Even without the software update, Meru's new AP302 access point can detect and block any 802.11n "rogues" attempting to gain unauthorized access to the WLAN, providing needed protection against potential incursions from 802.11n-based outsiders.

The dual-radio AP302 is Meru's fourth access point to incorporate the 802.11n draft 2.0 standard, which is seeing rapid industry adoption because it offers more than six times the speed of the earlier standards along with much greater throughput.

With a price typical of enterprise-grade 802.11a/b/g access points that do not include 802.11n capability, the AP302 allows budget-conscious enterprises to invest economically in equipment that meets their needs now while assuring them of a simple path to higher performance later. When they do decide to upgrade to 11n, they pay only for a new software license, avoiding both the disruption of a new installation and the cost of new hardware that is required with other vendors' 11n offerings.

"An enterprise may only have the budget for an 802.11a/b/g network today," said Keyur Shah, Meru product line director. "But long before the next full network upgrade in a few years, soaring performance requirements and new high-bandwidth applications could make the a/b/g equipment obsolete. With the AP302, enterprise users pay only for what they need now; down the road, for just the cost of an upgrade, they gain full 802.11n functionality. This approach spreads out the financial outlay, protects the hardware investment, and avoids the major disruption of pulling access points or radio modules off the ceiling."

The AP302 ships with the full complement of six antennas (three per radio) needed to support 802.11n MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) technology, rather than just the two required by 802.11a/b/g. Thus, when users decide to upgrade their software, they save on labor and installation costs because no antennas need to be added or swapped out.

First introduced in April 2007, Meru's AP300 Access Point family uses Meru Air Traffic Control technology to deliver full 802.11n draft 2.0 performance at the highest possible wireless client densities while offering complete backward compatibility with 802.11a/b/g devices. The AP300 family, powered by IEEE 802.3af (Power over Ethernet), provides 802.11n support in both the 2.4- and 5-GHz frequency bands, at both 20- and 40-MHz modes; in the dual-radio units, both radios are dual-band capable to maximize customer flexibility in deployment configuration.

Like all Meru access points, members of the AP300 family automatically select a single channel span for use enterprise- or campus-wide, layering additional channel spans only when more capacity is required. This approach minimizes the potential for co-channel interference and eliminates the need for costly and tedious channel planning.

Members of the AP300 family are:

• the new AP302 dual-radio access point with two 802.11a/b/g radios (both radios software- upgradeable to 802.11n draft 2.0)
• the AP320 dual-radio access point with two 802.11a/b/g/n radios
• the AP310 single-radio access point with one 802.11a/b/g/n radio
• the AP311 dual-radio access point with one 802.11a/b/g/n radio and one 802.11a/b/g radio (second radio software-upgradeable to 802.11n draft 2.0)

Available immediately, the AP302 access point is priced at $995 and includes two 802.11a/b/g radios and all accessories needed to upgrade to a 3x3 MIMO antenna array. A software upgrade to 802.11n is $299 per radio.

Pricing for previously introduced members of the AP300 family (including all required antennas) is: AP320 - $1,495; AP310 - $1,195; AP311 - $1,295. All products are currently shipping.

Keywords: wireless lan technology, wireless access point, financial outlay, industry adoption, bandwidth applications, migration path, radio modules, line director, full complement, meru networks, hardware investment, simple path, high bandwidth, incursions, 11a