Aruba rethinks WLAN setups

Aruba Wireless Networks is unveiling products it says will turn enterprise wireless LAN costs inside out.

Highlighting the company's new Wireless Grid are streamlined 802.11a/b/g access points that plug into an Ethernet wall outlet or become part of a structured cable deployment as combined access point/wall jack.

Also included is a switch, dubbed the 5100, that can take a second processing board to handle up to 3.6G bit/sec throughput for encrypted traffic. Switch software automates the ability for access points to handle different services, such as only 802.11a traffic, or radio frequency monitoring or location tracking.

To set up the grid, an Aruba AP 60 or 61 access point is plugged into a standard Ethernet wall jack.

The Model 60 has a detachable antenna that can be replaced with a higher-gain or directional antenna; the Model 61 has a built-in antenna. Both models use the Atheros 802.11a/b/g chipset and can transmit on 2.4-GHz or 5-GHz radio bands. The devices are loaded with client code to register and communicate with the new Aruba switch.

Aruba says the setup eliminates the high cost of wiring and installing access points in the spaces above hanging ceilings typically found in enterprise sites (installation charges commonly range from a few hundred dollars to as much as $1,000 per access point). Aruba now will charge a yearly fee of $200 to cover each access point and its software and maintenance, whereas in the past, the vendor charged separately for each.

Company officials say the pricing model will let customers better afford WLANs optimized for maximum performance: lots of Aruba access points that can be quickly and easily installed, with automatic adjustments to maintain high-bandwidth connections and minimize interference.

"Access point prices have fallen, [but] labor costs have continued to rise," says Craig Mathias, principal for Farpoint Group. "So why not just plug [access points] into the wall?"

Mathias says the Wireless Grid is not a new architecture in that it still relies on access points, but he says it should let customers deploy more of the devices where needed.

Two existing Aruba customers are intrigued.

"The main benefit of the grid is the [higher] capacity and the affordability that makes that possible," says Chris Price, information facilities technician at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonais, Ill. "We could create a grid with existing access points but we'd pay a lot more to do that."

Big auditoriums could have hundreds or even thousands of students with wireless laptops. "With the grid, we can put in a lot more access points and they can self-calibrate," Price says.

Sharp HealthCare, a San Diego hospital group, might add the new access points for use as RF monitors so it doesn't have to dedicate more-expensive access points or deploy an entirely separate monitoring system. The grid devices also can be used as needed for additional capacity or for 802.11a users, says Gary Jenkins, senior network engineer for Sharp.

The Wireless Grid base system, including the $16,000 Model 5100 switch, is available now. Still in the works is the integrated access point and wall plate, which Aruba is building with structured cabling vendor Ortronics.