Cure the difficulty of choosing! What are the differences between 5G, Wi-Fi 6, and Wi-Fi 6E?

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This article is reprinted from the WeChat public account "Computer World", written by Zeus Kerravala. Please contact the Computer World public account for reprinting this article.

Upgrade to Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, or 5G as appropriate

In the past, wireless networks were considered the convenience of the network, while wired networks were the ones that provided the best performance. This is no longer the case, as many mission-critical services are wireless, such as healthcare, manufacturing, and warehousing. The rise of video has put a huge strain on traditional Wi-Fi networks, which has degraded network quality. Newer wireless solutions are clearly better, but the options are confusing.

Wi-Fi 6 builds on the foundation of Wi-Fi 5, but introduces many features from the cellular network world to reduce congestion, extend battery life, and extend coverage distance. Wi-Fi 6E uses the 6Ghz spectrum, which has faster access speeds and less congestion than Wi-Fi 6, but is not backward compatible with Wi-Fi 5 and earlier versions. Proprietary 5G uses standards such as CBRS (Citizens Broadband Radio Service) to enable Wi-Fi to reach cellular network speeds.

None of these technologies is better than the other, as they have different uses. The general deployment model is a mix of the three, with Wi-Fi 6 used for general-purpose connections, areas with higher customer density can be enhanced with Wi-Fi 6E, and proprietary 5G will be used for mission-critical use cases, such as production workshops.

☆ Make security an inherent part of the network

In the past, network technology and security technology were deployed independently, with the latter usually overlaid on the network. This is far from ideal, but it is sufficient to prevent most security incidents. Network engineers design the network, while security professionals deploy security tools at each entry point.

One of the challenges today is that there are hundreds, if not thousands, of entry points, from SaaS applications to virtual tunnels to guest access on Wi-Fi networks. Even if an enterprise had unlimited money to spend, it would be impossible to deploy all the security tools to guard every entry point.

Another complication is the growing number of security tools. In the past, firewalls and IDS/IPS systems were sufficient to protect enterprises. Modern security stacks include not only these systems, but also ZTNA (zero trust network access), SWG (secure web gateway), CASB (cloud access security broker), endpoint and network detection and response, and other tools.

An increasingly popular way to protect enterprises is to embed security into the network as a cloud service. This is often called secure access service edge (SASE), which enables enterprises to deploy enterprise-grade security measures anywhere in the network, including employees' homes. The success of SASE depends on aligning security operations teams with network operations teams. This can be challenging, but it is essential for any enterprise that wants to modernize its network.

Skill Sets for Network Professionals

It is worth mentioning that today's network engineers need to become software power users because modern network equipment can be managed, configured and programmed through software APIs and developer interfaces.

A few years ago, enterprises required network engineers to become developers in order to fully utilize these software systems. However, this was met with great resistance in the networking industry because most network professionals had little interest in becoming developers.

In reality, network professionals don’t need to be developers, but they should be familiar with how to use software. Making an API call to perform a task is much simpler than using a command line interface, and it also greatly reduces the possibility of errors. Although network hardware has been equipped with software interfaces for many years, the adoption rate has been low. If the network is to be modernized, the skill sets of the people who run the network must also keep pace with the times.

Author: Zeus Kerravala is founder and principal analyst at ZK Research.

Original URL: https://www.networkworld.com/article/

3628908/5-steps-for-modernizing-enterprise-networks.html