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Ian Budgen, Tiffin School
"We were very impressed with your engineer's professional approach and would like to thank him for all his help..."
Simon Leaver, Cavendish School
"Thanks so much for the excellent work that Astro did for the RCA 2007 Graduate Show. The whole thing works beautifully and is very discreet with no complaints from users..."
Jonathan Warner, Royal College of Arts
Meru Networks
Meru Networks are standards compliant but their method of operation is fundamentally different to other wireless vendors giving them the ability to deliver data bandwidth nearer the actual wireless speed. In a multi AP installation, Meru Networks APs all operate on the same channel. The unique single channel plan adopted by Meru makes the entire coverage area seem as though it is one cell. All of the APs in a multi-AP installation work together as one antenna and not as individual access points as in traditional wireless networks. This removes any issues associated with Signal to Interference Ratio (SIR), and therefore, removes the need for channel planning.
A Meru Networks solution consists of an appropriately sized controller plus access points selected to meet the requirements of the area for deployment. The controller offers centralised management designed to scale to the needs of small to large networks which grows as the network develops. Radio Frequency selection, security mechanisms, over the air Quality of Service and handover mobility which is especially important in VoIP networks are also supported by the Meru controllers. Meru controllers support redundancy with high availability. Meru Networks APs are dependent on an intelligent controlled architecture so they cannot be deployed in an autonomous mode.
A simple analogy is to liken a traditional wireless network to an Ethernet hub and Meru Networks wireless network to an Ethernet switch. This enables individual user sessions to be given the quality of service they need for as near a wired service as possible. Because of the unique feature of Meru Networks design the product is ideal for installation into a converged network where VoIP and data services are used.
Key features:
- Simple deployment and management with automatic discovery and configuration
- Centralized management
- Air traffic control offers significantly reduces cross channel interference
- Scalable solution
- Toll quality voice and quality of service
- Enterprise security WPA2, AES, 802.1x and rogue AP detection
All other design parameters such as signal strength and Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) still apply so a survey is essential. There is less risk implementing a Meru Networks wireless solution without a proper radio frequency survey, but it is not advisable as it is still susceptible to all of the external sources of radio frequency interference and vagaries of radio transmission and reception. A thorough survey provides an insight into the RF environment and the potential problems that may arise in the future. The survey results will give a much better chance of trouble free life and provides a very useful baseline for future reference.