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The 10 Deadly Sins of Wireless: Page 8 of 10

So rather than shortchange your bandwidth, know your applications' network requirements up front before you build your wireless LAN. And leave room to expand bandwidth as needed.

9. Installing cheap or insufficient software and hardware

Resist the temptation to deploy SOHO-class WLAN infrastructure products, even for pilot projects. While SOHO products have improved considerably in the past year or so, they still aren't appropriate for the enterprise because most don't support centralized management for hundreds of access points, Power over Ethernet and other necessary functions. Plus, you don't learn much about the limitations of the underlying technology if you spend all your time dealing with products that weren't designed for business environments.

Even if the products work on day one, you can't count on these systems long term. Also, if you buy low-end products at low prices, you set false expectations within management about what the real cost will be for an enterprise-class system.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't shop for the best price. Just don't do your shopping at Best Buy.