Enterasys introduces new range of WLAN gear
Upgrade of its 8100 switch.
By Phil Hochmuth, Network World (US online) | Published: 08:19, 19 October 2005
Enterasys has launched wireless LAN access points and a switch for controlling and securing Wi-Fi network access in an enterprise.
The LAN/WLAN vendor introduced the RoamAbout AP4102 Unified Access Point, a device that can act as either a thin or stand-alone access point. It also announced the RoamAbout AP1002, a dual-radio 802.11a and 802.11b/g thin access point. To control these devices, Enterasys also launched the 8400 Wireless Switch. The gear is targeted at large enterprises looking to secure their current wireless LAN infrastructures or build one from scratch.
The 8400 Wireless Switch is designed to sit in a data centre and control up to 120 thin access points across a LAN. The box includes four Gigabit Ethernet ports and provides services such as fast handoffs of traffic from roaming clients among APs, automatic RF radio adjustments, as well as rogue AP detection and physical location pinpointing. The device supports five times as many thin APs as the previously announced 8100 Wireless Switch, introduced in May.
When attached to a 8400 Wireless Switch - or Enterasys’ previously announced 8100 device - the new AP1002 provides simpler management and security control than a standalone access point, Enterasys said, since all configuration, intelligence and processing is done on the switch.
For smaller deployments, or if more intelligence is required on the access point, users can deploy the AP4102 Unified Access Point, which can run either as a thin AP, connected to a Wireless Switch, or as a standalone device, which sits on the network with its own IP address. The box can also act in “LAN-LAN” mode, or as a wireless bridge between two wired networks, such as a link between two adjacent buildings with no connecting copper or fibre.
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