3Com announces new 802.11n portfolio 23 June, 2008 By Chris Talbot

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The new business-class products include power-over-Ethernet (PoE) access points, wireless routers and 802.11n wireless adapters. Built based on the 802.11n Draft 2.0 standard, the products offer added speed and connectivity to businesses.

"This is clearly an advantage to users because now for the first time they are essentially able to get wired speeds on a wireless connection," said Alan Miano, product line manager for SMB wireless at 3Com.

Using 802.11n, businesses can take all of the same applications they run on the desktop and use them anywhere in the office or corporate campus, Miano said.

The marquis product in this release is the 3Com AP3950, a centrally-controlled dual-radio PoE enterprise access point. The access point was designed to provide simultaneous 802.11n performance in both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Additionally, it works with existing 3Com Wireless Mobility System controllers and switches. All that's needed is a software upgrade to gain full support for the access point, Miano said.

3Com also announced two other 802.11n access points. The 3Com AirConnect 9550 is a dual-radio PoE access point aimed at SMBs that offers simultaneous operation in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. The 3Com AirConnect 9150 is a single-radio standalone managed PoE access point that provides 802.11n connectivity in the 2.4GHz band.

With single- and dual-radio versions available, Miano said, "It allows you a little bit of flexibility in pricing here."

The key differentiator in the three access point announced is the power options, Miano said. Both the 9150 and 9550 support standard 802.3af PoE in 2x3 mode, while the 3950 unit offers 2x3 and 3x3 modes in 802.3af PoE. The 3950 can also provide 802.3at PoE in 3x3 mode. Although most businesses still use the 802.3af standard, businesses that deploy the 3950 will be able to use the 802.3at immediately or when their businesses choose to start rolling out the new PoE standard, Miano said.

In addition to the access point, 3Com has also announced two new 802.11n routers. The 3Com ADSL Wireless11n Firewall Router and the 3Com Wireless11n Cable/DSL Firewall Router are both equipped with four ports for Ethernet LAN connectivity. They also have security features like VPN initiation/termination and are optimized for use in branch/remote offices, small businesses and by telecommuters.

Although they're small in form factor, the new routers are not aimed at the consumer market, said Arthur Kocharyan, product line manager for broadband at 3Com. The routers are business-class, with features that go beyond consumer requirements.

Both routers support VPN intiation and tunneling, IPSEC for site-to-site connectivity, PPTP termination for teleworker connectivity to the main office and enhanced QoS support.

"Businesses use more and more VoIP. For them, it's not just a way of saving money; it's really a business application, and they have to ensure that the voice call is of high level," Kocharyan said.

Since the routers are aimed at the SMB market, 3Com also designed them to be simple to set up and configure.

"Ease of use is obviously critical for small businesses. They don't have time to spend on setting up the products and they don't necessarily have the dedicated IT resources," Kocharyan said.

The routers also have a Wi-Fi on/off button so wireless connectivity can be easily turned on or off for energy saving or security reasons, he said. The Wi-Fi Protect Setup (WPS) button also makes it easy to set up a wireless LAN. When a new wireless client adapter needs to be configured for the network, users just need to run the setup utility and hit the button. It will automatically be configured for connectivity and the highest level of security possible, he said.

"Those things make the product a lot easier to use and set up," Kocharyan said.

The last two products in the new portfolio are client adapters -- the 3Com Wireless11n PCI Adapter and the Wireless11n USB Adapter. Both adapters support 802.11n in the 2.4GHz band.

In addition to the new products, 3Com has also updated its WX series of controllers to support the new 802.11n products.

"We've enhanced with our Version 7 release the scalability," said Jeff Schwartz, product line manager for enterprise wireless at 3Com.

The controllers now support 192 access points -- up from 120. The redundancy has also been improved. In previous versions, if a controller became unavailable, it would take between 30 and 45 seconds for access points to find a different controller, which meant at least half a minute of downtime.

"Now it's no downtime at all because the access points know where the redundant controllers are," Schwartz said.

The new products will be available in the next few weeks. The client cards, priced at $89 (U.S.) for the USB version and $109 for the PCI model, are available now. The 9550 ($499) and 9150 ($299) access points will be available at the end of June. The 3950 ($1,299) access point will be available in mid-July. The routers will be available at the beginning of August. The cable/DSL router will be priced at $109, and the ADSL model at $149.