Wi-Fi Alliance
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The Wi-Fi Alliance is a trade group that owns the trademark to Wi-Fi.
From Wi-Fi Alliance publications: 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. Since the introduction of the Wi-Fi Alliance’s certification program in March 2000, more than 4,000 products have been designated as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED, encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services across the consumer and enterprise markets.
In wireless computer networking, Wi-Fi refers to a family of related specifications (the IEEE 802.11 group) which specify methods and techniques of wireless local area network operation.
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[edit] History
Early 802.11 products suffered from interoperability problems because the IEEE has no provision for testing equipment for compliance with its standards.
In 1999, pioneers of the new, higher speed (compared to the original 802.11 spec, but substantially slower than the first, more limited range revision, 802.11a) IEEE 802.11b specification formed the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA) and branded the new technology Wi-Fi.
The group of companies included 3Com, Aironet (now Cisco), Harris Semiconductor (now Intersil), Lucent (now Agere), Nokia and Symbol Technologies. The charter for this independent organization was to perform testing, certify interoperability of products, and to promote the technology.
WECA renamed itself the Wi-Fi Alliance in 2000, and is now based in Austin, Texas.
Today, most producers of 802.11 equipment are members, and as of February 2008 the Wi-Fi Alliance has some 320 member companies worldwide.
[edit] Wi-Fi Certification
The Wi-Fi Alliance also owns and controls the Wi-FI CERTIFIED logo, a registered trademark, which is permitted only on equipment which has passed testing. Purchasers relying on that trademark will have greater chances of interoperation than otherwise. Testing is rigorous because the standards involve not only radio and data format interoperability, but security protocols, as well as optional testing for Quality of Service and power management protocols.
From a Wi-Fi Alliance paper on Wi-Fi Certification [1]: A focus on user experience has shaped the overall approach of the Wi Fi Alliance certification program: Wi Fi CERTIFIED products have to demonstrate that they can perform well in networks with other Wi Fi CERTIFIED products, running common applications, in situations similar to those encountered in everyday use.
This pragmatic approach stems from three tenets, around which certification is centered:
- Interoperability is the primary target of certification. Rigorous test cases are used to ensure that products from different equipment vendors can interoperate in a wide variety of configurations. - Backward compatibility has to be preserved to allow for new equipment to work with existing gear. - Backward compatibility protects investments in legacy Wi Fi products and enables users to gradually upgrade and expand their networks. - Innovation is supported through the introduction of new certification programs as the latest technology and specifications come into the marketplace. These certification programs may be mandatory (e.g. WPA2) or optional (e.g. WMM). Equipment vendor differentiation and inventiveness are preserved in areas that are not covered by certification testing.
The Wi Fi Alliance definition of interoperability goes well beyond the ability to work in a Wi Fi network. To gain certification under a specific program, products have to show satisfactory performance levels in typical network configurations and have to support both established and emerging applications. A user that purchases a Wi Fi enabled laptop, for instance, would not be satisfied if the laptop established a connection with the home network, only to get the throughput of a dial-up connection. Similarly, subscribers using a Wi Fi enabled mobile phone would be disappointed if they had a high-speed connection but the quality of the call could not be guaranteed.
The Wi Fi Alliance certification process includes three types of tests to ensure interoperability. Wi Fi CERTIFIED products are tested for:
- Compatibility: certified equipment has been tested for connectivity with other certified equipment . Compatibility testing has always been, and still is, the predominant component of interoperability testing, and it is the element that most people associate with “interoperability”. It involves tests with multiple devices from different equipment vendors. Compatibility testing is the program component that helps to ensure devices purchased today will work with Wi Fi CERTIFIED devices already owned or purchased in the future. - Conformance: the equipment conforms to specific critical elements of the IEEE 802.11 standard. Conformance testing usually involves standalone analysis of individual products and establishes whether the equipment responds to inputs as expected and specified. For example, conformance testing is used to ensure that Wi Fi equipment protects itself and the network when the equipment detects evidence of network attacks. - Performance: the equipment meets the performance levels required to meet end-user expectations in support of key applications. Performance tests are not designed to measure and compare performance among products, but simply to verify that the product meets the minimum performance requirements for a good user experience as established by the Wi Fi Alliance. Specific performance tests results are not released by the Wi Fi Alliance.
Currently, the Wi-Fi Alliance provides certification testing as follows:
Mandatory: - Core MAC/PHY interoperability over 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n draft 2.0. (at least one)
- Wi-Fi Protected Access(tm)2 (WPA2) security [2], which aligns with IEEE 802.11i[3]. WPA2 is available in two types: WPA2-Personal for consumer use, and WPA2 Enterprise, which adds EAP authentication.
Optional: - Tests corresponding to IEEE 802.11h and 802.11d. - WMM(r) Quality of Service [4], based upon a subset of IEEE 802.11e [5]. - WMM(r) Power Save [6], based upon APSD within IEEE 802.11e [7] - Wi-Fi Protected Setup(tm)[8], a specification developed by the Alliance to ease the process of setting up and enabling security protections on small office and consumer Wi-Fi networks. - CWG-RF (offered in conjunction with CTIA), to provide performance mapping of Wi-Fi and cellular radios in converged devices.
For more information on Wi-Fi certification, see white paper "An Overview of Wi-Fi Alliance Approach to Certification" [9].
