In my previous post we discussed some of the features that make Intel Pro Wireless Display technology a great fit for business users. Now, let’s talk about how Intel Pro WiDi is designed to make IT happy.
The first issue that needs to be addressed with a wireless display solution is wireless channel management. In a consumer device, channel management is easy. Most homes only have one Wi-Fi access point and relatively few Wi-Fi clients, so the device will typically auto select a channel without giving the user a choice.
In a business setting, there are many Wi-Fi access points and devices in the environment, all competing for limited channels. To further complicate matters, conference rooms tend to be grouped together, so if each room has one wireless display you can have a lot of Wi-Fi demand in a very small area. Unlike consumer devices that assume an uncongested wireless environment and automatically pick whichever channel it deems best, Intel Pro WiDi devices can be set to specific Wi-Fi channels based on a wireless spectrum survey to get optimal coverage, and integrate with other networking gear to ensure reliable coverage. This is especially important to prevent interference issues when you have several conference rooms close to each other.
In some locales, Wi-Fi can share frequencies with radar systems. In those cases, corporate Wi-Fi equipment must monitor for radar transmissions and move off that frequency to avoid interference. Adapters that support Intel Pro WiDi are designed to operate under these conditions and can help ensure that businesses in the locales remain in compliance.
Security issues are always top of mind with IT departments, and wireless display technology can introduce several new areas of concern that must be addressed. Many consumer solutions must actually connect to your wireless network and have access to the internet to pull in content. While convenient and desirable for consumers, for an IT department this creates a security nightmare. These devices create a security hole that could provide a beachhead into the corporation for a hacker. Also, when displaying wirelessly, your screen data is transferred across the corporate network from the PC to the wireless display, consuming precious corporate network bandwidth.
Intel Pro WiDi adapters do not join the corporate network. They create a separate wireless network used exclusively for wireless display. This avoids the security concerns of having the device on the corporate network and having access to the internet, and avoids wireless display data from hogging previous corporate data bandwidth. Another advantage is that these WiDi networks don’t show up when scanning for Wi-Fi networks, so you won’t have users confused by extra networks they aren’t expecting to see.
Finally, Intel Wireless Display technology offers remote manageability for IT. So instead of having to go room to room when configuring adapters or changing wireless channel layouts, IT can use a centralized tool to make these changes.
If you’re thinking it’s time to modernize your conference rooms, Intel Pro Wireless Display technology is worth looking into.