The WLAN industry is characterized by rapidly changing, incomplete or proprietary standards, which can impact interoperability goals.
There are complicated ownership costs, performance limitations, and security configurations that exist for WLANs which many network administrators may not understand or know how to compare. This dissertation presents a decision support system (DSS) that enables a novice network administrator to compare WLAN protocol capabilities, rank security configurations, rate IT cost efforts and use an extensive feature list.
An in-depth discussion, concerning WLAN protocols, virtual private networks (VPNs), various encryption algorithms, 802.1X authentication mechanisms, and compilation of network selection criteria provides the foundation to construct a small DSS to aid WLAN network administrators.
The DSS uses a set of rules to evaluate a series of potential requirements and provides pertinent WLAN decision-making information.
The DSS environment allows a number of specific what-if scenarios to be reviewed and compared; multiple solutions can be tried without having to deal with the consequences. Alternative technologies are listed by the DSS to educate the decision maker about other options.
Beyond a BSEE and MBA from Ohio University, he completed a doctorate in Management Information Systems. He holds several professional certifications, as well as: Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and Project Management Professional (PMP).
When not consulting, or teaching technology, Kevin is an avid Science Fiction fan, ancient history enthusiast and often goes to the gym to workout. Kevin can be reached at [email protected] for consulting.