Cisco's flagship AP, the dual-band Aironet 1200, is both an 802.11b and an 802.11a AP, and will soon be field-upgradable to support 802.11g. The 1200 AP is capable of 802.1q VLAN trunking and can handle as many as 16 VLANs and ESSIDs, though the AP has only one BSSID per radio and therefore can't limit the ill effects of broadcast and multicast traffic across many ESSIDs.
Subnet roaming in an Aironet environment relies on Mobile IP-enabled routers and APs configured to support Proxy Mobile IP. Such an approach overcomes the need for Mobile IP clients, but Cisco chose not to demonstrate this capability in our lab.
Security options for the 1200 AP include 802.1x authentication, including Cisco's own LEAP authentication type, as well as support for WEP, WPA and Cisco's TKIP encryption methods. AES support will be available via an upgrade. A new addition is the ability for the 1200 to act as its own 802.1x server. Although this is hardly an enterprise-scalable solution, it's a nice feature for isolated locations with relatively few users.
Setup of the WLSE management server and 1200 APs was straightforward. WLSE discovered the APs quickly, and we were then able to configure the APs. Testing results were somewhat of a mixed bag for the 1200. Throughput testing showed the AP excelled in some tests and lagged in others. For example, throughput for 802.11b peaked at about 5.9 Mbps, significantly less than systems based on the newest Atheros silicon. 802.11a results were respectable, but did little to differentiate the incumbent WLAN provider from its competition, turning in maximum throughput of about 22 Mbps.
Range results were mixed as well: 802.11b coverage was excellent, putting the 1200 AP in a dead heat with Airespace and Symbol for first place. The 11a range, however, was a different story. Cisco's dual-band AP came in second to last in 11a range, ahead of only Enterasys, and with only about 70 percent of the coverage provided by Airespace's products.
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