Meru's virtual ports to make Wi-Fi as reliable as Ethernet

Enterprise Wi-Fi specialist Meru Networks (News - Alert) has unveiled "virtual ports" for its wireless networks, saying it will enable Wi-Fi to replace Ethernet by making it as reliable as a switched Ethernet port.  

 

Virtual ports, introduced to the latest software on Meru's wireless controllers, give each user a dedicated network service, which can be tied to guaranteed QoS and data rates.  

Virtual ports ensure that every wireless client device accessing the WLAN (laptop, phone, PDA, scanner) gets its own unique identifier (BSSID) that stays with the device wherever it moves within the WLAN. Thus, the technology prevents any one client affecting the performance of the other.

 

In other words, Meru has now added the ability to partition the network so each client gets the equivalent of a wired network port. 

 

“Access points have essentially been shared hubs. Now we have made the wireless LAN into a switched infrastructure, isolating each device and each user from each other. Only it's more than that, because it turns the cable into a fabric, and the user gets the same port anywhere in the building, or on the campus,” IDG News Service has quoted Meru’s CEO Ihab Abu-Hakima as saying. 

 

This latest WLAN architecture puts all access points on a single radio channel. This helps companies reduce or eliminate the need for costly RF planning and ensure good quality of service for mobile users.  

 

Ultimately, the technology provides enterprises with the ability to predict the cost of managing, provisioning and growing the wireless network in the way they have managed servers, storage and wired network resources.  

 

Virtual ports are likely to gain popularity at a time when wireless is becoming a primary technology for network connectivity in an increasing number of environments.