D-Link Unveils Self-Configuring Access Point For SMBs

Management features of the new D-Link AirPremier DWL-2210AP make installing and configuring multiple access points easier for solution providers and less expensive for SMB customers, said Rocky Rosas, technical marketing engineer for D-Link, Fountain Valley, Calif.

Solution providers can cluster up to eight AirPremier DWL-2210APs and manage them from one administrative console, Rosas said. Existing access points without clustering capability must be managed separately -- activity that can be complicated and time-consuming, he said.

The AirPremier DWL-2210AP also includes the ability to auto-configure new access points as they are added to the cluster, Rosas said. "Once you have your initial unit in the network, your second, third [and so on] will detect another clustered unit on the network and download its configuration," Rosas said. "Essentially, your configuration of new units is plug-and-play. The [new access points] automatically retrieve the address and configuration of the existing unit."

These clustering and auto-configuration features should make it easier for solution providers to sell more-expansive wireless networks with multiple access points to SMB customers, Rosas said. "It allows [SMBs] to save time on installation and on the equipment, and makes it easier for them to run it because of the overall cost," he said.

Bob Baugh, president of Houston-based systems integrator Business Integrators, agreed that more intelligent wireless access points make it easier for SMBs to maintain wireless networks.

"In the past, to keep a wireless network up and running, you had to have an on-site staff," Baugh said. "Now they are self-configuring and have some problem determination in them, and that will allow end users to easily manage their networks."

The AirPremier DWL-2210AP is available immediately through D-Link's reseller and distribution channels. It is priced at $349.99.