[ARTICLE] OpenLAN and OpenWifi gain traction in the corporate networking Market

By Carlos Eduardo Monteiro dos Santos*

The adoption of open platforms is an increasingly strong trend in the corporate market, as it meets several important requirements of this segment. Among them are greater flexibility and a higher degree of customization of enterprise networks, interoperability among devices from different manufacturers, and reduced dependence on proprietary licenses.

With this focus, the OpenLAN and OpenWifi initiatives emerge from open-source movements for local area networks (LAN) and wireless networks (WiFi), aligned with open standards for management and interoperability between heterogeneous hardware and software. In the case of OpenWifi, an open-source project launched in 2021 by the Telecom Infra Project (TIP), it now counts on the participation of more than one hundred service providers, software vendors, and hardware manufacturers. The project is aimed at the management, operation, and orchestration of WiFi networks, focusing on controllers, access point (AP) management, clients, authentication, and performance metrics, without being tied to a single proprietary ecosystem.

The consolidation of open solutions for WLAN and LAN may lead to more integrated ecosystems, with observability tools, network automation, and security standards, strengthening the resilience of corporate networks. The evolution of hardware compatible with open platforms may further expand their adoption by companies of different sizes—from small and medium-sized businesses to large corporations—improving cost-effectiveness and governance.

Currently, several open-source platforms and community projects offer support for LAN and WiFi network management, with active communities, technical documentation, and use cases in medium-sized and large enterprises. In addition, many open-source solutions support off-the-shelf hardware—including switches, routers, and APs from different manufacturers—with the possibility of customized firmware or replacement of factory firmware with open-source alternatives. The main challenges in the current scenario include variations in technical support among vendors, the need for skilled teams for installation and maintenance, and issues related to certification and compliance in regulated environments.

In this context, flexibility is a strong driver for the adoption of open-source architectures in enterprise environments—not only because it allows the use of equipment from different vendors within the same network and the combination of open-source firmware and software, but also because it enables rapid adaptation to specific business needs. A practical example: a company that, after acquiring another organization, maintains a fleet of access points from two different manufacturers can, by adopting OpenWifi and OpenLAN, centrally manage security policies, authentication, quality of service (QoS), firmware updates, and monitoring, thereby reducing operational complexity and simplifying maintenance.

Other advantages of open standards, such as OpenWiFi and OpenLAN, that deserve special attention:

• Reduced total cost of ownership (TCO): lower dependence on proprietary licenses, greater freedom for code auditing, updates, and customization;
• Interoperability: standardization of management and monitoring interfaces that enable integration with existing SIEM (Security Information and Event Management), CMDB (Configuration Management Database), ITSM (IT Service Management), and automation tools;
• Scalability and modularity: the ability to add features and performance analytics, security, and quality of service modules without relying on full vendor upgrades;
• Compliance and security: the possibility of code audits and the implementation of security policies tailored to the organization’s needs.

In summary, OpenLAN and OpenWifi represent a networking approach that emphasizes flexibility, interoperability, cost efficiency, and governance. However, their use in enterprise environments requires careful evaluation of hardware compatibility, support availability, and integration with existing management tools. In addition, the choice between open and proprietary solutions should take into account factors such as security requirements, compliance, internal skill sets, and the broader support ecosystem.

*Carlos Monteiro is a Product Specialist at Padtec.