Have questions about wireless bridging and getting your signals to reach Point A to Point B? Wondering what the allowable limit of obstruction is between your antennae? Well, here’s some good news.

In this short video, Nathan, CXtec’s Wireless Product Engineer, explains some factors involved with wireless bridging, including a quick analysis of the Fresnel Zone.

Find a helpful diagram to help with your Fresnel Zone calculations here: www.afar.net/fresnel-zone-calculator/

A recent article on Wired discusses at length about how the password just isn’t cutting it anymore. This string of letters and numbers, and sometimes random characters if we’re feeling extremely cautious (or if they’re even allowed), keeps our personal and confidential information about as secure as a locked door on a convertible. Okay, maybe that’s a stretch – but the point is clear that the passwords that we all feel protected by, are simply not enough in today’s tech-savvy society.

The concept of the password is as old as time – a secret code to gain access, or a simple knock on the door.  The article gives a great example of the Peloponnesian war, where Athens plans an attack on Syracusae (admittedly, we’re also big fans of any Syracuse reference). While it should have been an easily won battle for the Athenians, they were defeated.

How? For all you non-history buffs, the Syracusans discovered a “secret” watchword that the Athenians had established to let each other know when they were among friendly soldiers. Using this code, the Syracusans were able to gain access to the enemy, ultimately creating a turning point in the war.

Sure, passwords may have worked just fine in the age of dial-up internet, when most of us were still getting kicked off our email when the telephone rang. We weren’t as comfortable with the technology – and therefore, not as trusting. Now, we put everything online. From email to Facebook; online shopping sites to your bank account – and everything in between – all of your most private information is stored electronically. As the article mentions, many of us have all of our accounts linked or have the same usernames and passwords for each.

Passwords can be hacked a number of ways: simple guessing (it’s really not that hard in the Google age), stolen through malware installed on your computer or accessed from a database breach. You don’t have to be Donald Trump to be a target. In fact, hackers seem to target small businesses (less security) and everyday individuals.

You’re probably thinking, “Okay, we get it, passwords just aren’t cutting it anymore. What can we do differently to protect ourselves?”

While I can’t answer that question for you, as IT professionals it is something we all need to be thinking about.

How can we keep our company’s data as secure as possible?

There are plenty of wireless networking myths and misconceptions.  Heck, maybe it’s just confusion. Whatever it is, there is no doubt that it is real.

• Is more height better?
• Is more gain better?
• Does diversity mean I can cover 2 rooms with 1 AP?
• Wireless signals won’t go through trees, right?
• Wireless G gives me 54mb, right?
• I need wireless N!! Well…Do you?
• Can you mix N with legacy wireless?

Well, we are here to give you good information so you can make informed decisions about your network.

So, we just happen to have a webinar that clears up these wireless misconceptions and myths and offers insights about wireless networking that can help you in your wireless networking endeavors.

Hopefully, this webinar will help bust some of the common wireless networking myths and allow you to avoid some common mistakes that go along with these myths.

If this webinar was helpful, please take a look through all of the webinars we have available for free to anyone looking to expand their knowledge various areas networking and cabling.

3 Ways to Get Top-Notch Technology at Community College Prices

Statistics indicate that nearly 50% of the undergrad population now goes to community colleges. Check out these numbers. This is a great trend for the colleges, but it also leads to some challenges. Most community colleges have budgets that are stretched thin. IT pros that work in these institutions are often tasked with attaining quality technology at low costs.

This isn’t an easy endeavor. Getting more technology for less requires getting creative with your vendor and by thinking a bit outside the box. But for the shrewd IT pro, it is possible to stretch your technology budget and achieve your networking goals for less. Here are five smart ways you can do just that:

1. Consider the benefits of buying refurbished networking equipment and phones

There is still a stigma out there that used networking hardware is somehow a gamble or a risk, and new is considered the wise choice. But in our decades of doing business, we at CXtec have observed that this simply isn’t the case.

Our own brand of refurbished hardware, equal2new®, is backed by a lifetime warranty and a 99.51% reliability rating. It’s literally equal to, or better than, new.

And it’s priced up to 90% off list which means it allows customers to get much more out of their budgets than they could with new. Community colleges could realize significant savings, and still get quality hardware, if they choose to go with refurbished networking equipment and phones.

2. Get top value for your own used network hardware

Most IT pros know that the networking hardware they’re using still has worth to them. But it’s imperative to get fair market worth for the equipment you’ve already invested in. That’s the only way to achieve the maximum return on your investment and stretch your budget as far as you can.

Your vendor should pay top dollar for your used hardware, offering cash, credit or trade in return. If you’re not getting fair market value, don’t sell yourself short. Look for the vendor that maximizes your ROI.

3. Get maintenance from someone other than the OEM – Original manufacturer maintenance programs are expensive. There are times when a replacement program is necessary, especially for hardware at the core of your network, but why be handcuffed to the OEM’s expensive plan?

There are vendors who offer their own maintenance programs for a fraction of the cost of the manufacturer’s plan. CXtec’s own program, RapidCare®, costs as much as 50% less than some OEM plans. That’s money that stays in your budget, and allows you to invest it where you see fit.

Time to get creative

With your technology savvy student population increasing, but your funding getting smaller, now more than ever it’s imperative to have a technology partner that can meet your needs but keep you on budget.

Students want to go to schools that emphasize BYOD, have wireless systems in place, and have dynamic technology infrastructures.

If you get creative, you can work with a refurbished networking hardware vendor to accomplish these goals, and give your college a competitive edge in attracting students.

Cisco recently announced that it will be the “first networking vendor to deliver 1-gigabit-per-second speeds on enterprise wireless networks when it introduces an 802.11ac-based access point next year.”

Well, this is pretty cool news for anyone who has invested in, or is ready to implement, a Cisco wireless solution. But the good news doesn’t end there. Cisco will also be introducing an 802.11ac module that can be plugged into an existing Cisco Aironet 3600 access point that runs on the current 802.11n standard.

Reason for 11n Users to Smile

This is where this announcement really gets great. We at CXtec have helped customers get Cisco wireless products at a price they can afford for years. That’s why we got so excited when we heard that not only was Cisco breaking the 1-gig barrier, but that it was also releasing the module for its 11n users. This quote about that module from Sujai Hajela, vice president and general manager of the wireless networking business unit at Cisco, was music to our ears:

“It allows [customers] to upgrade and not have to go through the guesswork of, ‘Should we upgrade to 802.11n or go with 802.11ac?’ You can invest in 11n now and upgrade to 11ac with a new radio.”

Getting Cisco Wireless Technology on a Budget

This module means users who already have 11n technology can maintain that current infrastructure for a good while now. That’s exciting for vendors like CXtec who specialize in helping folks get the most out of their current investment.

And it’s great news for all users who wants to be in control of their own budgets and technology timelines. Now you can see breakthrough speeds yet not have to sacrifice a lot of budget money for a big wireless forklift upgrade.