WLAN Vendors Trump Up 802.11n Offerings

On Monday, Meru Networks, Trapeze Networks and Ruckus Wireless all unveiled wireless wares, many based on the 802.11n standard, which is designed to improve range and throughput and has many saying that wireless is now a viable replacement technology for traditional wired Ethernet.

"The additional bandwidth opens up a lot of doors," said Michael Gompers, president of One Media Wireless, an Atlanta-based solution provider that has been deploying 11n in hotels using Ruckus Wireless gear.

First up is Meru Networks. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based vendor on Monday released a new four-radio 802.11n access point the vendor hopes will lead to the eventual arrival of the "all-wireless enterprise."

The AP440 from Meru is a four-radio 802.11n access point that can support access at up to 300 Mbps for 1.2 Gbps capacity. The four radios work together for internal redundancy, load-balancing and security, reducing the number of access points and additional security sensors end users need, ultimately reducing cabling, connection and deployment costs. The radios are also backward compatible with legacy 802.11 a/b/g standards, meaning the AP440 can accommodate old and new client devices. Each radio can be dedicated to a specific frequency band.

With the access point, one channel layer can be dedicated to redundancy for both bands. If either the 2.4 GHz channel or one of the 5 GHz channels fails, traffic will still be delivered on the channel that supports both frequencies. Having four 11n radios can enable up to 1.2 Gbps in a single access point. One radio is configured for 2.4 GHz, two for 5 GHz and the fourth for both 2.4 and 5 GHz, meaning up to four channels can be layered with all channels running at 40 MHz channel width.

On the security side, the integrated dual-bad radio eliminates the need for dedicated sensor APs because it can scan for and mitigate rogue activity while also delivering traffic. A USB port broadens application flexibility by letting other ceiling-installed, but non-802.11 devices like spectrum analysis systems, video cameras and public address systems be incorporated into the WLAN.

And an integrated omni-directional antenna system serves four layered a/b/g/n channels. Antenna casing is attached to a base unit using a special hinge that allows the AP440 to be mounted on a wall or ceiling, vertically or horizontally, with the antenna rotated in any direction.

Along with the new access point, Meru has added a new 4 Gbps Acceleration Module for its MC5000 wireless controller. Now, an MC5000 chassis fully loaded with five modules can reach 20 Gbps of throughput for encrypted traffic.

Meru has also introduced a network management software product that uses three-dimensional representations of wireless LAN deployments for detailed, real-time and color-coded views of WLAN coverage and signal propagation patterns in buildings, across campuses and in remote sites. Meru's Wireless Virtual Reality shows users areas of weak or strong coverage and floor-to-floor and cross-elevation interactions and allows them to virtually walk through their wireless environments. The virtual reality system requires users to upload their floor plans and drag-and-drop access point locations onto the map. The system creates a 3D walkthrough illustrating the wireless environment.

The Meru AP440 lists for $2,995 and the MC5000 4 Gbps Acceleration Module lists for $15,000. Both will be available later this year. The Wireless Virtual Reality management system, which will be available in August, lists for $9,995 and requires Meru's E(z)RF network management application suite, tools for planning, monitoring, securing and administering WLANs.

"Wireless is not a luxury anymore, it's becoming a necessity," said Rachna Ahlawat, Meru's vice president of strategic marketing. "And 11n is actually the tipping point wireless is no longer a technology that gives 'good enough' connectivity."

11n and new innovations in wireless, including Virtual Reality, give VARs who typically sold into wired environments a new way to engage clients, who are now seriously investigating either partial or full wireless networks, Ahlawat said.

Where Meru is positioning its new gear to the "all-wireless enterprise," Trapeze Networks on Monday released wares it's hoping will provide "non-stop wireless for the always-on enterprise."

Pleasanton, Calif.-based Trapeze unveiled its new 802.11n access point, the MP-432 802.11n Access Point, a dual-band access point featuring two physical radios that operate on both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz simultaneously. The access point has six internal antennas, three each for 2.4 and 5 GHz. The access point supports 802.3 af Power over Ethernet (PoE) and features dual uplink Gigabit Ethernet ports, both of which are PoE capable. Steve Asche, Trapeze's senior director of marketing, said the 802.11n access point mounts in existing Trapeze brackets and has LEDs for power, Wi-Fi activity and Ethernet activity.

NEXT: Trapeze, Ruckus Offer New Gear