Comparative Full-Time Wireless Intrusion Detection and Prevention System (WIPS) Costs by Vendor

By Joanie Wexler, Joanie M.Wexler & Associates
Published April 2009, Posted April 2009

Abstract:

Some people believe strongly in deploying full-time, dedicated wireless intrusion detection and prevention systems (WIPS), because part-time scanning performed by Wi-Fi APs leaves wireless LAN channels vulnerable for much of the time. Others feel that using a single AP for part-time transmission and part-time scanning - a so-called "time-sliced" setup that comes free of charge in most WLAN systems - is "good enough."

Others reckon that if they are on top of their wired security, the wired network should be able to block any intrusions coming from the wireless side. However, this thinking doesn’t account for intrusions into the hard drives of internal wireless devices themselves, the potential for an outsider to piggyback onto user over-the-air connections, or for authorized clients associating to unauthorized and potentially dangerous APs.

Still others feel that dedicated WIPS is simply too expensive.

To this last point, this document looks under the hood at the comparative capex/installation costs of full-time WIPS systems from the following vendors: AirMagnet, AirTight Networks, Aruba, Cisco, and Motorola. Some of these systems are integrated into a WLAN transmission system; some are offered as a vendor-neutral third-party overlay; still others are offered as a third-party overlay by companies that also offer WLAN transmission systems.