Summit Products Certified for Wi-Fi® and Cisco Compatible Extensions Version 3
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IEEE 802.11g radio modules from Summit Data Communications, Inc. are the first products to be Wi-Fi CERTIFIED® and certified for Cisco Compatible Extensions (CCX) Version 3 on Windows CE, the operating system that drives many of today's application-specific devices (ASDs). In the business world, network administrators demand that wireless LAN products bear the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED and Cisco Compatible seals. For Summit products, Wi-Fi CERTIFIED means that the radio modules are interoperable in the 802.11b and 802.11g standards and support WPA-Enterprise and WPA2-Enterprise. By incorporating Summit radio modules into their devices, ASD manufacturers can simplify the process of achieving Cisco Compatible Extensions Version 3 on those devices.
Akron, OH August 28, 2006 -- Summit Data Communications, Inc. today announced that its 10G Family of IEEE 802.11g client adapters is Wi-Fi CERTIFIED® and also certified for Cisco Compatible Extensions (CCX) Version 3. Summit's radio modules are the first products to achieve both of these key wireless LAN certifications on Windows CE, the operating system that drives many of todays application-specific devices (ASDs).
An ASD is a single-purpose mobile client such as a portable data terminal, barcode scanner, portable printer, or medical device. For a business that depends on reliable ASD operation, interoperability between the WLAN radio in every ASD and the WLAN infrastructure is of paramount importance. Summit radios now bear the official interoperability seals of Wi-Fi CERTIFIED and Cisco Compatible.
"Wi-Fi CERTIFIED is a clear indication that a company is committed to ensuring the very best user experience with Wi-Fi gear," said Wi-Fi Alliance® Managing Director Frank Hanzlik. "This has become an important criterion to compete effectively in both consumer and business markets."
"Today's business customers require that their mobile devices support Cisco Compatible Extensions," said Doug Coombs, Business Development Manager at AppLabs, which conducts Cisco Compatible Extensions testing. "Summit's products bring Cisco Compatible Extensions support to the business-critical ASDs used in retail, manufacturing, and other vertical markets where wireless LAN usage is booming."
The Importance of Interoperability
The foundation of the recent WLAN boom is interoperability, which ensures that the WLAN radios in client devices will work with radios in WLAN infrastructure products such as access points (APs) or routers, regardless of which vendors offer the client devices and infrastructure products. In the business world, the two certifications demanded most by network administrators come from the Wi-Fi Alliance and Cisco Systems, Inc. While these certifications have long been available on notebook PCs and similar devices, Summit now uniquely brings both certifications to ASDs.
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED
Testing and certification programs of the Wi-Fi Alliance, a non-profit industry association of more than 250 member companies, ensure the interoperability of WLAN products based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 WLAN specifications. Since the introduction of the Alliance's certification program in March 2000, more than 3,000 products have been designated as Wi-Fi CERTIFIED.
Summit's radio modules were tested for support of 802.11b and 802.11g, including acceptable throughput on a sample ASD. Another key area of testing was security. Every product that seeks Wi-Fi certification must demonstrate support for both Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA(TM)) and WPA2(TM), the latter of which is equivalent to the IEEE-ratified 802.11i WLAN security standard. Because Summit radio modules are used in business-critical ASDs, Summit sought the Enterprise level of certification for WPA and WPA2, not the less rigorous Personal level that is designed for consumer devices.
The Wi-Fi Alliance certified that Summit radio modules are interoperable in the 802.11b and 802.11g standards and support WPA-Enterprise and WPA2-Enterprise. The tested authentication type was PEAP-MSCHAPv2. For details, visit the Wi-Fi Alliance Web site at www.wi-fi.org, click on the "Wi-Fi CERTIFIED® Products" link, and search for Summit Data Communications.
Cisco Compatible Extensions Version 3
Because Cisco has a dominant share of the enterprise WLAN infrastructure market, most business users require full support for the advanced features that the Cisco infrastructure provides. Cisco's feature set, which builds upon the standard IEEE 802.11 feature set, is embodied in the Cisco Compatible Extensions specification. By certifying to Version 3 of that specification as defined for ASDs, the Summit 10G family provides fully tested support for features including:
o AP-assisted roaming and Cisco Complementary Key Management for fast and secure roaming between APs
o Cisco Radio Management and AP-specified client transmit power for better client management
o A subset of the IEEE 802.11e standard for WLAN quality of service that improves the performance and reliability of latency-sensitive applications such as voice and terminal emulation
Three ASDs on which Summit radios were tested achieved the same Cisco Compatible Extensions V3 certification as the Summit radios. By incorporating Summit radio modules into their devices, other ASD manufacturers can simplify the process of achieving Cisco Compatible Extensions Version 3 on those devices.
Pricing and Availability
Summit products are available in production quantities today. All three of Summit's 802.11g radio modules - the CF10G compact flash module, PC10G PCMCIA module, and MCF10G miniature compact flash module - are Wi-Fi CERTIFIED; the CF10G module is certified as Cisco Compatible Extensions Version 3 for ASDs. The list price for the CF10G or MCF10G module is US$89; the list price for the PC10G module is US$109. All software capabilities and certifications are included with Summit products at no additional charge. Summit product information and specifications can be found at www.summitdatacom.com. Volume discount information is available to qualified mobile device vendors. For more information, send an E-mail to email protected from spam bots, or call +1 866.434.4300 in North America or +1 330.434.7929 internationally.
About Summit
Summit Data Communications, Inc. is dedicated to providing high-performance wireless LAN modules for today's business-critical ASDs, such as portable data terminals, barcode scanners, portable printers, medical devices, and industrial automation equipment. Summit radio modules are optimized for the challenging radio environments in which ASDs operate, including factories, warehouses, ports, hospitals, and retail stores.
About AppLabs
AppLabs Technologies is a global IT services company specializing in software testing and development, with an emphasis on quality assurance, performance, certification, and hardware testing. Customers include American Airlines, InstallShield, HP, Novell, and SAP. AppLabs is the first software testing company to get appraised at SEI CMMI Level 5, the highest quality standard attainable in software engineering. The company is headquartered in Philadelphia and maintains state-of-the-art testing centers in Lindon, Utah and Hyderabad, India. For more information, visit www.applabs.com.
Press Contact: Chris Bolinger
Company Name: SUMMIT DATA COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
Email: email protected from spam bots
Phone: 330-434-7929 100
Website: www.summitdatacom.com
