Cisco Systems has introduced a new wireless LAN access point (AP)
that for the first time incorporates the Internetwork Operating
System (IOS), used in the company's routers, switches and other
wired network equipment, into a wireless product.
Analysts said the introduction of the new Cisco product, priced at
$599 (£382), sets the stage for a battle between Cisco and Symbol
Technologies, which last month introduced a decentralised,
switch-managed WLAN architecture.
Craig Mathias, an analyst at Farpoint Group, said the battle
between Symbol, Cisco and other WLAN suppliers for market share
"could get nasty, because this is the only bright spot in the
networking market".
Ron Seide, product line manager at Cisco, said integrating the IOS
into the new 1100 Series AP follows the company's philosophy of
"pushing intelligence to the edge of the network".
The IOS will allow users to support wired network features such as
virtual LANs with ease. For example, users will be able to operate
LANs with different levels of security over the same WLAN circuit
and employ quality-of-service controls that allow voice-over-IP
traffic to take precedence over data traffic.
The 1100 Series will initially operate under the 802.11b, or Wi-Fi,
standard, which provides 11Mbps throughput in the 2.4GHz unlicensed
frequency band. Seide said the new WLAN AP could be upgraded to
802.11g, which offers 54Mbps throughput in the same band.
Cisco has taken a "fundamentally different" approach to Symbol with
its new WLAN products, said Seide. The new WLAN architecture Symbol
introduced last month, called Mobius, is designed around "dumb",
inexpensive access ports with all of the intelligence housed in a
central switch. The product sells for $279.
Seide said the Symbol approach requires users to buy and install
the expensive controller box as well as the access ports before
they can even begin to enjoy the benefits of WLANs, whereas the
1100 Series requires only a network connection to work out of the
box. The 1100 Series offers more flexibility at a lower cost than
the Symbol product, he added.
Ray Martino, a Symbol vice-president, agreed with Seide that
intelligence belongs at the edge of the network, but added, "I
believe the edge is the wiring closet." Taking Cisco's logic into
the wired world "would mean installing Ethernet controllers on
floorboards," he noted.
Mathias said he believes that the Symbol approach offers users more
flexibility and could lead to a lower total cost of ownership. He
predicted that other WLAN vendors would soon begin to imitate the
Symbol Mobius architecture.