Extricom Wireless LAN - 802.11n
Extricom 802.11n for the Enterprise: Evolution, Not Revolution
One of the most heavily publicised developments in wireless technology in the last several years is the development of the 802.11n standard. The intent of 802.11n is to significantly increase the communications speed and range of Wi-Fi networks to enable more users to benefit from a broaderset of applications in the enterprise. While this is a compelling vision, what will be needed to make it happen? The case of adopting 802.11n technology is viable only if it supplements and improves your existing network infrastructure, rather thanforcing you to change it entirely. In other words, deploying 802.11n must not be an all or nothing proposition.
Revolution
Yet the picture that has emerged for 802.11n deployment reveals a difficult migration. It has become clear that, in order to achieve the full promise of greater bandwidth, the solutions announced to-date impose threee disruptive and expensive conditions of any 802.11n implementation. Organisations are asked to:
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Limit the use of 'N' devices only to the 5 GHz band
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Leave the 2.4GHz band only for legacy devices
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Install costly non-standard power-over-Ethernet (PoE) schemes to meet the increased energy demands of 802.11n access points (APs).
"The 802.11n standard undoubtedly introduces some important benefits," comented Mike King, research director of Gartner. "But the solutions seen to-date must contend with drawbacks of frwquency planning, power, and mixing of new and legacy devices, all of which drive implementation costs higher."
Evolution
The Extricom WLAN System stands in clear contrast to this picture. Extricom's unique Channel Blanket technology enables the system to simunltaneously run multiple, overlapping wireless network from the same set of APs. This architecture therefore avoids the technical and deployment obstacles outlined above, and delivers the industry's only solution for gradual, disruption-free introduction of full performance 802.11n in the enterprise, for both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. The key building blocks of the Extricom approach are:
- Allow for a step-by-step ramp-up of 'n', not a radically disruptive cutover.
- Provide operational continuity with the legacy wireless and wired network. This means no redesign of the existing AP locations or cabling, and no change to the current 802.3af Power-over-Ethernet or wired bandwidth design.
- Provide full performance at 2.4GHz for both 'n' and 'g/b' devices comncurrently
- Provide a single integrated deployment that supports all combinations of bands, modes, clients and applications without conflict
