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Podcast 11: Why do we have Wi-Fi controllers in the enterprise?

  1. Podcast 1: Gestalt IT Tech Field Day Overview
  2. Podcast 2: Tech Field Day Drobo Roundtable
  3. Podcast 3: Tech Field Day VKernel Roundtable
  4. Podcast 4: Virtual Field Day Nimbus Roundtable
  5. Podcast 5: HP Roundtable at Tech Field Day
  6. Podcast 6: Stack Wars Roundtable 1
  7. Podcast 7: Stack Wars Roundtable 2
  8. Podcast 8: Symantec Application HA, VirtualStore, and NetBackup 7
  9. Podcast 9: Compellent Roundtable at Tech Field Day
  10. Talking Cloud Storage Gateways With Nasuni and Cirtas
  11. Podcast 11: Why do we have Wi-Fi controllers in the enterprise?

Bob O’Hara, co-founder of enterprise Wi-Fi pioneer Airespace, tells the story of the origination of the controller-based architecture. He discusses the challenges of managing a multitude of access points and how a controller helped bring metrics and manageability to that market. Airespace built a centralized hierarchical system to control Wi-Fi access points in the early 2000′s and was purchased by Cisco in 2005.

O’Hara retired from Cisco and became an advisor to Aerohive Networks. In this video, recorded as part of Aerohive’s presentation at Wireless Field Day 1 on March 17, 2011, O’Hara links his controller concept at Airespace to the distributed model at Aerohive. He concludes that Wi-Fi is the first technology to make the Science Fiction concept of “instantaneous, ubiquitous wireless communication” available to everyone.

This video is part of the “Best of Tech Field Day” series.

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About the author

Stephen Foskett

Stephen Foskett is an active participant in the world of enterprise information technology, currently focusing on enterprise storage, server virtualization, networking, and cloud computing. He organizes the popular Tech Field Day event series for Gestalt IT and runs Foskett Services. A long-time voice in the storage industry, Stephen has authored numerous articles for industry publications, and is a popular presenter at industry events. He can be found online at TechFieldDay.com, blog.FoskettS.net, and on Twitter at @SFoskett.

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