The AI108's Web interface does not provide any status information once the unit is operational. In fact, once the units are configured and the bridges start passing data, the Web interface is disabled. Airaya says this enhances security because the bridge cannot be reconfigured during operation. We don't accept this proposition and are happy to hear that a new version of firmware will offer customers a choice. In the short term, you don't give up any functionality since the product does not include logging or SNMP support. Interface access, however, will let you upgrade firmware through the Web.
As you might expect from a product based on the Atheros 802.11a chipset, performance of the AI108 was very good. However, there were peaks and valleys in performance, likely a result of the half-duplex radio design, which needs to stop transmission to handle TCP acknowledgements. In our unidirectional tests, peak performance was 29.2 Mbps, while average performance was only 19.6 Mbps. In our full-duplex test, the difference was even more noticeable, with average throughput of 14.2 Mbps and peak throughput of 29.1 Mbps. Nonetheless, even the average throughput is quite good in light of the product's cost, and depending on your application environment, you may never notice the degradation we saw when we stressed the units in the lab.
AI108-1-050 Wireless Bridge, $3,599. Airaya, (866) 224-7292, (408) 776-9583. www.airaya.com
Young Design EX-1 Wireless Bridge
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