Extricom Joins The 802.11n Party

Extricom on Tuesday unveiled its new suite of products based on draft 2.0 of the 802.11n wireless LAN standard. The new standard, which promises greater range and higher throughput, is expected to be ratified relatively soon. Extricom's new suite features new access points, new and updated WLAN switches and a new external antenna bar.

The EXAN Antenna Bar (pictured) is designed to cut down on the unsightly and inconvenient number of external antennas connected to each access point. 11n uses MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) technology, which can multiply the number of antennas for each Wi-Fi radio. With the antenna bar, Extricom has integrated 12 antennas into one assembly, which allows the connection of numerous antennas to the access point with a single cable that runs to the bar. The bar then mounts to the wall.

THE THREE-RADIO ULTRATHIN AP

Extricom also released a tri-radio 802.11n access point with integrated antennas, the EXRP-30n three-radio UltraThin AP. Designed for large scale 11n deployments, the EXRP-30n is equipped with two 11 n/g/b/a radios and one g/b/a radio, which can be operated in any combination of channels and bands. All 11n equipped radios incorporate 3x3 MIMO antenna configurations.

QUAD-RADIO AP OFFERS MORE JUICE

Along with the three-radio AP, Extricom added a four-radio UltraThin access point to its lineup of 802.11n products. The EXRP-40En is a quad-radio 11n access point that incorporates two, 11 n/a/b/g radios and two a/b/g radios, which can also be operated in any combination of channels and bands. Also, like its tri-radio counterpart, the 11n equipped radios in the quad-radio AP integrate 3x3 MIMO antenna configurations.

WLAN SWITCHES GET 11N UPDATE

Extricom on Tuesday also unveiled updates to two existing wireless LAN switches and introduced one new model to ease the transition to 11n. The EXSW-1200 and EXSW-2400, Extricom's 12-port and 24 port WLAN switches, respectively, were updated and will only require a firmware update to support the new 802.11n APs.

Pictured here is the newest WLAN switch added to Extricom's roster, the EXSW-1600, which the vendor said offers additional flexibility in tailoring the WLAN to a company's scale and requirements. The EXSW-1600 offers 16 ports, giving enterprises more options with wireless deployments.