Trapeze Networks Unveils Smart Mobile(TM) Wireless without Limits


Game Changing "Intelligent Switching" Technology Enables Massively Scalable Voice over WLAN and High-Speed Wireless Networks Indoors and Outdoors

PLEASANTON, Calif.--Trapeze Networks(TM) today unveiled Smart Mobile(TM) -- the first and only wireless local area network (WLAN) solution with intelligent switching, combining centralized and distributed forwarding for optimized traffic flow. Based on innovative patented and patent-pending technology, Smart Mobile overcomes limitations of current-generation WLANs, enabling organizations to deploy massively scalable wireless networks that meet the needs of the most demanding data and voice applications, while providing unlimited reach indoors and outdoors. At the core of Smart Mobile is a breakthrough WLAN architecture that combines the benefits of centralized control and management with the performance efficiencies of optimized traffic through intelligent switching.

"Smart Mobile represents a fundamental shift in WLAN architectures," said Dan Simone, VP and chief technology officer at Trapeze Networks. "By distributing intelligence throughout the network while retaining centralized policy and management, Smart Mobile delivers the technological breakthrough enabling customers for the first time to deploy next-generation wireless applications such as voice over WLAN on an unprecedented scale."

Breakthrough Intelligent Switching

Smart Mobile's intelligent switching marks a significant evolution over today's WLANs, such as those offered by Cisco Systems and Aruba Networks, which restrict switching to the central controllers and require all data traffic to pass through the controller, resulting in high levels of latency and jitter. In contrast, Smart Mobile enables organizations to optimize traffic by centralizing or distributing data forwarding based on the requirements of the underlying application. For applications that require low latency such as voice over WLAN, Smart Mobile distributes switching functionality to the access points throughout the network, enabling them to communicate directly in a peer-to-peer fashion without requiring round trips to the central controller. This allows enterprises, for example, to distribute the switching of all their voice traffic but centrally forward all data traffic, dramatically enhancing performance of wireless network applications.

Smart Mobile Now Makes Ubiquitous Voice Deployments Possible

Enterprises are looking to leverage voice-over-WLAN (VoWLAN) to achieve the same dramatic reduction in cellular phone bills that VoIP has brought to landline phone costs. But current-generation centralized WLANs are limited to supporting fewer than a hundred VoWLAN users, because phone calls need to traverse a centralized switch, introducing significant latency and making wide-scale VoWLAN adoption nearly impossible. With Smart Mobile's intelligent switching, enterprises for the first time can establish peer-to-peer voice calls, with traffic flowing directly from handset to handset, enabling VoWLAN deployments on a massive scale -- not just for a few users, but for hundreds to thousands of users.

"We are very excited about the Trapeze Smart Mobile(TM) technology," said Larry Griffith, director of technology operations at Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare, a leading healthcare provider with 17 hospital campuses in midwestern United States. "Smart Mobile will enable us to accelerate WLAN deployment across our campuses for bandwidth-intensive applications including voice and patient records management, without having to tear out our existing wireless infrastructure, and to enable us to implement fixed-mobile convergence applications in the future."

802.11n Ready -- No Forklift Upgrades Required

Current-generation WLAN controllers require expensive forklift upgrades in order to handle the 10-fold increase in network load that 802.11n technology will bring. In contrast, Trapeze's Smart Mobile is 802.11n ready out of the box, enabling customers to support a 10-fold increase in network load without having to upgrade their entire switched infrastructure.

"With Smart Mobile, we are enabling customers to future-proof their WLANs and protect their investments for the long haul," said Trapeze CTO Simone. "For CIOs and network managers who are wondering how to cost-effectively scale their WLANs to deliver enterprise-wide mobility, support rapidly increasing numbers of users, and provide mobile applications such as voice and video, Smart Mobile provides in-place scaling. No forklift upgrades are required."

Unlimited Reach: Bringing the Enterprise WLAN Outdoors -- No Wires Required

Enterprises are facing increased demand to extend wireless networks into outdoor areas as well as uncarpeted areas of the enterprise such as warehouses and shop floors. Enterprises require the same feature set for outdoor as for indoor networks -- not just "hotspot" connectivity but capabilities such as Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) support and WPA2 security, which are unavailable in current outdoor wi-fi solutions. The challenge is even more difficult because highly limited bandwidth must be shared for both backhaul and client services. Centralized WLANs have failed to deliver scalable outdoor service, because they require centralized policy enforcement, resulting in inefficient use of scarce over-the-air bandwidth. Smart Mobile overcomes this limitation through intelligent switching, which distributes policy enforcement throughout the network to optimize traffic flow and eliminate unnecessary traffic. As a result, Smart Mobile delivers the most scalable, bandwidth-optimized enterprise WLAN, providing a consistent set of services indoors and out, which are seamlessly managed through a single console.

"With Trapeze Smart Mobile(TM) technology, we can confidently deploy a scalable indoor/outdoor wireless network with seamless mobility and integrated management," said Frank Basso, assistant director of communications at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. "It enables us to expand our outdoor wireless coverage area without having to use 3rd party equipment or adding more fiber. This is all possible by leveraging the existing wireless infrastructure from Trapeze."

Pricing and Availability

Smart Mobile is priced the same as Trapeze's previous generation offering. It will be available to customers beginning in October.

About Trapeze Networks

Trapeze Networks delivers Smart Mobile(TM) -- a ground-breaking approach to wireless networking, enabling organizations to deploy massively scalable mobile applications that leverage their existing infrastructure. Smart Mobile achieves this breakthrough by introducing intelligent switching, the first and only WLAN architecture that optimizes network traffic based on the underlying application. With Smart Mobile intelligent switching, organizations can support the most demanding next generation wireless applications such as toll-quality voice over WLAN for thousands of users, seamless indoor/outdoor mobility, and high-speed networks based on 802.11n -- all without requiring expensive forklift upgrades. Trapeze Networks is well-capitalized, with strategic investments from networking industry leaders including Juniper Networks, Motorola, and Nortel Networks. Founded in March 2002, Trapeze is headquartered in Pleasanton, California, with operations in Europe, Japan, and Asia-Pacific. For more information, please visit www.trapezenetworks.com.

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