New USB 802.11n Adapters from Proxim

Last fall, Proxim Wireless introduced a pair of new 802.11n access points—the single-radio ORiNOCO AP-800 ($799) and the dual-radio ORiNOCO AP-8000 ($1,099)—which promised speeds of up to 320 Mbps, along with dual 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz operation, support for 802.3af (Power over Ethernet), and support for Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) globally in all 5 GHz bands. On Monday, the company announced the availability of its new ORiNOCO 802.11a/b/g/n USB client adapters ($75).

“We launched the APs in November; now we’re rounding out the portfolio,” Robb Henshaw, Director of Marketing & Communications at Proxim told Wi-Fi Planet. “Our adapter is the fastest way to connect to the APs. We’re seeing best-in-class real-world throughput exceeding 150 Mbps when our clients are used with our 11n access points.”

While the USB client adapters will work with any 802.11n-draft 2.0 AP, of course, Henshaw says Proxim is seeing the highest tested throughputs when they are paired with ORiNOCO APs.

Proxim’s distributed architecture solutions are leading the way toward the all-wireless enterprise, says Henshaw. “At this point, with the distributed architecture, there’s very little argument against upgrading to a completely wireless enterprise,” he says. Enterprises that opt for a non-controller-based architecture, such as Proxim’s, can save both time and money, he says.

“What we hear from enterprises is that they are not upgrading because of the cost of the upgrade and the complexity—the time of deployment. The cost with centralized solutions—the bandwidth is so much higher—you have to do a forklift upgrade of your controller. Your a/b/g controller is a bottleneck. We don’t have that centralized controller, so we’ve removed that bottleneck and removed the $60,000-$90,000 price, as well,” says Henshaw.

The new ORiNOCO 802.11a/b/g/n USB client adapters include a base stand for use with either laptops or desktops. They support WEP (64-bit and 128 bit), WPA, and WPA2/802.11i wireless security protocols.

“Three or four years ago, security was a big concern, but across the board vendors have done a phenomenal job of addressing the security concerns of wireless and people are convinced that wireless is locked down. We always talk about ourselves in the wireless LAN space, as well as wireless backhaul and point-to-multi-point. It’s the new wire, the wires in the sky. It’s just as secure and reliable; it’s just better performance than wire. 50% more performance on the lower end of the spectrum—and it’s just as secure and reliable,” says Henshaw.

And real-world throughput exceeds 150Mbps when used with Proxim’s ORiNOCO AP-800 and AP-8000 802.11n access points, he says, which, is substantially higher than typical 10/100 wired LANs.

“We’re a wireless company. We don’t have wires,” says Henshaw. “I’m using the new USB adapter [at work], and I never see anything lower than 140Mbps throughout the day; with 10/100, you’re getting, on average, only 80Mbps. Upgrading to n doesn’t have to be painful or expensive. You can get much higher performance than with a wired LAN.”

The 802.11n access points ship with the same mounting brackets as their predecessors, so when clients upgrade their legacy Wi-Fi networks, they can just pull the old AP out and pop the new one in, says Henshaw.

“Easy power, easy mounting—now with the new USB adapter, it’s the full package,” says Henshaw. “You have the ability to deploy 802.11n wireless LANs cost-effectively and easily. And we are giving a way to connect with the new adapter that’s faster than anything we’ve seen.”

The new USB adapters are now shipping. More details at the Proxim Web site.

Naomi Graychase is Managing Editor at Wi-Fi Planet. She has been writing about technology for fifteen years. Follow Wi-Fi Planet on Twitter.