3Com puts muscle behind enterprise WLANs

3Com this week unveiled several products to help put wireless LANs in enterprise companies. These include a WLAN switch and controller, mobility system and management software, and managed access points.

3Com introduced the Wireless LAN Switch WX1200 and the Wireless LAN Controller WX4400, a device that enables any vendor’s Layer 2 switch to become a “wireless” switch.

The Wireless LAN Managed Access Point 2750 supports 802.11a, b and g. 3Com says this one is a trimmer version of previous access points, in that major processing is done back at the wireless switch.

The products are aimed at enterprises with central, wireless campuses and with managed wireless branch offices. 3Com says planning for enterprise wireless deployments can be easier with its new switch management software, which can tell you where to put access points based on a floor plan. The wireless switch-based network can then be managed centrally from a desktop.

3Com says that its wireless switch will work with its power-over-Ethernet products, such as the SuperStack 3 Switch 4400PWR, and that it would complement other infrastructure switches. The switch also “paves the way” for voice over WLANs, the company says.

The Wireless LAN Switch Controller WX4400 lists for $13,000, while the Wireless Switch WX1200 is priced at $3,300, the Wireless LAN Switch Manager Software costs $4,000, and the Wireless LAN Access Point 2750 is priced at $300. The wireless switch products are expected to ship in November.