Cisco Cisco 3600 Series 8-Port ISDN-BRI with NT-1 Network Module Prospecto

Putting It All Together

The final burning question on our minds

—and yours

too, we suspect—is whether the controllers you buy
today will support 802.11n, the forthcoming standard
from the IEEE to update the 802.11 MAC and PHY lay-
ers to achieve higher throughput. Cisco told us that it’s
still too early in the standards process for it to commit
to an answer one way or another. Because the standard
is still in draft form, and because of the uncertain
nature of the changes to the MAC and the PHY, we’d
be suspicious of any vendor that was willing to make a
lot of promises with respect to 802.11n support.

We believe that Cisco has a solid offering with the

Unified Wireless Network, and the strides that the
company has made toward integrating the Airespace

technology make its wireless story fairly compelling
for Cisco shops. We agree that putting the WiSM
module in the Catalyst 6500 platform isn’t new to
those familiar with the older Wireless LAN Services
Module (WLSM); products like the new Catalyst 3750
Integrated Wireless LAN Controller Ethernet
switch/wireless controller, on the other hand, indicate
the company’s commitment to a tighter integration
between wired and wireless networks.

NWC

DAN RENFROE

is a technology associate focusing on wireless

and mobile technologies with the Center for Emerging
Network Technologies at Syracuse University. Write to him at
drenfroe@nwc.com.