* Wi-Fi vendors still fighting architecture wars
Motorola is beginning to distribute additional Wi-Fi functions out to its access points using a new architecture it announced Tuesday called WiNG 5.
Motorola is beginning to distribute additional Wi-Fi functions out to its access points using a new architecture it announced Tuesday called WiNG 5.
The architecture retains the company’s WLAN controllers but pushes quality of service and user reauthentication while roaming out to APs, functions that previously took place in the controller. Motorola WLANs already distributed data forwarding and firewall capabilities to the APs; now, the additional capabilities have become distributed, too, says Alan Lopez, Motorola product marketing manager.
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A new Motorola-proprietary protocol, called the Medium Independent Network Transport (MINT), runs on all Motorola APs and controllers, enabling them to communicate with one another to enforce security, QoS and roaming with one set of policies, Lopez says. In addition, the protocol allows the network components to work cooperatively to find the best forwarding paths, he says.
The new firmware-upgradable WiNG 5 capabilities don’t require any equipment replacements, according to Motorola. They are available now on the company’s AP 650 and RFS 4000 controller and will be available on the rest of the Motorola 802.11n product line in early 2011.
Since 802.11n standards have been ratified for more than a year now, Wi-Fi vendors have been distributing more and more of the Wi-Fi load out to the APs. The reason is that controllers can make roundtrip delivery times too long for high-quality latency-sensitive voice and video. They also could become a traffic bottleneck, given the sheer volume of network traffic potential of 802.11n’s 300Mbps connect rates per radio.
Aruba and Enterasys offer data forwarding in either centralized or distributed modes, for example; Bluesocket and Trapeze distribute data forwarding; start-up Aerohive distributes everything except the management plane and doesn’t use a controller.
Ironically, for several years starting in 2002, then-Symbol Technologies, which was later acquired by Motorola, kicked off the initial Wi-Fi industry craze to build centralized, controller-based infrastructures in favor of distributed APs that had no central management. The pendulum has swung back.
Motorola says it has “no plans to go controllerless,” but it’s not entirely clear what functions the controller will continue to play going forward other than management, which can be delivered with server software, cloud services or management-only appliances.
