3Com Upgrades Wireless LAN Bridge

3Com

Available the first week of August, 3Com's new 802.11b WLAN bridge, used in building-to-building connections and to connect remote locations to central sites, has a range of up to 15 miles, said Gilles Ganault, wireless product manager at 3Com. 3Com's previous WLAN bridge had a range of two miles, Ganault said.

The new bridge can support a consistent connection of 5 Mbps to 6 Mbps over 15 miles, Ganault added.

Another feature of the new bridge is that it is compatible with any Wi-Fi certified access point, allowing for multivendor installations, Ganault said. The compatibility would allow customers with an established wireless LAN from a different vendor to use the 3Com bridge to connect a remote building to the central access point, he explained.

When used with 3Com access points, the bridge supports an interface that allows solution providers to manage the acknowledgment delay that occurs over longer distances. The 802.11b standard addresses delays for distances up to 2.5 miles, Ganault explained. 3Com's interface can adjust the acknowledgment delay for the full 15 miles range of the bridge, he said.

The bridge supports 40-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption and is compliant with 802.1x authentication as well as MAC address based authentication.

Also, when used with 3Com access points at the central site, the bridge supports a dynamic security link, providing a unique encryption key for each user that changes with each session, Ganault said. Currently, most bridges use one key for all traffic between the bridge and the central access point.

The bridge lists for $990. Antennas range from $119 to $249.

Ganault said 3Com also is relaunching its wireless program for VARs. Introduced last summer, 3Com's wireless preferred partner program provides increased financial incentives, priority access to wireless leads and training for partners that commit sales volume levels, purchase demo equipment and have certified wireless specialists on staff.

"We have not done enough to create a dedicated wireless channel," Ganault said. "We are doing more to treat our resellers better, to make sure they see a strong return on their investment in selling 3Com's wireless technology."