Belden launches WLAN products

Belden recently released several products that flesh out its wireless LAN offerings, including a new WLAN switch, a new access point and a Power over Ethernet range extender.

Belden, known for its cabling products, added a 12-port WLAN switch to its line, which already includes an eight-port model and a 24-port model. Belden says that the switches do all of the IP packet processing for the wireless network, with a focus on giving users a guaranteed and predictable level of service.

Belden's Channel Blanket technology allows every access point in a network to operate on the same channel without co-channel interference. Belden also says users with different wireless rates can be segregated, so that a client with a slow rate won't degrade the performance of a client with a faster rate. The company also says the switches are ready for voice over Wi-Fi.

The IEEE 802.11a/b/g switches connect to a wired LAN via Ethernet and use PoE for electrical needs. A new range extender for PoE injects a "re-energized" signal between the wireless switch and the access point. Access points can then be installed up to 200 meters from the wireless switch, twice the distance as normal.

Belden's new XtraThin Access Point has four IEEE 802.11 radios, allowing for four simultaneous non-overlapping channels at each location. Belden says this means capacity and bandwidth is quadrupled at each location. These support 802.11a, 11b, and 11g. Belden suggests that users could allocate the channels and bandwidth to different applications, such as voice or data, specific device types or specific user groups. Alternatively, three radios could be used for IP packet traffic, with the fourth acting as a sensor for rogue access points and wireless intrusion detection.

Jeff Caruso is site editor at Network World.