-- AP300 family of dual-radio 802.11 a/b/g/n access points (APs). -- MC5000, a modular, telco-grade, multi-gigabit, 5-blade chassis controller for up to 1000 APs (per chassis). The MC5000 was designed to handle the increased bandwidth requirements of 11n. -- 3-Tier Traffic Distribution System (3TDS), available as an option to the Meru System Director operating system, which provides a flexible and cost-effective approach to handling the increased network load driven by 802.11n. 3TDS will significantly reduce costs of 802.11n migration by providing a viable alternative to expensive upgrades to the wired Ethernet switching backbone. (For details, see separate news release "Meru Networks Announces WLAN Traffic Distribution System," also issued today.)Collectively, the new Meru products represent the industry's most complete 802.11n solution from air to core, addressing enterprise needs for over-the-air coverage, capacity, performance, compatibility and wired infrastructure scalability. "802.11n is the most important and far-reaching development in wireless LANs since their invention," said Craig Mathias, a principal with the wireless and mobile advisory firm Farpoint Group. "Enterprise users will see great advantage in the higher throughput and quality of service inherent products based on this emerging standard, Meru Networks is taking an important and industry-leading step in bringing the benefits of .11n to the market now." Meru Architecture Best for 802.11n Meru's fourth-generation WLAN architecture has been placed by Gartner in the Visionaries Quadrant in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Wireless LAN Infrastructure, Rachna Ahlawat and Ken Dulaney, October 6, 2006.* With the unique channel-layering capability of the Meru WLAN System, the new Meru AP300 APs can deliver a sustained, high wireless capacity throughout a pervasive wireless LAN deployment. In addition, Meru's architecture allows administrators to more easily compensate for coverage holes and fluctuating data rates that are created by the Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology used by 802.11n networks. The Meru WLAN System ensures optimal performance for every client on the network by assigning the best physical access point to each client. As Meru's architecture operates on a single-channel span, it also eliminates the need for complex coverage and channel planning and re-planning when deploying an 802.11n solution. Meru's fourth-generation WLAN architecture provides three key benefits for 802.11n:
-- No Compromise on Network Load Demands, Performance, and Compatibility: Unlike conventional WLAN deployments that require access points to be placed on alternating channels, Meru's layered channel architecture allows all available channels to simultaneously serve any given area at any time, multiplying capacity in the area. Adding capacity is just a matter of layering more channels, and is accomplished without increasing network complexity. In mixed 802.11n and a/b/g networks, the throughput of 802.11n devices may be reduced by 75 percent due to the overhead to support legacy clients with other approaches. The Meru 802.11n solution effectively segregates legacy clients in dedicated channels to deliver backward compatibility and optimal capacity. -- Maximum Return-on-Investment and Minimum Total Cost of Ownership with Simplicity of Deployment, Migration and Operations: Meru's architecture takes the guesswork out of coverage planning. Predictable high data rate coverage plans are significantly harder to construct in mixed-mode 802.11n/a/b/g deployments. Meru's deployment architecture allows access points to operate on layered channel spans, eliminating the need for complex, costly coverage and channel planning and re-planning on an ongoing basis. Since multiple Meru access points can be deployed as single virtual zones of coverage, rather than individual micro-cells, organizations can simply plug holes in coverage by adding access points with no impact to the channel plan or network performance. -- Cost-Effective Scalability: The capacity increase resulting from the adoption of 802.11n APs will place tremendous demands on most enterprise wired infrastructure. The Meru architecture and new 3TDS are designed to meet these increased performance and capacity needs, while minimizing or eliminating costs of upgrading wired switching backbone."The leap in wireless capacity provided by 802.11n significantly changes the business case for enterprise wireless deployments," said Kamal Anand, senior vice president, marketing and corporate strategy, Meru Networks. "It is now possible to deliver all business-critical applications over wireless, and organizations will increasingly realize the tremendous productivity benefits of accessing any application anywhere and the cost savings from eliminating wiring." About Meru Networks Meru Networks is the global leader in wireless mobility infrastructure solutions that enable the All-Wireless Enterprise for Fortune 500 educational, healthcare, enterprise, and government markets. Its industry-leading innovations deliver pervasive, robust wireless service for business-critical applications. Meru's award-winning Air Traffic Control technology brings the benefits of the cellular world to the WLAN environment, and it offers the only solution on the market that delivers the reliability, scalability, and security necessary for converged voice and data services over a single WLAN infrastructure. Founded in 2002, Meru is based in Sunnyvale, California. For more information on Meru Networks and its products, visit www.merunetworks.com or call +1-408-215-5300. *The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted October 2006 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
Contact Information: Editorial Contact: Patty Oien Breakaway Communications for Meru (415) 358-2482 Email Contact