Enterasys RoamAbout R2. Enterasys Networks, (978) 684-1000. www.enterasys.com
Chantry Networks' proposed RFP solution is based on its BeaconWorks wireless router system and BeaconWorks APs. Unlike the competition, Chantry's system operates as a Layer 3 device, letting it work with any IP-accessible AP. Whether it's across the hall, across campus or across the country, Chantry's BeaconMaster wireless router acts as a point of aggregation and a mode of central management for BeaconPoints. No changes to the existing infrastructure are required, save for a simple DHCP option to let newly booted APs find their primary and secondary BeaconMasters. It's an appealing solution for many networks, but the product just isn't mature enough for us to give it a positive evaluation.
Leveraging what Chantry dubs Virtual Network Services, or VNS, the BeaconMaster creates virtual networks across the wireless network, no matter the actual subnets on which the APs reside. This lets users belong to one of many possible networks based on the SSID to which they connect, though broadcast and multicast traffic aggregation can still be an issue because the AP has only one BSSID and associated MAC address. The BeaconMaster appliance routes traffic from these VNS subnets to the rest of the wired infrastructure. This approach simplifies management by letting security and configuration attributes be tied to VNS networks, rather than requiring configurations to be performed on a per-AP basis.
Chantry addresses security concerns with a basic set of features: WPA and 802.1x support, with upcoming support for 802.11i and AES encryption. The company doesn't support VPN session termination, nor is there support for captive Web portal authentication. BeaconMaster is capable of rogue detection, however, and can offer an approximate location based on the triangulation of BeaconPoints that hear the offending AP.
Rather than offer its own RF site-planning system, Chantry has partnered with Wireless Valley, whose LANPlanner software provides a rich feature set--for the fairly high price of $18,995.
After first configuring our lab's Cisco 3550 Layer 3 switch to perform routing across four subnets (one for the BeaconMaster and one for each of three BeaconPoints), and then setting up our DHCP server to provide addresses on each subnet, we encountered an issue that prevented the BeaconMaster system from operating properly. The option on our Cisco switch that allows each subnet to receive addresses from a DHCP server on a separate network wasn't available on the gigabit fiber uplink port that connected to the BeaconMaster. Although it had a static IP address, it couldn't reach the DHCP server to be informed that it was the primary BeaconMaster; therefore, it wouldn't respond to the BeaconPoints. This glitch had to be circumvented by using the wireless router's 10/100 Ethernet management port as an uplink port--an ill-advised work-around.
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