Wi-Fi Real-Time Location Tracking Wireless

Wi-Fi Real-Time Location Tracking

Wireless access and equipment offer users and companies a vast opportunity for greater flexibility and access to use of equipment, yet it also offers the same a limited ability to monitor resources and locate equipment, when it is mobile. Though newer software and hardware does offer limited tracking access it is not always easy to implement and/or install and may increase the value of hardware yet again, with only limited scope for real time location. According to a Cisco Systems white paper wireless equipment, though exceedingly helpful in potential gains can offer significant challenges to system managers and developers including:

Lack of visibility into the location of people and assets

Inefficient allocation and use of staff and equipment

Excessive cost of leasing and purchasing equipment to offset losses and theft

Unsatisfactory service resulting from long wait times and time wasted searching for assets

Security issues linked to the lack of insight into the location and movement of people and assets

Locating rogue wireless LAN (WLAN) access points, devices, or users that attempt to access or attack the network

Visibility into the WLAN for capacity planning and ongoing network tuning

Isolation of WLAN devices for troubleshooting purposes

Locating Wi-Fi devices for asset tracking and security policy enforcement ("Wi-Fi-Based Real-Time Location Tracking..." 2006, NP)

Without real time location tracking of assets organizations risk excessive loss and decreased productivity, two situations that are significant factors in the bottom line of production and cost of equipment but can and often do have much broader implications with regard to business. The Cisco System's white paper in which a solution is offered continues by stressing the essential benefits of real time location tracking of wireless assets stresses that;

Location tracking is an essential feature for enterprises building business-critical wireless networks. If it staff can identify and track the location of wireless clients and highly mobile assets, they can improve the accuracy of WLAN planning and deployment, optimize ongoing network performance, enhance wireless security, and improve the usefulness and value of important business applications. Location tracking provides enhanced visibility and control of the air space, helping it staff deploy wireless networks that are as easy to manage and as effective to deploy as traditional wired networks. ("Wi-Fi-Based Real-Time Location Tracking..." 2006, NP)

The solution offered by Cisco Systems is demonstrative of essential aspects and needs of location tracking and can offer on demand or simultaneous tracking for thousands of devices. ("Wi-Fi-Based Real-Time Location Tracking..." 2006, NP) Logically, such a system should be integrative and developed in accordance with the whole wireless system, as well as being added to and developed with existing products to resolve ongoing security and property concerns. With such a system, and if it is utilized correctly an organization could ultimately solve all or many of the above concerns, not the least of which is security from loss and potential hacking that occurs with regard to usage and information on wireless systems. Though tracking systems have been available in one form or another for a long time the newer versions offer much more flexibility and can include device tagging, for existing hardware and integrated (software and hardware based) tagging for new equipment. Either way this need has seen fit to produce an extensive developed market to resolve it.

Wi-Fi-based real-time location systems (RTLSs), which use the 802.11 protocol to track connected devices, could be poised to grab some of the market generally associated with RFID tracking, allowing some enterprises to leverage their existing wireless networks to track devices, shipments, and even people. The technology, similar in some respects to RFID tracking, has applications in both the shipment of Wi-Fi-equipped devices and the tracking of such devices, ranging from simple tags to laptops to expensive specialized equipment, while they are deployed for use. (Morisy, Feb 2008, SearchMobileComputing.com)

Real time tracking utilizing WLAN protocols answers many of the needs of wireless users and owners as it makes it possible for it and users alike to resolve loss claims, track stolen equipment and potentially block and redirect hacking activity as it arises. The systems may also be able to record and track usage, not only by bandwidth but possibly also by content, an issue with productivity that was almost abandoned with the advent of wireless systems, as users could anonymously go outside the approved company tracked server to seek downtime content even when they were not experiencing down time. This trend also made it nearly impossible for it to realistically track usage and business related bandwidth needs and could not stop employees from viewing content that would likely be objectionable to the service provider and damaging to production time. Hacking into a system became in many ways easy for rogue users as a result of the development of Wi-Fi platforms and such rogue users initially had almost cart blanche to suck up needed bandwidth and potentially steal essential information. Traditional security monitoring through locking wireless access points with passwords and codes was only a limited solution, especially when such systems had the potential to roam, nationally and even internationally on any wireless access system. This security issue may have been associated with only local wireless hotspot networks but then expanded to allow wireless hackers access to company data, or really any data that was available to the legitimate wireless user. As wireless tracking and location options increased for users these concerns were increased rather than decreased and organizations needed to find essential solutions for this problem that was stationary to device and also roaming for user use. Health care systems, as they went wireless were at particular risk of unlawful entry to data and loss of crucial and confidential data to rogue users. (Liu, Sen Bauer & Zitzmann, 2008, 141) These issues are particularly important in the interim between viable and logical legal ramifications and laws that are concurrently being developed with technology but are frequently lagging in response rather than real-time venues as legitimate users and owners of bandwidth and equipment had little if any recourse barring traditional hardware theft issues and minimal identity theft/hacking laws. (Katyal, 2003, 2261)

Developer and support companies saw early lag time in full integration of Wi-Fi purchase and utilization of equipment by organizations, and many attributed this slow start to source-based limitations of view with regard to how such systems would benefit their organization, in sight of cost and development and yet security was likely one of the main concerns of these massive asset brokers.

For starters, enterprises must see tangible return-on-investment (ROI) from Wi-Fi deployment. Some companies are not yet convinced that wireless is necessary in the workplace. Research by International Data Corp. (IDC) conducted in March indicated that 38% of enterprises surveyed did not perceive a real need or business value in WLAN deployment. Lack of business justification also placed second in deployment barriers identified by a poll of NetWorld Interop 2004 attendees, conducted by the show's organizer, MediaLive International (which also owns BCR). (Phifer, 2004, 45)

If the technology could not provide essential assurance that the high ticket items would not pose a security and loss risk then why would the company invest in them? Essentially the industry needed to catch up with realistic concerns about tracking and planning usage, asset tracking and ultimately it security before many companies felt safe investing in such equipment. Though they were willing to dabble by purchasing wi-fi platform equipment for a few roving players and maybe a few on site applications they were initially reluctant to develop full blown wireless networks and systems, with the fear of coffee shop laptop heists and roving wireless users in unsecured parking lots stealing business data. (Daly, 2005, 13)