The Great Wireless Field Day 7 Pre-Blog

It just hit me… Jim Morrison was a mystic- and he predicted Wireless Field Day 7!  Think about it…

The west is the best 
The west is the best 
Get here, and we’ll do the rest 

The blue bus is callin’ us 
The blue bus is callin’ us 
Driver, where you taken’ us 

-“The End”, by The Doors

My keen powers of analysis and Rock-n-Roll sensibility tell me that “the west is the best” is a reference to Silicon Valley. “Get here, and we’ll do the rest” plays to the universal truth that if you fall asleep during a vendor session, Tom Hollingsworth will fastball a can of 7 Up at your head. Yes… yes, it’s all making sense now…

“The blue bus is callin’ us” alludes to the safety and comfort of the rolling chariot that Ramon pilots with expert wheelmanship through the mean streets of Silly Valley, taking the Field Day delegates from one vendor site to another!

And to put the ribbons on what Mr. Mojo Risin’ was portending… “Driver, where you taken us” references the fact that none of us know where the hell we’re going when we’re at Field Day! Oh, this is incredible.  It’s all there, why didn’t I see it before?

I’ll tell you what else is all there: the makings for some excellent sessions. As I write this, the current lineup features visits to AirTight Networks, Aruba Networks, Avaya, Cisco, Extreme Networks, and Fluke Networks. With these 5 network companies and one kick-ass tool maker in the mix, we’re likely to put our collective finger on the very pulse of the wireless industry for a few days.

Predictions:

Given where the industry is, there’s a bit of mystery to what we might see and hear at WFD7. If you’re tuning in expecting to simply hear about fast APs and general client access, I’d say you’ve been asleep for the last year. Anymore, it’s all about features, add-ons, and making the wireless system do a lot more than client access. To call today’s super systems “the Wi-Fi” is like calling the most advanced smartphone “just a cell phone”.

I firmly expect discussion on:

• Updates on 11ac Wave 2 hardware
• Hints at what’s beyond W2
• Unified Access
• Social Wi-Fi
• Location Services/Analytics
• Updates on cloud initiatives
• Feature sets far beyond simple WLAN access
• The word “monitize” will be said no less than 634 times

I’d personally be happy if there was some substance presented on:

• SDN and Wi-Fi
• Small cells, wireless offload
• Updates to Air Magnet regarding Apple PCs, apps for Android/iOS
• How the somewhat lame NMS of today will morph into something truly useful for the future
• How SDN will eventually kill NMS

The “please don’t” list:

Since this is my fourth Wireless Field Day, I can safely say these topics are generally a turn-off, and I hope the vendors spare us:

• Dissertations  on why BYOD is important
• Long tours of onboarding solutions (unless there is something bona fide fantastic to talk about)
• Bragfests about fast APs
• Bashing the competition as the only message delivered
• Bonjour gateways

I count the Field Day series among the most educational of “conferences” that I’ve either been to or monitored online, and am thrilled to be be able to attend WFD7.

If you follow these events, what are YOU hoping to hear the vendors talk about at WFD7?

What I Hope To Get From Wireless Field Day 5

Being selected as a delegate to a Tech Field Day is a bit like winning a Golden Ticket to Wonkaland for us tech types (instead of chocolate, there is a lot of wireless fodder to enjoy). I’m pleased as can be to be going back for my second Wireless Field Day event, having attended WFD4 and soon, WFD5.

Given the Silicon Valley’s prominence in the IT world, a trip there is something akin to a pilgrimage for those of us too far away (by both distance and circumstance) to get there very often. And that touches on my first goal for Wireless Field Day 5: simply being immersed in the tech-rich backdrop of the San Jose area. I’m not a tremendously spiritual person, but there is a powerful vibe afoot just under the surface “out there”, and it bubbles up time and again throughout the few magic days that are Field Day.

The corny stuff aside, here’s some of what what I hope to get out of my time at WFD5:

• Reconnecting with organizer Stephen Foskett and my fellow delegates. Most of the group was at WFD4, but there will be three new-to-me faces among the delegates, as well as Stephen’s expanded staff. These folks are sharp, down to earth, a pleasure to do the event with, and extremely deep in wireless networking knowledge. This alone makes the trip worth it.
• In general, I’m looking forward to all of the companies that are presenting to give us a glimpse behind the curtain at what they are about to release, what they are thinking on a number of fronts, and what they want to know from us, the delegates. Expected hot topics: 802.11ac, analytics of various sorts, new tools and optimization methods.
• Speaking of tools and optimization, 7Signal is sure to be a delegate favorite. I’m guessing we’ve all seen at least snippets of their case studies and what they recommend to make good WLANs even better. I hope to hear clarity on this topic, and to get a sense of whether 7Signal gear is more affordable than it seems and to hear about optimization tweaks that are real-world applicable.
• With Meru Networks in the lineup, I’m guessing I’m not the only delegate hoping to walk away with a better understanding of their “secret sauce” for single-channel virtual cells, and whether there is more than just bluster to their occasional hubris (as I’ve covered in my Network Computing column). To a certain degree, the same goal applies to Xirrus– I’ve covered them a number of times but never quite got totally comfortable with the array thing. But I keep an open mind…
• For Aerohive Networks, I’m both looking forward to updates and just as much to meeting the likes of Andrew von Nagy (perhaps the most approachable and willing-to-share senior tech guy from any vendor) and his homies. Aerohive just seems to have a different culture, and it’ll be nice to spend time in it for a couple of hours. (my latest Network Computing piece on Aerohive is here).
• AirTight Networks will be interesting because they are “new”, at least as a wireless access player, in a very competitive market. I have a Network Computing piece on AirTight now running, and also recommend this piece by Man-of-Action and  fellow Field Day Vet Matthew Norwood.  Hearing their story in person will be pretty neat.
• MetaGeek, WildPackets, and FlukeNetworks are all fairly significant players in my wireless world for tools. I’ve been a MetGeek fan from the days of the original WiSpy, and also frequently use EyePA and InSSIDer for Office (best blog on this one from another fellow delegate, Sam Clements). I’m looking forward to hearing any new announcements from the tools folks (gotta be something in this mix about 11ac) and maybe picking up a tip or two about how to better use the products I already have.
• Finally, Motorola always stokes my interest because they usually have a somewhat unique story and understated approach versus the “aggressive” marketing of other industry players. I’m a fan of many Moto business units (as a radio and Android guy, that’s a given), and caught up with the WLAN folks at Interop in Vegas just a couple of months ago to hear their opening 11ac story. I gotta feeling they’ll have something new for us.

It’ll be a busy week at Wireless Field Day, and my eyes and ears will be open. Standby for updates.