Wireless Network LAN's

What up, G?

Other than ease of migration, there are three main reasons to wait for 802.11g rather than opt for the immediate gratification of 802.11a: lower power consumption, longer range and better penetration. Also, 802.11g may offer cost advantages because lower-frequency devices are easier to manufacture. These same advantages apply to 802.11b today, which runs at 2.4GHz as opposed to 802.11a, which runs at 5GHz. So theoretically, 802.11g incorporates most of the good qualities of the other two standards

Eventually the pricing gap between 802.11b and 802.11a will narrow. Rich Redelfs, CEO of Atheros, currently the only chip maker shipping 802.11a chipsets, says 802.11a chips will be close to 802.11b in price "before long."

Another choice emerging in advance of 802.11g is multimode products that support 802.11a and 802.11b. These will be available in the third quarter this year. Multimode 802.11 a/g (which by definition includes 802.11b) will follow, probably in mid-2003. Redelfs also predicts that dual 80211.a/g chipsets won't cost much more than 802.11a-only chipsets.

A/B > A + B

rguments in favor of dual 802.11a/b or 802.11a/g NICs and access points are clear -- dual clients can "tune in" to whatever network happens to be available in a particular area. Envara, LinCom Wireless and Synad have announced dual-mode a/b chipsets. Atheros and Intersil plan to produce chipsets with 802.11a, 802.11b and "802.11g-like"capabilities. Although multimode chipsets could be used in access points, they are primarily for client cards, where space is limited and cost considerations often paramount, Redelfs says.Cisco, Intel and Proxim are vendors leading the charge to dual-mode products:

Cisco's Aironet 1200 Series Dual Radio wireless LAN access point supports only 802.11b. In August, Cisco is expected to ship an 802.11a module for the Aironet 1200. The company says it will offer dual client cards, although no timing has been announced. While Cisco hasn't announced any 802.11g products, its support of 802.11g is strong. For instance, Cisco and Intersil said that they would cooperate to create an 802.11g reference platform.

According to the Synergy Research Group, Cisco held 18% of the total and 37% of the enterprise wireless LAN market at the end of last year, making it the top vendor in the field. The total wireless LAN market was $2.4 billion in 2002, projected to grow to $4.9 billion by 2006, according to Synergy. Proxim's product line is currently 802.11a-only. Although Proxim has not officially announced dual products, Lynn Lucas, director of marketing, says the company will have dual 802.11a/802.11b client cards this year. Proxim sees separate 802.11a and 802.11b access points as a more cost-effective approach than dual-mode access points.Intel has promised an optional kit to add 802.11b capability to the 802.11a-only Pro/Wireless LAN Access Point. There's currently no time frame for releasing the kit. And Texas Instruments is working on combined 802.11a and 802.11g products, says Bill Carney, director of business development and marketing for TI's wireless network business unit, and plans to release them in 2003. TI was a major player in developing the 802.11g standard, even though it suffered a setback when its favored modulation method (Packet Binary Convolutional Code) was made an option rather than a requirement.

posted by Hitesh @ 3:37 AM