Trapeze Networks this week is introducing software that lets its wireless LAN switches and access points negotiate the best way to handle different kinds of wireless traffic.
Dubbed "Smart Mobile," the new code can trigger an access point to sometimes ensure wireless VoIP packets meet agreed-upon quality levels, to minimize latency in voice calls. At the same time, Smart Mobile lets the switch take over completely the work of forwarding packets from visitors accessing the corporate WLAN, keeping all their traffic on a dedicated virtual LAN.
"We keep all functions like policy management centralized on the switch," says Dan Simone, vice president and CTO for Trapeze. "But functions like encryption and traffic forwarding can be either centralized [at the switch] or distributed [to access points], depending on the needs of the application."
Simone says this will be especially crucial as high-performance 802.11n access points and clients eventually begin to appear in 2007 and 2008. "If access points can go 10 times faster [with 802.11n], wireless switches don't have 10 times the bandwidth," he says. "The result is either a bottleneck at the switch or you'll have to replace it with a forklift upgrade."
Smart Mobile code will bypass this dilemma, he says. "With Smart Mobile, we can have the access point forward [802.11n] traffic directly to its destination, bypassing the switch except for certain control plane and management plane data," Simone says.
Smart Mobile code is also being added to Trapeze's outdoor wireless mesh nodes, which now have the full range of features found in the indoor access points and can be managed as an extension of the indoor net. Traffic at these outdoor nodes again can be isolated and redirected without having to pass through a central Trapeze switch.
The Smart Mobile code will be available this month as a free software upgrade for existing customers and will ship as an integral part of the systems software in future Trapeze products, the prices of which are unchanged.
