Aruba Networks Celebrates Shipment Milestone for 802.11n Access Point Products

Aruba Networks, a provider of wireless local area network (LAN) and unified mobility solutions, announced it has shipped more than 10,000 units for its 802.11n-enabled access points.

 

Last November, Aruba launched its dual-radio AP-124 and AP-125 802.11n access point family. Volume shipments started in February. And, last month, company launched a family of field-upgradable access points (AP-124ABG and AP-125ABG) based on second generation radio frequency (RF) chips. These access points feature an ultra-compact packaging that can be powered from a single 802.3af Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) source.

 

"The second half of 2007 saw the first shipments of coordinated enterprise-class '802.11n Draft 2.0 Wi-Fi Certified' access points," said Gartner Senior Research Analyst Christian Canales, author of the Gartner report, 2008 Market Share: Enterprise Wireless LAN Equipment, Worldwide, 4Q07 and 2007.

 

Canales went on: "Worldwide revenue from sales of WLAN enterprise equipment increased more than 10 percent from 2006 to 2007, and coordinated access points accounted for 48 percent of the overall enterprise access point shipments in the last quarter of 2007, versus just 39 percent in the last quarter of 2006."

 

Aruba’s 10,000^th 802.11n access point was shipped to California State University system, which selected Aruba's wireless network after subjecting it to a stringent functional test and total cost of ownership analysis based on specific evaluation criteria. California State University system has nearly 450,000 students and 46,000 faculty and staff members.

 

Aruba's 802.11n offers performance and interoperability advantages. Its Adaptive Radio Management (ARM) technology automates wireless LAN set-up and maintenance, and adapts the network in real-time to accommodate user behavior, interference, and nearby networks.

 

ARM features include airtime fairness to ensure that slower 802.11b/g clients have minimal impact on high speed 802.11n clients, co-channel interference management to maximize throughput in the presence of nearby access points and RF transmitters and intelligent client steering to provide high speed clients with access to the greatest available bandwidth.

 

"Ease of use, high performance, and interoperability are the hallmarks of Aruba's 802.11n solution, and the fast uptake of our 802.11n access points reflects the importance of these features to customers," said Keerti Melkote, Aruba's co-founder and head of products and partnerships.

 

Melkote continued: "Not content to sit on our laurels, we continue to drive innovation into the 802.11n market. A case in point is our new line of economical 802.11a/b/g access points that can be upgraded via software download to 802.11n Draft2.0."