AirFlow Networks Breaks Wireless LAN Complexity Barriers with Innovative ''Packet Antenna'' Architecture
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 15, 2003--
Breakthrough Eliminates RF Interference, Allowing Plug & Play Enterprise Deployment While Improving WLAN Throughput, Coverage, and Scalability
AirFlow Networks, the company that makes Secure Wireless LANs as Easy as Ethernet(TM), today launched a revolutionary wireless LAN (WLAN) architecture that eliminates the complexity, scalability, and coverage issues associated with traditional WLAN systems. AirFlow's solution is based on a centralized virtual Access Point that scales wireless coverage through the deployment of any number of distributed, plug-and-play "packet antennas." Through this innovative packet antenna architecture, incorporating 10 patent applications, AirFlow has fundamentally eliminated the co-channel interference issues that have plagued enterprise WLAN deployments and opened up a new world of wireless capabilities for small, medium and even large scale 802.11 deployments. AirFlow's solution delivers high performance, uniform coverage, and simple wireless scalability without the management and coverage problems typical of traditional WLAN architectures. Designed to integrate easily into a customer's existing Ethernet network, AirFlow's new AirServer, AirSwitch, and AirHub products create secure wireless LANs that are as easy and cost-effective to deploy and manage as wired Ethernet. (See "AirFlow Networks Debuts Innovative Wireless LAN Solution," also released today.)
"Words like 'breakthrough' or 'revolutionary' have been discredited through overuse in networking technology, but once in a great while something comes along that really deserves such a description," said Mike Jude, Research Director at Enterprise Management Associates. "The AirFlow architecture is one of those developments. AirFlow is doing something people said couldn't be done. It's a whole new way of thinking about wireless LANs that makes a lot of today's network engineering problems simply disappear."
Traditional WLAN architectures assume that scaling wireless LAN coverage requires multiple Access Points (APs), and due to interference issues with deploying multiple APs, vendors focus on the fundamental dilemma of how to reduce interference while still providing coverage, resulting in systems that attempt to manage strategic AP placement, RF channel assignment, and individual AP configurations. AirFlow's solution solves the issues at the root cause by completely eliminating the interference issues and therefore allowing an entirely new approach to deploying WLANs. With a centralized virtual AP located in a wireless controller, the AirFlow WLAN can be installed in minutes without requiring any RF expertise, and the WLAN can scale effortlessly with no pre-planning. This approach eliminates the fundamental complexity and both upfront and ongoing operational costs that have hampered the deployment of enterprise wireless LANs to date.
AirFlow's products make it possible for any enterprise to deploy a secure, standards-based wireless LAN without any radio frequency planning or expertise. Scaling wireless coverage is literally as easy as adding Ethernet hubs to connect new users or network segments in a wired LAN.
"The 802.11 protocol was designed for consumer applications using a single AP and didn't address how to coverage larger areas. The deployment, configuration, and management problems common to existing wireless LANs is directly due to the need for multiple APs to scale coverage, "said Dr. Harry Bims, founder and chief technical officer of AirFlow Networks. "Our team has developed a secure and scalable wireless LAN solution that overcomes the limitations of traditional APs while remaining fully compliant with the 802.11 protocol. The result is a system that has the same simplicity as wired Ethernet."
WLAN Complexity Solved
Wireless LANs based on traditional APs are highly complex because they rely on adding new APs to broaden coverage. Each AP must be individually configured for security policies, and APs whose coverage areas overlap can't operate on the same channel. As a result, companies deploying these systems must laboriously determine coverage patterns via site surveys or specialized tools to minimize channel interference, but the resulting WLANs will inevitably contain gaps in coverage due to the coverage patterns of adjacent APs. In addition, mobile users must re-associate and re-authenticate with the network as they move out of one AP's coverage area and into the next AP's coverage area, and their bandwidth drops significantly as they near the boundary between coverage areas. Finally, adding new APs, changing the WLAN's throughput, or even rearranging office furniture can force users to re-configure many, if not all, of the APs in the network.
"Our clients couldn't care less about elegant channel management or site survey systems; they just want a fast and secure wireless LAN that works and can be deployed as cost-effectively as possible," said David Gottesman, president of IP Analytics. "When we looked at all of the solutions in the space, AirFlow's system was the only one that made sense."
Rather than adding APs, AirFlow system users simply plug in AirHub packet antennas wherever coverage is desired. AirHubs act just like Ethernet hubs -- they simply connect users and require no configuration or management. Since AirHubs can all operate on the same channel (selected at the wireless controller), there is no channel interference. Packet antennas can be placed as close to each other as desired for high throughput, thus making it possible to completely eliminate coverage gaps and deliver high, uniform performance throughout the network for greater user satisfaction and support for delay-sensitive applications such as voice and video over IP.
The AirFlow Architecture
The AirFlow architecture includes a wireless controller, available as an AirServer(TM) or an AirSwitch(TM), which aggregates traffic from remotely distributed wireless access devices call AirHubs(TM). Both the AirServer and AirSwitch provide the centralized Access Point features as well as the configuration and security policies for the entire WLAN.
AirHubs require no configuration and transparently connect any wireless user in their vicinity, allowing users to plug them in anywhere additional wireless coverage is needed. In addition to this plug-and-play scalability and its ability to eliminate coverage gaps and deliver uniform throughput, the AirFlow architecture offers several other unique advantages for enterprises and wireless Internet service providers:
Built-in Redundancy. Since coverage is scaled through AirHubs rather than traditional APs, an AirHub failure does not disconnect users. If such a failure occurs, users transparently and seamlessly connect through the next nearest AirHub without any packet loss.
Capacity Scaling. A wireless LAN is a shared system, so as the number of connected users increases, the amount of bandwidth available to each of them decreases. However, since APs can interfere with each other, there are limitations to the number of APs that can be utilized to scale capacity. Because AirFlow's solution eliminates interference, network administrators can easily add AirHubs to scale capacity. In addition, since AirFlow eliminates interference, the non-overlapping channels normally utilized to avoid interference can be utilized to scale capacity even further. By using these non-overlapping channels for aggregate capacity gains, AirFlow can double or triple network capacity by overlaying channels within the same area. For example, to add capacity to an AirFlow WLAN that provides uniform coverage on channel 1, a second uniform WLAN coverage map can be deployed on channel 6 and a third on channel 11, effectively tripling aggregate wireless capacity. All of this can be done with a single wireless controller without any interference.
Packet Diversity. Just as many of today's APs use twin antennas to create packet diversity (multiple air interfaces to the AP), the AirFlow architecture offers unprecedented packet diversity through the use of as many as 30 packet antennas connected to a single wireless controller. This provides a far superior end-user experience since users have redundant connections through to the centralized AP without requiring re-association and re-authentication as they mobilize.
Deployment Flexibility. AirFlow's AirHubs can use either AC power or 802.11af-compliant Power-over-Ethernet (PoE), so it's not necessary to have AC power at an AirHub location. In addition, each AirHub has a second, "pass-through" Ethernet port that allows users to connect a desktop PC, printer, or other device to one Ethernet port.
WLAN Security. The AirFlow architecture supports industrial-strength WLAN security standards, including WEP, WPA, and 802.11i (when ratified), and includes a hardware-accelerated encryption engine to terminate IPSec with high throughput levels.
Visitor Security. Visitor access security is a key challenge for companies deploying wireless LANs. AirFlow AirServers and AirSwitches feature an innovative "Public Port" that automatically redirects all authorized visitor traffic directly to the Internet, physically separating their traffic from the internal company network and eliminating the need to set up user VLANs with their associated security risks. When visitors connect to an AirFlow WLAN, they enter a password supplied upon their admission to the building, and then gain access to the Internet, but not to the corporate network. Visitor passwords can be set to expire automatically by time or upon disconnection.
About AirFlow Networks
AirFlow Networks makes secure wireless LANs that are as easy to deploy and manage as wired Ethernet LANs. The simplicity of AirFlow's solution allows enterprises to build secure, high-performance wireless LANs without the deployment, configuration, and management challenges inherent in other wireless LAN approaches. AirFlow solutions are fully compliant with industry standards and incorporate ten patent-pending innovations. AirFlow is a privately held company based in Sunnyvale, Calif. For more information, please visit the company web site at www.airflownetworks.com.
Contacts
Gallagher Group Communications
Ben Stricker, 925-299-3950 ext. 226
bens@gg-comm.com
