Access point supports both 2.4 and 5GHz clients

Synad has demonstrated a remotely-configurable Linux-based WLAN access point solution for use with the company's Mercury dual band WLAN chipset.

Synad has demonstrated a remotely-configurable Linux-based WLAN access point solution for use with the company's Mercury dual band WLAN chipset.

According to Allen Nogee, Principal Analyst at In-Stat/MDR, Synad's revolutionary dual-band single-radio WLAN solution stands to drive down costs in a market that is exceedingly cost driven and because its reconfigurability futureproofs the 802.11 infrastructure, it is a natural for both the home market and hotspot installations, eliminating the necessity of having to switch equipment as standards evolve.

AgileAP includes a patent pending band-interleaving mode that makes it the only product in the burgeoning WLAN market to enable concurrent support for multiple 802.11 standards from a single radio access point.

In an era of rapidly evolving WLAN standards, the Synad product's band- interleaving and remote-configuration features enable operators of high speed 802.11a (5GHz) or 802.11g (2.4GHz) wireless networks to simultaneously support 802.11b (2.4GHz) legacy or guest clients without having to install costly dual radio access points.

The use of a single radio to support 2.4 and 5GHz bands, rather than the typical use of separate radios to support each band, combined with the use of Linux as the system software, will offer OEMs a significant reduction in their bill of materials cost.

The AgileAP functionality enables Synad's previously announced Mercury chipset to flexibly support multiple modes.

As a result, a single access point can be remotely configured for 802.11b, 11g or 11a operation, depending on the prevailing client mix of any particular Wi-Fi hotspot location.

Synad's AgileAP software, which runs on a standard Linux kernel, leverages the advanced MAC, flexible architecture and ultra-fast mode-switching capabilities of the Mercury chipset to distribute data packets across multiple bands using a single radio.

AgileAP works within the IEEE802.11 WLAN protocol to schedule when data packets are exchanged.

In this way, a single-radio Mercury-based access point can simultaneously support a mix of clients in both the 2.4GHz band and 5GHz band.

It is fully interoperable with third-party clients.

Remote configuration of Mercury-based access points is easily managed by system administrators using an integrated web browser interface accessible via 802.3 and 802.11.

By enabling this level of flexibility into single-slot access points, Synad provides for ease of migration and adaptability.

Network managers and operators have the ability to reconfigure installations as the client mix evolves, without any need to change hardware.

Synad's access point solution encompasses support for advanced security standards such as Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA).

The Mercury chipset architecture employs hardware encryption accelerators that ensure there is no compromise in data throughput while operating securely.

AgileAP is complemented by a comprehensive developers kit that encompasses Mercury radio cards, AgileAP software, a complete Linux based access point reference suite including TCP/IP networking stack and bridging capability, Linux kernel and an x86 development platform.

Synad provides support to manufacturers of WLAN access equipment wishing to integrate the AgileAP functionality into existing platforms and deliver this flexible dual band capability into single radio access points.

A product sheet describing AgileAP and Synad's dual band access point development kit is available from the Synad website.

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