Meet the Meru Wireless Experts
There are many wireless LAN infrastructure vendors in business today. They all seem to make the same claims: They will make your life easier, enable mobility, keep end-users happy and save you money. However, since most of them use the same basic architecture and offer very similar features, they all run into the same problems – unreliable wireless connectivity, poor roaming, limited scalability and complex management. Meru Wireless Networks and Solutions inc. offer professional (non-domestic) wireless network technology ideally suited to environments such as Schools & Offices that require support for much higher user densities.
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Solutions inc. are pleased to offer a number of promotional bundles this summer offering unrivalled price/performance. Speak to us now for a no-obligation quotation or to arrange a site survey. Solutions inc. also has a limited number of "try before you Buy" packages.
Call 0844 8751 610 to speak to a sales advisor.
How many access points do I need?
A typical Meru deployment requires 30% fewer access points than a similar deployment from any competitor. This is because all Meru radios can transmit at their full power, whereas other systems require that each access point's power level be adjusted to avoid interference. Reducing power results in a complex microcell architecture in which cells continually shrink as new access points are added. In contrast, access points that are part of a Meru Virtual Cell augment rather than interfere with each other. All can transmit simultaneously at full power.
Can I roam between access points?
Microcell systems force clients to decide for themselves which access point they should connect to. The client must constantly scan each channel, then try to guess when it should disconnect from one access point and connect to another. This often causes noticeable delays, especially in voice networks, and can even sever a connection completely. Meru avoids the problem by virtualizing the link. Clients remain connected to the same Virtual Port wherever they move in the network, with zero handoff latency.
How great a bandwidth density can the network scale to?
With Meru, bandwidth scales linearly as new radios are added. Each new radio can service a different Virtual Cell on a different radio channel, boosting the network to support higher user densities or new applications. Microcell networks don't scale so well, as much of the available spectrum is already consumed with mitigating interference. At 2.4 GHz., this makes Meru the only vendor able to support the full 40 MHz. channels without co-channel interference. At 5 GHz., a Meru network can scale almost without limit, with multiple network segments layered in the same physical space.
A brief history
Most organisations did not initially plan a wireless LAN: they simply plugged in home wireless routers into existing networks, (unintentionally creating severe security problems). To bring networking back under the control of the IT department, enterprises installed access points with management features. The IEEE and the Wi-Fi Alliance created standard encryption and authentication technologies to address early security issues. Each access point was independently configurable, providing an island of connectivity. As IT departments added more access points, the isolated areas of coverage intersected to form a microcell system. Each access point was still an island of coverage, but the islands overlapped to give the illusion of continuous coverage. Though microcells enabled coverage over wider areas, packing access points close together caused radio interference; neighbouring access points then needed to be tuned to different channels and power settings and adjusted every time the network changed. Microcells also added complexity for clients, who had to decide for themselves which access point to connect to. With networks growing larger every day, independently configured access points became unmanageable.
Controller-based systems improved the wireless LAN scale, but only replicated the microcell architecture used by the isolated access points. Though managed together, each access point's coverage area was still an island. Radio interference was still a problem, and clients could still be confused when moving between them. Dr. Vaduvar Bharghavan, now CTO of Meru Networks, saw a better way. He envisaged the All-Wireless Enterprise: an organisation that would no longer need wires for client connections because wireless could become as secure, reliable and easy to manage as Ethernet. The company's founding team set about making that vision a reality using the principles of an advanced cellular network in the wireless LAN.
Meru designed wireless LANs that offered single-channel operation, centralised control of all air traffic and smooth handoffs – all features that are now standard in cellular networks. Recognised by Gartner as the first Fourth Generation wireless system, Meru's early innovations led directly to Virtualized Wireless LANs, the technology that threatens to end wired Ethernet's dominance at the network edge. With a unique architecture that enables the most pervasive deployments, Meru’s WLAN System has been adopted in The UK by schools, colleges, univeristies, medium and large businesses alike.
Ideal for your Business
With warehouses, factories and outdoor areas difficult to wire, Businesses have long been users of wireless LAN technology. But all too often, wireless systems pose their own problems thanks to metal obstacles and electromagnetic interference that make business sites a harsh radio environment. The microcell architecture used by traditional wireless LANs exacerbates the problem, with complex channel planning needed to deal with the network's own interference as well as that from external sources. Meru is different.
Designed for the All-Wireless Enterprise
From the beginning, Meru designed its network for the All-Wireless Enterprise: an organization that never needs to depend on wires for connectivity. For a manufacturing, supply chain or distribution organisation, this can be a game-changer in terms of business agility and operational efficiency. Meru's Virtualized Wireless LAN architecture avoids channel planning and gives every user on the network a strong, contention-free signal through a dedicated Virtual Port. The system is cost-effective, easy to set up and adaptable to any application.
To discover more about how a Meru network can empower
your business, call us today on 0844 8751 610.
Education
Solutions inc. have numerous case studies & testimonials from recent education customers. From small installations of just a few classrooms to full campus deployments in schools with more than 1,000 students and staff. Take a look at our ">Meru Technology podcast and ">Brune Park Meru Case Study for more information. You can also visit our Meru Wireless education page.
