Steinbach Credit Union Inc., in Steinbach Manitoba, Canada, has been levering a wireless IP network based upon microwave equipment from Proxim for data mirroring and replication for several years to span distances between sites for remote data replication (see: "Canadian credit union installs wireless SAN link"). Allen is bullish on wireless network transports however cautions that given the flexibility, there are some caveats including the need for a tower, tall building or hill top to mount antennas as well as balancing distance vs. bandwidth tradeoffs. The most common uses from a storage applications perspective of wireless network transport that Allen sees are remote data mirroring, replication and remote backup or electronic vaulting.

Tom Becchetti, an IT architect for a Midwest financial services firm, see's many places for un-plugged, wireless storage and data access as a productivity aid as well as a management tool. Becchetti sees how WiFi can be used for general network access in the office place, as well as to replace cabling associated with server and storage management networks with appropriate levels of security. On the emerging technology front, Becchetti suggests a role for RFID could be to manage IT assets including printers, servers, network switches, storage as well as removable media for inventory and asset tracking purposes. While wireless USB may eventually have a place in the enterprise, Becchetti concurs with Ravencraft that the sweet spot will be consumer, SOHO and remote or branch office deployments.

Some general considerations and caveats pertaining to wireless storage include:

- Security including encryption and access control mechanisms

- Performance with an emphasis on latency in addition to bandwidth