* Proxim Tsunami MP.11a vs. Cisco Aironet 1400 Series
Last week, Proxim upped the ante in the wireless bridging market when it added an 802.11a-based wireless bridge, the Tsunami MP.11a, to its extensive outdoor wireless network product line. The move comes two months after Cisco unleashed its 802.11a-based Aironet 1400 Series wireless bridge.
On one level, wireless bridges are easy to comprehend: You install a box with an antenna (integrated or purchased as an add-on, depending on vendor and on the radius and distance across which you need to transmit) on at least two rooftops and, voila, you have instant, multimegabit bandwidth connectivity between sites. However, there are lots of product and component choices. What you install should match your application.
For example, Proxim, which also offers non-802.11-based products for organizations at attractive price/performance ratios, seems to be talking loudly to service providers with last-mile and backhaul applications with this latest product. However, the Tsunami MP.11a can also be used by enterprises for metro-area connections, which is my focus today.
Here are a few comparative key traits in the Proxim and Cisco offerings, as specified by the vendors:
Proxim: Tsunami MP.11a
* Configuration options: Point to point; point to multipoint. You need at least two different bridge components: a base station unit (BSU) and a subscriber unit (SU).
* Frequencies of operation: 5.25-5.35 (North America and Europe), 5.47-5.725 (Europe) and 5.725-5.850 (North America and Europe).
* Number of non-overlapping channels available: 9.
* Security: Over-the-air Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption; proprietary Wireless Outdoor Routing Protocol access method.
* Average effective throughput and range: About 30M bit/sec over 6 miles, point to point.
* Antenna choices: Omnidirectional for BSU – 8 dBi and 10 dBi; sector for BSU – 14 dBi, 120 degrees; 17 dBi, 60 degrees; panel antenna for SU – 18 dBi and 23 dBi.
* Price: BSU – $1,295; SU – $695; antennas – $135 to $145. Put another way, then, a point-to-point configuration could deliver 30M bit/sec over a range of six miles for $2,125.
Cisco: Aironet 1400 Series
* Configuration options: Point to point; point to multipoint (one device can be configured either way).
* Frequencies of operation: 5.725-5.825 (North America).
* Number of non-overlapping channels: 4.
* Security: 802.1x and Cisco LEAP for mutual authentication of remote/root bridges.
* Average effective throughput and range: About 28M bit/sec over 7.5 miles, point to point.
* Antenna choices: Cisco 1410 ships with integrated 22.5 dBi-gain antenna for throughput and range described above. Other options: omnidirectional – 9.0 dBi; sector – 9.5 dBi, 60 degrees; dish – 28 dBi.
* Price: $4,999 for Aironet 1410 with integrated antenna; add-on antennas sold separately.
