11/16/2004 -- Cisco Systems Inc. last week introduced improved versions of its Cisco Aironet Dual Band Access Points (AP). Cisco’s newest APs boost capacity and feature support for standards like IEEE 802.11i and WPA2.

Also last week, Cisco notched a partnership with AirDefense, a developer of wireless intrusion detection systems (IDS). Cisco plans to integrate AirDefense’s IDS technology into the Cisco SWAN framework.

In addition to the legacy 802.11b standard, the new Cisco Aironet 1130AG and 1230AG Series APs also support 802.11a/g standards, as well. Cisco says the new APs can provide simultaneous support in the 5.0 and 2.4 GHz bands and support a combined capacity of up to 108 Mbps—and at greater distances, to boot. The APs provide out-of-the-box support for the 802.11i standard as well as for WPA2 using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). On the management side, the Cisco APs also support SSL.

Joel Conover, a principal analyst for enterprise infrastructure with Current Analysis Inc., says the new Aironet devices help to take some of the pressure off Cisco in the wireless space.

“[T]he new AP functionality demonstrates Cisco’s ability to rapidly respond to the latest industry standards, and gives Cisco a better competitive price position in the market,” he writes, noting that Cisco’s partnership with AirDefense also gives it a strong IDS differentiator. “The partnership with AirDefense is an ideal way for Cisco to leverage best of breed technology in the marketplace to enhance the functionality of its own SWAN architecture.”

More important, says Conover, the new Cisco Aironet APs help to reduce the cost of deploying a Cisco-based dual-band implementation. “Cisco previously offered modular upgrades for dual-band functionality, but that approach was quite costly, and with the growing widespread adoption of 802.11a, customers now want an integrated solution,” he points out. “Cisco also announced an “engineering level” partnership with AirDefense that will enable the AirDefense product to tightly integrate with the WLSE wireless management engine, and announced its CCX v3 certifications, which require CCX-branded vendors to provide support for WMM and WPA2 to get Cisco certified.“

Even so, Conover says, Cisco’s wireless solution is still pricey. “Cisco’s new pricing and integrated APs will help it stave off price pressure from competitors, but even with its latest pricing, Cisco is still quite a bit higher in terms of pricing when compared to the rest of the industry,” he concludes. -Stephen Swoyer