New Airmux-400 from RAD
Posted by John Brandon in General, Wireless Muliplexers on February 25th, 2010
OK, it’s been a while since I last posted about the virtues of wireless networking, I admit. Since my last post, I have been busy with a lot of different aspects of this industry. RADWin and RAD Data Communications have since released the latest version of their wireless bridge called the Airmux-400 which now supports asymmetrical speeds of up to 100 Mbps in one direction with a lower speed in the opposite direction. By offering the capability of both symmetrical (50 Mbps in both directions) and asymmetrical, RAD has maintained the standard 20 MHz channel bandwidths thus preserving the total number of non-overlapping 20 MHz channels available. And, the Airmux-400 ships with selectable 5.3, 5.4, and 5.8 GHz bands (4.9 is also available in addition for public safety) right out of the box.
I’ve also learned the new Airmux-400 hardware that supports 100 Mbps asymmetrical speeds will soon support 100 Mbps full duplex. It will require double the channel bandwidth (40 MHz), but the benefits will outweigh the loss of some non-overlapping channels. And with so many different bands to choose from, I don’t think it will be an issue anyway.
If you haven’t deployed wireless networking where possible with RAD Airmux-400s yet, you should look at the possibility. A system can be deployed in a few hours and it can save you a bundle over the long run. I’m talking thousands to hundreds of thousands of hard dollars.
All the information on the Airmux-400 as well as all of RAD’s products can be seen on out sister site www.RADProductsOnline.com.
New RAD eCommerce site
Posted by John Brandon in General on October 25th, 2009
Hello to all. During the last months, we have been busy getting our newest site, www.RADProductsOnline.com up and running. While RAD has its own corporate identity, I felt the necessity of compiling all the information anyone would want in one neat, easy to find collection.
On our site, which is easy to navigate, you will find RAD’s entire catalog of products along with the ability to order online at discounted prices, the first in the world to offer RAD online exclusively. For convenience, we have also included data sheets, product manuals, product performance calculators, white papers, catalogs, and other useful information to make choosing and buying RAD products easy.
If you haven’t taken a look, please visit www.RADProductsOnline.com soon. A simple registration is all we require in order to have full access to everything on the site.
What Are You Waiting For?
Posted by John Brandon in General on September 1st, 2009
I’ve written several posts about the advantages of wireless bridges and how they can save your company tons of bucks. And as you might expect, during the first half of 2009 with the economy in the crapper, we’ve seen an increase of wireless bridge usage since most fiscally responsible companies are looking for ways to trim operating costs.
What amazes me still are the shear number of IT and network personnel who haven’t heard of wireless bridge connectivity or who have a misconception about what wireless bridges are. Many assume anything wireless falls into the 802.11 category and they don’t want anything to do with it. Others think of bureaucracy laden licensed wireless that seems to take forever to implement and costs a small fortune. If you fit into one of the above categories and are obviously reading this post, let me say, wireless bridges are none of the above. Advances in wireless technology have brought us high-speed Ethernet connectivity that’s very reasonably priced, secure, easy to deploy, and readily available. Read the rest of this entry »
Added Captcha to the site
Posted by John Brandon in Antennas on July 23rd, 2009
It never ceases to amaze me how many people in the world don’t seem to have a life. When I began Wireless-Maven.com, I made it simple for everyone to comment on the various topics posted on our site by not requiring registration. Not surprisingly, the site was flooded with spam by no-lifers and ”bots” planted out in cyberspace doing nothing more than searching for open blogs that don’t require registration to infiltrate with pure junk. Thus, I have had to change the way we allow people to comment on the site by requiring a brief registration which includes the Captcha alpha-numeric human recognition scheme. Sorry for the inconvenience, but that seems to be the way of the world these days.
Broadband Wireless Bridges Eliminate Recurring Costs
Posted by John Brandon in Wireless Muliplexers on May 29th, 2009
New generation unlicensed, carrier-class Ethernet radios replacing T1 and T3 leased lines
In the new era of connecting the LANs of remote facilities together, the Telcos don’t want you to know about point-to-point broadband microwave bridges. Why? Becuase the Telco’s bread and
Flat-panel antennas viewed from atop a water tower
butter business is selling bandwidth in the form of T1, T3, and Sonet leased lines. Over the years, business has tried various methods of “bypassing” the Telcos by installing their own dry copper or dark fiber where possible. Until 8 years ago, connecting remote offices or facilities amounted to dialup ISDN at 128 kbps or on the high-end, T1 circuits running at 1.544 Mbps. Neither was a great choice for bandwidth-hungry Ethernet applications, but they were faster than anything else at the time. Anyone who ever had to pay for one knows they can get very pricy. And the cost goes on and on indefinately month after month.
Always looking for a better and faster way, manufacturers began offering wireless devices for the 802.11 WiFi market that could be “stretched” in some cases to go a little farther. But not until the 5 GHz frequencies were opened up did any of that really matter. Read the rest of this entry »
Are Broadband Wireless Bridges Secure?
Posted by John Brandon in Security on May 22nd, 2009
AES Encryption Meets Highest Security Requirements
Advanced Encryption Standards (AES) have become the de facto standard for wireless backhaul microwave radios these days. Many people I’ve talked to have voiced concerns about sending their sensitive data over the air for all to capture. Many confuse point-to-point wireless backhaul microwave radios with consumer grade 802.11 WiFi which bears little resemblance. But, as much as I reassure them the over-the-air signal is encrypted, they seem dubious about the prospect of deviating from their normal means of remote connectivity–usually leased lines or even fiber. The FUD factor of using wireless has been used by the telcos to dissuade their customers from the technology since it cuts into their bread and butter business. What the telcos don’t tell their customers is the very data circuits they sell as “secure” are in fact not very secure at all. To make matters even more confusing, many government and independent bank auditors have been equally misled. Read the rest of this entry »
Antenna Overview
Posted by John Brandon in Antennas on May 4th, 2009
Selecting the right antenna will save a lot of heartaches down the road
Dual-polarity parabolic antenna
In broadband wireless, there are many types of antennas available to suit the requirements of the application. The primary aspect of antenna selection is usually gain. But equally important criteria include such things as beamwidth, side and rear lobe rejection, cross-polarity isolation, and VSWR (voltage standing wave ratio dud). Antennas also come in single and dual-polarity models. The newer dual-polarity antennas are used in MIMO (multiple-input–multiple output) technology where there are actually two transceivers in each radio–one connected to the vertical polarity of the antenna, the other to the horizontal polarity. Click here for a short primer on antennas courtesy of KBT Communications, Inc. By transmitting and receiving using two radios on the same frequency–just on opposite polarities, MIMO wireless devices can actually achieve twice the throughput compared to a single radio of the same channel bandwidth. Read the rest of this entry »
How Are You Going to Connect Your Remote Offices?
Posted by John Brandon in General on April 20th, 2009
T1s and even T3s just not cutting it anymore
Welcome to Wireless-Maven.com where in coming posts you will find a vast resource of useful information about how you can realize substantial increases in your company’s remote office bandwidth while saving a bundle in the process. Check back soon for some really great news, tips and tricks, reviews, and application articles specifally aimed at the use of unlicensed microwave backhaul multiplexers.