Vendors Debut Security Gear and Gigabit And WLAN Switches

Networking vendors are getting a jump on next week's NetWorld + Interop conference by launching new wireless, networking and security wares this week that are scheduled to be demoed at the Las Vegas show.

Enterasys is injecting new life into its stagnant wireless strategy by jumping into the WLAN switch market with its new RoamAbout 8000 series WLAN switches and accompanying access points. The products will give the company a centrally managed wireless portfolio to complement its existing line of stand-alone access points, said Prabhu Kavi, director of wireless product management and marketing
at Enterasys.

"We haven't had any new [wireless] announcements in the last year," Kavi said. "We're coming back to wireless in a big way."

The new wireless products tie more directly into the extensive security features available through Enterasys' wired networking portfolio, said Don Helmstetter, CEO and president of CompuNET International, a solution provider in Brooklyn Park, Minn. "Now if something happens that's not allowable by policy, the first place that traffic goes is the wireless switch, and it says, 'No, that's not acceptable,' " Helmstetter said.

Enterasys also plans next week to introduce a new stackable edge switch family dubbed SecureStack that includes a new B2 Layer 2 switch as well as the Layer 3 switch previously known as the Matrix C2. The B2 is available in 24-port and
48-port versions at both Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet speeds.