Centrally controlled wireless LAN switches have been one of the key developments that allowed organizations to deploy reliable, large-scale wireless LANs. While many take wireless LANs for granted, just another invisible part of the IT infrastructure, today s deployments are really quite marvelous. Where your home wireless LAN is based in a $50 Linksys, D-Link or Netgear router, an enterprise wireless LAN is actually an indoor cellular network. Commercial implementations may have several hundred to a few thousand access points each serving a part of the coverage area. Providing adequate coverage while limiting interference between access points assigned to the same channel, what we call co-channel interference, is a major challenge.When centrally-controlled WLAN switches first appeared in about 2001, those of us who had been through the wringer designing networks with standalone access points jumped on this idea. In short order we had a dozen different vendors to choose from including Airespace (now Cisco), Trapeze (now Belden), Symbol Technologies (now Motorola), Aruba, Meru, Aerohive, Colubris (now HP), Xirrus, and others. The core capability in all of these was RF management, which basically automated most of that design and tweaking process. These control systems automatically select the channels for each access point and adjust the transmit power to ensure coverage while minimizing co-channel interference; users could now deploy large-scale networks with a minimum of RF experience.
Most of these designs used an architecture that was based on fairly dumb or "light" access points whose operations were coordinated by a central controller; all of these elements were interconnected through the wired LAN infrastructure. Some like Aerohive and Xirrus incorporate the controller intelligence in the access point itself, but the typical installation uses a controller that can handle from as few as six to upwards of several hundred APs.
Now coming on to the enterprise scene is Meraki, with a plan to virtualize the WLAN switch controller. In their solution, the controller function is provided as a service rather than with on-site hardware. When a Meraki access point is deployed, it "calls home" and is recognized by their Cloud Controller. From there, the network-based controller provides the same type of RF management and control capabilities as a traditional WLAN switch. Users can monitor and troubleshoot their network remotely over a Web-based management console.
The access points themselves are inherently mesh-capable, so they can operate either on a wired connection, or they will relay messages through other access points to a wire-connected unit; they call the wire-connected units "gateways". Meraki's line of legacy 802.11b/g access points have now been augmented with new 802.11n-capable MR11 (1-radio), MR14 (dual-radio), and weatherproof MR58 units. Those devices are built on the new Atheros chip-set, and are all capable of working on standard Power over Ethernet (802.11af). The APs also include WMM/802.11e quality of service, WPA2 encryption, and 802.1x authentication that can work with the customer's own authentication server or with the authentication server that is packaged with the Cloud Controller.
While Meraki has installations in 130 countries, they are relatively unknown in the enterprise WLAN market. Their focus has been on public access WLANs like you find in hotels, apartment complexes, and other public venues (including Harvard Square). A solution that can be maintained remotely with little or no on-site technical expertise is highly appealing in that market. They are now looking to translate that expertise to the enterprise market, particularly in small- to medium-sized businesses with requirements up to around 1,000 users. In essence they are looking to carve out a niche between the home and small office market served by Linksys, D-Link, and Netgear, and the large business market that is served by Cisco, Aruba, Trapeze, and the like.
CEO and Founder Sanjit Biswas thinks that this approach will have appeal not only to SMBs, but to larger businesses who need to provide a manageable WLAN solution in their smaller remote offices. Besides the flexibility of the architecture, Meraki also makes a strong case on price. As the configuration doesn't include a controller they can often come in far below the cost of traditional WLAN switch configurations. The single radio MR11 has a list price of $599 and the dual radio MR14 is $799, That up-front savings has to be weighed against the Cloud Controller service and support which costs $150 per AP per year, or $300 for 3 years.
It seems to be a little late to get into the enterprise WLAN switch market, but this is the year when cost savings are going to be getting a lot of attention.
