Best Practices

Wi-Fi Threat Sensors provide Intrusion Detection (IDS) and Intrusion Protection (IPS) services, allowing administrators to actively monitor their Wireless environment for rogue APs, attacks, threats, interference, etc. There are two primary methods for deploying these sensors:

• Embedded - Simple and cost-effective monitoring and mitigation 24/7
• Overlay - Complex and costly monitoring and mitigation 24/7

Consider the following when deciding between an embedded or overlay threat sensors:

	Embedded	Overlay	Advantage Defined
Coverage	Superior	Small	Overlay sensors are limited in coverage unless deployed 1-for-1 with APs (which doubles network costs), while embedded sensors automatically provide the same coverage area.
Monitoring	Dedicated	Dedicated	Overlay and dedicated sensors provide dedicated 24/7 monitoring.
Performance	Good	Good	Overlay and Integrated sensors do not impact client traffic while monitoring.
Management	Inclusive	Separate	Overlay sensors require a separate NMS, adding even more cost and complexity to the network. Dedicated sensors use the same NMS as the rest of the network.
Cost	Free	Expensive	Overlay networks require additional radios, NMS, switch ports, cable drops, and installation costs. Dedicated sensors are free - part of the product.
Threat Mitigation	Optimal	Inferior	Overlay sensors must relay the threat to a separate NMS to apply corrective action. Dedicated sensors immediately detect and shield when a threat is detected.
Deployment	Simple	Complicated	Overlay sensors are independent systems, requiring separate deployments. Dedicated sensors do not require any additional equipment or time.