BelAir Networks CTO Stephen Rayment Elected Secretary of the IEEE ESS Mesh Networking Task Group; Group Will Work to Develop Specifications for 802.11s Standard.KANATA, Ontario Kanata is a large suburban area in the western part of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada,it has a population of 90,000 and is growing rapidly. It is located just to the west of the Greenbelt and is one of the largest of several communities that surround central Ottawa. -- BelAir Networks, the leading supplier of Wide-Area Wi-Fi solutions, announced today that its co-founder and CTO (Chief Technical Officer) The executive responsible for the technical direction of an organization. See CIO and salary survey. , Stephen Rayment, has been named Permanent Secretary of the IEEE's 802.11s Extended Service Set (ESS (1) (Electronic Switching System) A large-scale computer from Lucent used to route telephone calls in a telephone company office. The 5ESS is a Class 5 central office switch, and the 4ESS is a Class 4 tandem office switch. ) Mesh Networking Mesh networking is a way to route data, voice and instructions between nodes. It allows for continuous connections and reconfiguration around broken or blocked paths by “hopping” from node to node until the destination is reached. Task Group. As defined by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, www.ieee.org) A membership organization that includes engineers, scientists and students in electronics and allied fields. , an ESS Mesh is a collection of Access Points (APs) interconnected with wireless links that enable automatic topology learning and dynamic path configuration. The task group will be defining and ratifying specifications to extend the 802.11 Media Access Control (MAC) protocol that will enable the improved coverage potential of mesh networks with no single point of failure. "Wireless technologies are increasingly ubiquitous, but without standards that encourage innovation, commonality and interoperability, the goal of mobility will not be achieved," said Gerry Purdy, Ph.D., Principal Analyst at MobileTrax. "The need for standards is magnified in large-scale urban deployments such as those being planned for Philadelphia and other U.S. cities, and we applaud companies like BelAir for taking the initiative to move the industry one step closer to wireless mobility." "BelAir's solutions are completely standards-based and we are committed to working with the industry to establish standards that will help make Wide-Area Wi-Fi more practical for all parties involved -- from cities, to service providers to wireless equipment and technology companies," said Rayment. "We believe that establishing appropriate technology standards is an important part of making metro-scale broadband wireless See wireless broadband. networks more pervasive, lower cost and easier to deploy." The task group is using a target wireless mesh See wireless mesh network. configuration of up to 32 devices -- larger configurations may also be included. 802.11s mesh networks will be able to interface with higher network layers in a fashion consistent with today's 802.11 networks. The new 802.11s standard will use IEEE 802.11i security with centralized cen·tral·ize v. cen·tral·ized, cen·tral·iz·ing, cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To draw into or toward a center; consolidate. 2. management of network security. In addition, 802.11s will allow multiple IEEE 802.11 radios on APs that are part of the meshed network. The group aims to release the standard by 2007. The Task Group includes representatives from leading manufacturers of mesh networking equipment as well as interested service providers. BelAir Networks' current product line incorporates a wireless infrastructure mesh capability to create the backhaul network. The current mesh is built using standard protocols. BelAir has deployed wireless mesh infrastructure networks for a variety of applications including hotels, resorts, airport terminals, multi-dwelling units, downtown metro areas and manufacturing facilities. About BelAir Networks BelAir Networks is the only company to offer scalable, Wide-Area Wi-Fi. The BelAir Networks solution provides the industry's highest capacity for data, voice and video services. Built specifically for outdoor deployments, BelAir Networks' patented solution delivers the lowest cost per user and deploys in days, blending into the physical infrastructure of downtown business districts, hotels and resorts, and college campuses. Founded in 2001, BelAir Networks is a privately held company privately held company A firm whose shares are held within a relatively small circle of owners and are not traded publicly. headquartered in Kanata, Ontario. For more information, please visit www.belairnetworks.com. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion