August 18, 2008
TRAPEZE ENGINEER LEADING TWO IMPORTANT WIFI ALLIANCE TASK GROUPS
Matthew Gast, Authority on Wireless Networking, Takes on Security and Management PLEASANTON, Calif., August 18, 2008 – The Wi-Fi Alliance, the global, non-profit industry association, has selected Matthew Gast, an engineer in the Office of the CTO at Trapeze Networks, to chair two new, very important task groups. Gast will chair the Wireless Network Management Marketing and Security Technical task groups.
“The industry is clearly endorsing Matthew’s experience, expertise and leadership,” said
Ahmet Tuncay, executive vice president of product management and business development. “Matthew literally
wrote the book on 802.11 and continues to lead the evolution of the most significant advancement in networking since the invention of Ethernet.”
“Now that the industry has delivered on basic connectivity with Wi-Fi, we need to think beyond the laptop. New standards in development will increase power efficiency, enable diagnostics and troubleshooting on large-scale networks, and enable new services," said Gast. “Creating a Wi-Fi certification will kick off a new wave of product and service development. Established and start-up companies will be able to create new types of consumer handheld devices, build in emergency services to devices and even perform the simple yet critical chores of troubleshooting problems like interference reporting and client load balancing. And regarding security,” Gast said, “the Wi-Fi Alliance understands the challenge of constant innovation and development. Security is a journey, never a destination. It’s an area that’s constantly under development.”
Network Management Marketing Task Group Targets Important New Certifications
The Wireless Network Management Marketing task group is developing requirements for network management certifications for lower power consumption, performance optimization, location-based and timing services, and troubleshooting / diagnostic reporting. The certifications will be use technologies in the recently-ratified 802.11k and the forthcoming 802.11v standards.
Security Technical Task Group To Extend Protocol Testing
The Security Technical task group is building out the extensible authentication protocol (EAP) testing to ensure that WPA2 certification stays on the cutting edge of security. It will extend WPA2 testing to include EAP-AKA and EAP-FAST. EAP-AKA is a way for wireless LAN authentication to be based on 3G network credentials. EAP-FAST is widely deployed in enterprise networks but is not currently included in Wi-Fi certification testing. The task group may also work on the certification test plan for 802.11w, pending approval by the WFA board of directors. 802.11w is an IEEE standard that secures management frames. Securing management frames is important because it enables several new management features in 802.11v and 802.11k.
About the Wi-Fi Alliance
The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global, non-profit industry association of more than 300 member companies devoted to promoting the growth of wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). With the aim of enhancing the user experience for wireless portable, mobile and home entertainment devices, the Wi-Fi Alliance's testing and certification programs help ensure the interoperability of WLAN products based on the IEEE 802.11 specification.
About Trapeze Networks
Trapeze Networks, a Belden brand, is a leading provider of enterprise wireless LAN equipment and management software. Trapeze was the first company to introduce NonStop Wireless - delivering unmatched reliability to the enterprise wireless LAN and its solutions are optimized for companies requiring mobility and high bandwidth such as healthcare, education, and hospitality. Trapeze delivers Smart Mobile™ providing scalable wireless LANs for applications such as Voice over Wi-Fi, location services, and indoor/outdoor connectivity.
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