac will replace a wired Gigabit Ethernet network just yet.

What do you think?

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| December 7, 2010
Comments Off on More Wi-Fi Patent Legal Wrangling

More Wi-Fi Patent Legal Wrangling

TMore Wi-Fi Patent Legal Wranglinghe wireless patent wars wage on. Ericsson, (ERIC) the Swedish telecommunications giant has filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against a number of companies for alleged patent infringement of its IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi products reports CENS.com. CENS.com says the businesses named in Ericsson’s lawsuit include:

The CENS.com article says the lawsuit involves all WLAN (wireless local area network) devices either incorporating chipsets supplied by:

or OEM products made by:

Foxconn logoTech Connect reports that Ericsson claims, the companies named are offering products that violate one or more of the following WLAN patents (number/title):

  • 6,466,568 – ‘Multi-rate radiocommunication systems and terminals’
  • 5,771,468 – ‘Multi-purpose base station’
  • 6,519,223 – ‘System and method for implementing a semi-reliable retransmission protocol’
  • 6,330,435 – ‘Data packet discard notification’
  • 6,772,215 – ‘Method for minimizing feedback responses in ARQ protocols
  • 6,424,625 – ‘Method and apparatus for discarding packets in a data network having automatic repeat request’
  • 6,173,352 – ‘Mobile computer mounted apparatus for controlling enablement and indicating the operational status of a wireless communication’
  • 5,987,019 – ‘Multi-rate radiocommunication systems and terminals’
  • 5,790,516 – ‘Pulse shaping for data transmission in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexed system’

D-Link logoEricsson requested the infringing companies to compensate its losses and asked the court to ban the sales of the infringing products. D-Link told CENS.com they cannot give any comment because the company had not received any file from the court. But it will not affect the sales of its products. Acer told CENS.com that its legal department had received the related notice and has started judicial procedures.

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I have covered other WLAN patent suits here and here. While I’m no patent lawyer, what this says to me is that the WLAN market is starting to level off and firms are looking for “other” ways to make some money without producing products. A business tactic fresh from the 1980s.

I also noticed that this suit between a European firm (Ericsson) and Asian firms (Acer, Netgear, and D-Link) was brought in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. This seems to be a favorite place for firms to sue each other, I wonder if anyone has ever investigated why this court is so popular for alleged patent troll cases.

One of the things that we instituted a while ago, in our RFP’s and contract’s is a clause that requires the VAR and the manufacturer to hold the end-user harmless in regards to patent suits the VAR or manufacturer may get entangled in.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| September 13, 2008
Comments Off on Gigabit Wi-Fi

Gigabit Wi-Fi

Gigabit Wi-FiDespite the fact that IEEE 802.11n 100Mbps wireless LAN standard has not been approved yet, the IEEE Very High Throughput (VHT) Study Group is about to launch a new project, gigabit Wi-Fi.

The study group is looking at gigabit Wi-Fi in two frequency bands, high-frequency 60GHz for relatively short ranges and under-6GHz for ranges similar to that of today’s WLANs in the 5GHz band, 802.11a and 11n. The IEEE proposal suggests a completion target date of 2013 for the standard. Big wireless players such as Atheros, Broadcom, Intel, Marvell, Motorola, and Nortel are reported to be active in the study group.

In a Network World article, IEEE readies launch of gigabit Wi-Fi project “The basic idea right now, and that’s subject to change, is that the ‘maximum mandatory mode’ on a single link would be [at least] 500Mbps,” says Tushar Moorti, director of systems architecture for chipmaker Broadcom‘s (AVGO) WLAN Business Unit. “But the further requirement is that [an access point] device that supports VHT would be able to sustain multiple links, so the aggregate would be over 1Gbps.”

“It’s the next-generation technology for wireless LAN, in the same sense that 11n was the follow-on to 11a/b/g,” says Broadcom’s Moorti.

According to the proposal, VHT “will allow a corporate or home user to roam from high-throughput dense cells to wider area networks in a seamless manner, while maintaining full support for the installed base security, management, diagnostics, and backbone infrastructure.” VHT will also be backward compatible with the full range of existing and emerging 802.11 standards, such as 11i for security, and 11s for mesh networking.

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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