Comparing Vendors of 802.11 Wireless Mesh Network Hardware & Software
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Aeras Networks supplies equipment and services to domestic and international communications service providers, telephone operating companies, and private network operators. Aeras' wireless radios provide state-of-the-art broadband connectivity solutions, utilizing the license-free radio frequency spectrum. The radios support a range of network topologies from simple point-to-point configurations to fully redundant ring and mesh networks. With form factors ranging from all-indoor or outdoor, and interfaces ranging from DS3/E3 to T1/E1 and including combo Ethernet networking capabilities, Aeras radios provide reliable, guaranteed bandwidth rates that support a wide variety of broadband applications. The products meet carrier-class reliability and performance requirements and can be deployed within hours to accommodate service demands
The BelAir Networks solution offers the lowest-cost network deployment for large wireless LANs, and is the only system that can deliver Wi-Fi access over large areas in dense urban environments. Mesh Networking Options - Current wireless networking options compromise on quality, capacity, and reach when they are stretched beyond the 100 ft. radius of the traditional hot spot. Also, the ability to integrate value-added services such as voice and video is simply not an option. Wireless mesh networking can be used to address these issues.
Cisco innovators have combined wireless and IP technology to creating anytime, anywhere connections to the Internet and enterprise networks. High-speed, secure wireless technology enables users to be constantly connected-even as they move between wireless cells or in and out of wired environments.
April 11, 2005, eWEEK.com Cisco Targets Mesh Networking Cisco Systems Inc., building on the strength of its recent acquisition of Airespace Inc., is planning a move into the emerging wireless mesh networking market. Airespace already had developed an outdoor access point to support point-to-multipoint applications and the bridging of wired networks over a wireless backhaul, according to documents submitted to the Federal Communications Commission.
The new access point supports 802.11a/b/g via two omnidirectional monopole antennas, one for the 2.4GHz band. It includes two power connectors, one for direct AC and one for POE (power over Ethernet). The access point was designed with municipal deployments in mind and is meant for installation on a rooftop or streetlight, according to the documents.
The software the Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless Network (CUWiN) project releases is a complete operating system for wireless, meshing nodes. We start with a stock NetBSD distribution and add wireless drivers, routing code, and specialized systems which allow the nodes to work in harmony to route traffic for each other. On the "Latest Release" section above or after selecting a release on our release history page, you'll find both "binary system images" and "source packages."
CUWiN gives communities a new choice for their communications infrastructure by building a house-to-house wireless "mesh." CUWiN makes it possible for neighbors to share broadband Internet access and services including Voice over IP as an alternative to traditional phone service, and alternatives to radio and cable -- such as live broadcasts from grassroots media-makers at the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center and "Internet radio stations" in subscribers' homes.
Introducing HotPort high performance mesh nodes - The HotPortTM High Performance Mesh Network provides a high capacity, scalable, and robust wireless mesh backbone for outdoor and indoor networks. This third generation of mesh nodes was designed for maximum performance, scalability, and ease of use. The new HotPort high performance mesh nodes work seamlessly between indoor and outdoor environments and can operate in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz spectrums, and with throughput up to 25 Mbps (full duplex).
The HotPort system enables multiple network services and standard Ethernet devices to operate on the wireless backbone creating secure and reliable wireless networks for video, voice and data. The HotPort family includes a multi-port 10/100 Ethernet switch for each node, VLAN capability, traffic prioritization, and remote management.
HotView mesh management software - HotViewTM mesh management software provides real-time monitoring and remote management of Firetide HotPort wireless mesh networks via its intuitive graphical user interface. The HotView software provides complete access to all mesh and individual node settings including security, VLAN, traffic prioritization, radio power controls, and network gateway interconnects.
Hopling Technologies, a global leader in wireless networking equipment for enterprises, operators and service providers, is focused on bringing sophisticated wireless solutions to the public-access market. Wireless solutions based on a new kind of robust network infrastructure – one that is scalable, affordable and quick to deploy anywhere, anytime, anyplace. The company offers a complete line of future-proof indoor and outdoor wireless enabling products such as mesh routers, access points, gateways, multi-client bridges and management servers.
Hopling Technologies patent-pending wireless mesh routing solutions enables seamless metropolitan and event-based coverage, leveraging the advantages of WiFi and WiMAX such as mobility, high throughput, low cost, and the ubiquitous of client devices. With the introduction of automatic self installable wireless indoor and outdoor nodes, enterprises can deploy a wireless meshed network solution in a matter of hours without the need for per node wiring or installation specialists.
Founded in 2002, MeshDynamics is a privately held company offering software and systems for high performance wireless mesh networking applications. The Company's MeshControl(TM) software enables a unique multi-radio, multi-channel backhaul path with vastly superior bandwidth and latency over multiple hops, providing the best price/performance solution for dense City-wide VoIP and mobile data. MeshDynamics has offices in both Santa Clara, CA and Pune, India
Researchers in Microsoft Research Redmond, Cambridge, and Silicon Valley are working to create wireless technologies that allow neighbors to connect their home networks together. There are many advantages to enabling such connectivity and forming a community mesh network. For example, when enough neighbors cooperate and forward each others packets, they do not need to individually install an Internet "tap" (gateway) but instead can share faster, cost-effective Internet access via gateways that are distributed in their neighborhood. Packets dynamically find a route, hopping from one neighbor's node to another to reach the Internet through one of these gateways. Another advantage is that neighbors can cooperatively deploy backup technology and never have to worry about losing information due to a catastrophic disk failure. A third advantage is that this technology allows bits created locally to be used locally without having to go through a service provider and the Internet. Neighborhood community networks allow faster and easier dissemination of cached information that is relevant to the local community.
Motorola's MeshNetworks Enabled Architecture (MEA™) technology leverages patented and proven routing techniques originally developed for battlefield communications. By pushing intelligence and decision making to the edge of the network, high performance and scalable broadband networks can be built at very low cost.
MEA technology supports both infrastructure and client meshing. MEA’s infrastructure meshing creates a robust and scalable network, while client meshing enables end users to instantly form a broadband wireless network among themselves – with or without the inclusion of network infrastructure. In fact, Motorola Multi-Hopping™ technology can turn a client device into a router/repeater. As users join the network, network coverage and throughput increase. MEA networking is unique in that it supports Continuous Mesh™ routing. That is, it supports simultaneous operation of infrastructure and client meshing while allowing clients to move seamlessly between infrastructure-based and client-based peer-to-peer networks.
Self-forming, self-healing routing intelligence distributes clients among Access Points, eliminating bottlenecks and improving overall network performance. MEA technology also improves network robustness, as clients can hop to alternate Access Points if their current Access Point is congested or fails. Clients can form large, ad hoc peer-to-peer networks virtually anywhere, anytime. Peer-to-peer networking reduces the demand on network Access Points, freeing up capacity for other users. All these capabilities create low-cost, seamless and simple to deploy wireless PAN, LAN or WAN solutions.
Nortel Networks Wireless Mesh Network solution extends the reach of Wireless LANs securely and cost-effectively for enterprises and end-users—and offers service providers new opportunities to drive increased revenue generation. City governments and municipalities benefit from enhanced employee safety and efficiency as well as from an improved business climate.
Our Wireless Mesh Network solution addresses the market requirements for networks that are highly scalable and cost-effective, offering end users secure, seamless roaming beyond traditional WLAN boundaries and provides easy deployment in areas that do not (or cannot) support a wired backhaul. Nortel Networks Wireless Mesh Network solution is well-suited for providing broadband wireless access in areas that traditional WLAN systems are unable to cover.
PacketHop is poised to transform mobile communications – introducing the first-of-its kind mobile mesh networking software solutions that enable instant, secure broadband connectivity – anytime, anywhere, and to any device. PacketHop delivers secure, scalable wireless access and high-end broadband capabilities to multiple markets, including automotive, consumer, enterprise, homeland security and home networking.
RoamAD supplies technology for scalable, cost-effective metro Wi-Fi networks, campus hotzones, and railway / highway Wi-Fi networks. RoamAD's infrastructure-mesh network design, coupled with its radio-agnostic, software-based platform that runs on commodity third-party hardware, provides multi-storey, indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi coverage in dense urban environments and over wide-areas.
The networks are scalable and, with their low-latency and fast-handoff attributes, are optimized to support mobile VOIP. Carriers, ISPs, municipalities, and hospitals are deploying networks using RoamAD's architecture and software platform to cost-effectively and efficiently provide fixed and mobile voice and data access over large metro areas, campuses, and highway corridors.
The Strix Systems Access/One Network family of products represent the next generation of wireless LAN products, leaping past the traditional access point and switch architecture to mesh; a self-discovering, self-configuring, self-tuning, and self-healing wireless network incorporating robust security and comprehensive management. The Access/One Network family of products support all 802.11 RF technologies and offer multi-radio and multi-channel high performance managed mesh networking systems for indoor enterprise deployments and outdoor public safely, municipal and metropolitan networks.
The Access/One Network can be configured and managed via Manager/One, a comprehensive browser based management platform that allows IT administrators to control all key elements of their wireless network, or using Access/One Networks carrier grade support for SNMP based management. Additional features of the Access/One Network products include Virtual/Strix and Priority/One. Virtual/Strix supports deployments of multi-use or virtual networks where various user segments are sharing one Access/One network. Priority/One allows administrators of these multi-use networks to ensure quality of service by assigning varying class of service filters to any type of network traffic or user group.
Tropos Networks' cellular Wi-Fi solution includes indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi cells which run the Tropos Sphere network operating system, the Tropos Control element management system, a live 24/7 support program and professional site survey, design and deployment services. The Tropos cellular Wi-Fi system is based on distributed intelligence. The Tropos Wi-Fi cells communicate with each other wirelessly through a lightweight control protocol containing the industry's first cellular Wi-Fi mesh routing algorithm. Each Wi-Fi cell, in addition to using Wi-Fi to communicate with standard 802.11 clients, passes data wirelessly back to a Wi-Fi cell gateway, attached to the wired network. The cells continuously monitor the quality of the wireless links and forward traffic in the best path to the wired gateway. In this way, the cells work together to optimize performance across the network.
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