History of Wireless LAN Vendors – Aironet Wireless Communications

I wanted to go back in time and share info about how many of the names we know today got their start. The first vendor I’m going to cover is Aironet Wireless Communications (Aironet).

A quote from Aironet’s 1996 website below.

Aironet Wireless Communications, Inc. is a pioneer in the design and manufacture of wireless LAN products using advanced spread spectrum radio technology. As a leading global provider of wireless data communication product to mobile computer users in the retail, manufacturing, warehousing and health care industries, Aironet has shipped over 300,000 spread spectrum wireless devices since 1992. Our products include wireless access points, client adapters, bridges, and OEM radios.

Shipping 300,000 devices in 4 years does seem like a lot today but back then it was huge and Aironet was one of the market leaders.

Aironet’s products are widely used in vertical markets such as manufacturing, warehousing, retail, and health care. In these environments, where workers are mobile and the need for access to updated and constantly changing information is vital, wireless LAN technology can lower costs and increase productivity. Wireless LANs can complement wired LANs in office environments, where they can support temporary work groups, reduce the need for network re-wiring, and enable user mobility throughout a building while maintaining network connectivity. Wireless LANs can also be used where barriers exist for traditional wired LANs or for fault tolerance.

Very interesting how the drivers for deploying wireless hasn’t changed since in 15+ years.

Year 1996 – Aironet’s ARLAN 630 Wireless Ethernet Access Point

The ARLAN 630 was a 900 Mhz or 2.4 Ghz access point that used a proprietary CSMA/CA technology. Check out the specs below. The vendor claims to support 2043 users per device. I guess vendors never change :-)

MODEL 630-2400

Typical coverage per microcell*:	4,500 sq. m. (50,000 sq. ft.)
Omni-Directional range, Indoors*:	Up to 150 m. ( 500 ft.)
Omni-Directional range, Outdoors*:	Up to 300 m. (1,000 ft.)
Output power:				50 or 100 mW
Standard Antenna:			2.15 dBi Dipole
Optional Antennas:			3  dBd Omni, 6 dBd Patch, 13.5 dBd Yagi
Antenna Connection:			Reverse Polarity TNC (RP-TNC)

NETWORK SUPPORT ALL MODELS

Wired LAN Protocol:			IEEE 802.3 CSMA/CD and Ethernet Blue Book
Wired LAN Connections:			10Base2 (Thin/BNC), 10Base5 (Thick/AUI), 10BaseT  (Twisted-pair/RJ-45)
Wired LAN capacity:			10 Mbps
Wired LAN Filtering:			Intelligent packet filtering by protocol, or packet content
Wireless LAN Protocol:			Patented Microcellular Architecture (TMA) based upon CSMA/CA
Wireless LAN Roaming:			Fully supported via Patented Microcellular Architecture (TMA)
Wired Access Points per LAN:		Unlimited
Wireless Access Points per LAN:		Unlimited
Users per Access Point:			2043

Aironet ARLAN 690 “PCMCIA Wireless LAN Adapter”

With a patented roaming architecture, advanced power management, and excellent range, the ARLAN 690 is the ideal choice for the mobile user. Maintaining constant connectivity to the enterprise network is now possible with this proven technology.

Using patented spread spectrum radio technology, originally developed by the U.S. military for fast, secure, and reliable communications, the ARLAN 690 can be equipped with either a 900 MHz or 2.4 GHz radio. Inherent data integrity coupled with exceptional performance, enables users to implement the ARLAN 690 for mission critical, data intensive applications.

Cisco Systems Acquires Aironet

On March 15, 2000 Cisco Systems completed its acquisition of Aironet Wireless Communication, Inc. Aironet products and employees became the foundation of Cisco’s Wireless Networking Business Unit (WNBU).

Aironet White Paper: Emerging Wireless LAN Standards

I’m posting a complete whitepaper from Aironet’s 1996 website below. Interesting how the author(s) knew that even with 802.11 standard interoperability issues would still exist.

White Paper: Emerging Wireless LAN Standards

Many of us remember the phrase “The Year of the LAN.” That year was predicted for perhaps a decade before arriving. During those years, an important evolution occurred. Standards for interoperability for Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) and Token Ring (IEEE 802.5) wired networks were adopted by LAN vendors. The Standards allowed network equipment from different manufacturers to interoperate, which in turn allowed wired LAN buyers to make an investment in an advanced technology without being limited to a sole source. When interoperability between wired LAN providers became commonplace, LAN market growth accelerated significantly.

The proposed IEEE 802.11 standard is now under development through the efforts of Aironet and many other companies and is intended to provide for interoperability of wireless LAN products. Currently, wireless LAN equipment is based on numerous proprietary technologies which prevents one vendor’s equipment from working with another’s.

The proposed IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Standard supports three different physical media: 2.4 GHz Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum radio, 2.4 GHz Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum radio and infrared. One objective of the standard is to enable products from different manufacturers that use the same physical media (PHY) to operate in identical ways. Once a buyer selects a PHY, they should be able to purchase products from any number of vendors that support 802.11 without fear of incompatibility. (Note that equipment using one physical media will not interoperate with equipment using a different physical media.)

The ratification of the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Standard will not necessarily free the wireless LAN buyer from proprietary technology. This is because a critical element of the wireless LAN is outside the scope of the current proposed Standard: the network protocols that enable seamless roaming.

To understand this situation further let’s look at the three elements that make up a wireless LAN: the Distribution System, the Access Point and the Portable Unit or Station (see diagram). The Distribution System will typically be an Ethernet or Token Ring wired LAN which forms the backbone of the system. Each Access Point is connected to the Distribution System and provides a “microcell” of RF coverage. Each portable unit has a wireless LAN adapter which communicates with an Access Point when it is within that Access Point’s geographic microcell of coverage.

In our diagram, the Portable Unit is initially “associated” or registered with Access Point A. Being mobile, the Portable Unit A1 can move about, and may roam outside the microcell of Access Point A and into Access Point B’s area of coverage. When that happens, the Portable Unit “re-associates” or re-registers with Access Point B. Traffic intended for the Portable Unit must now be routed through Access point B. The current draft of IEEE 802.11 details the association and re-association process, but says simply that the “Access Point shall inform the Distribution System of the re-association.”

What the Distribution System does with this association and re-association information and how Access Points use the information is not specified. This is not an oversight on the part of the IEEE 802.11 Committee. What happens between the Access Points and the Distribution System is outside of the scope of the Standard because it is handled at a different protocol stack level.

Most manufacturers support roaming between Access Points, but may do it in different ways. Aironet offers Access Points with a high degree of intelligence that are “aware” of all Access Points and the Portable Units registered to each. This allows Access Points to retain packets destined for a portable unit in a buffer and forward them to a new Access Point when the roaming user registers with it. The result is fast, seamless roaming. However, the capabilities and protocol between Access Points for such transactions is different for each manufacturer.

What are the implications to the prospective wireless LAN user? Subsequent to the ratification of the IEEE 802.11 Standard, the user will have the ability to choose from various manufacturers of 802.11 compliant LAN adapters for portable units. However, the user must rely on a single manufacturer for his Access Points to be able to support roaming. Then, just like today, the user should carefully evaluate the manufacturer’s system architecture offering before the purchase.. This (no doubt proprietary) architecture, which includes the Access Points and the protocols used over the Distribution System, will dictate the wireless LAN’s support for critical features such as roaming, as well as power management, system configuration, load balancing, and expandability.

Although the proposed IEEE 802.11 specification does not provide for complete interoperability between the wireless LAN Access Points from different manufacturers, it does represent an important foundation for achieving the goal of interoperability by allowing all compliant portable devices to communicate with any Access Point. It will be possible to achieve total system interoperability in the future if manufacturers can standardize on a single inter Access Point communication protocol.

Aironet 1996 Website

For more detailed info about Aironet products check out the Aironet website from 1996.

The Internet / world wide web was so in 1996 that Aironet gave a “Special thanks to Northwest Technical Services, an Aironet Dealer, for helping” them with the website.

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