Symbol intros new next-gen switch

Dec 1, 2006 12:00 PM, By Donny Jackson

Symbol Technologies has unveiled the industry's first radio frequency wireless switch that is designed to bridge the gap between Wi-Fi, RFID and other wireless technologies, the company announced.

Many enterprises have 802.11 networks, and more are establishing RFID systems, as well. Symbol's RFS7000 RF switch allows an enterprise to deploy a variety of wireless networks while managing them through the centrally located switch in the network, said Chris McGugan, senior director of Symbol's wireless infrastructure division.

“What the RF switch provides is a common point of culmination for all the different RF technologies that an enterprise might deploy,” McGugan said.

A key advantage of the RFS7000 is its scalability. Leveraging Symbol's Wireless Next Generation (Wi-NG) architecture, each switch can support as many as 256 access points utilizing 802.11a/b/g technology (or about 50 access points using 802.11n), McGugan said. As many as 15 switches can be clustered to support more than 2000 of these access points, which is important to enterprises trying to blanket their campuses with high-speed wireless access.

Although a high density of access points can result in ideal coverage, it can be difficult to manage. The RFS7000 simplifies this process by providing visibility throughout the networks and allowing users to move between access-point coverage areas without having their applications interrupted, McGugan said.

“End users need the ability to move between those subnets seamlessly, without having their applications fail or having to re-authenticate,” he said. “The RFS7000 provides that Layer 3 roaming service so that all their sessions stay consistent — they aren't required to re-authenticate or to disconnect from the network — as they move through the Layer 3 infrastructure.

“It truly provides for seamless mobility in a large network … and the end user would never know about it or be concerned about the transitions.”

Although the first generation of the RFS7000 currently supports 802.11 and RFID, support for WiMAX and low-power technologies such as ultrawideband (UWB) and ZigBee is expected during the next year, McGugan said. In many cases, the Symbol switch can provide visibility into stand-alone networks that was not possible previously, he said.

In addition, with optional add-on modules, the RFS7000 switch is designed to provide connectivity for dual-mode cellular/Wi-Fi handsets, according to the company.

Symbol has long been a strong player in the retail supply-chain segment of the market, but the RFS7000 switch also should appeal to new sectors such as manufacturing, government, education and professional services, McGugan said.

“In most of those cases, those enterprises are looking to embrace mobility without having significant expense to deploy mobility,” he said. “One thing that our solution brings to those players is the ability to leverage the existing installed infrastructure of wired equipment and wirelessly enable their network without having to rip and replace their existing infrastructure.”

The RFS7000 is scheduled to be available in the first quarter of 2007.