Proxim launches products amid acquisition

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: JOANIE WEXLER ON WIRELESS IN THE
ENTERPRISE
06/20/05
Today's focus: Proxim launches products amid acquisition

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Newly acquired Proxim intros Wi-Fi controller
* Links related to Wireless in the Enterprise
* Featured reader resource
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Today's focus: Proxim launches products amid acquisition

By Joanie Wexler

Despite the recently announced $21 million sale of its assets to
Moseley Associates, Proxim intends to introduce an appliance
this week that brings its product line in sync with centralized
wireless LAN management architectures.

It will also announce technical migration and trade-in programs
for its existing customers and a wireless mesh protocol for its
AP-4000 intelligent access points.

Proxim also says its OEM relationship with Avaya and its
three-way development partnership with Motorola and Avaya for a
voice-centric LAN-WAN roaming environment, remain intact. For
example, the long-coming Motorola CN620 Wi-Fi/GSM handset with
enterprise-to-cellular roaming capabilities - a key component of
the system - is likely to ship soon, says Proxim Vice President
of Marketing Susan Trout.

"We're still actively engaged," she says. "There was going to be
a summer 2005 release [of the CN620] and we're feverishly
working on getting those schedules reset. The handset delay
shouldn't be significant."

Just a few short years ago, Proxim was the No. 2 enterprise WLAN
vendor behind Cisco in terms of market share. But its share of
the pie shrank by nearly half between 2003 and 2004, according
to Synergy Research Group, and first-quarter 2005 sales indicate
that Proxim's share was on track to drop by half again this
year.

Aaron Vance, senior analyst at the research firm, attributes the
decline to Proxim's struggle to get its balance sheet in order
after its merger with wireless bridging and backhaul company
Western Multiplex, and the acquisition of Agere's Orinoco Wi-Fi
products, both in 2002, as well as "from not having a
centralized [Wi-Fi] architecture to offer."

However, that last problem will soon evaporate. Proxim, which
will become a subsidiary of Moseley Associates, will announce
this week the $2,999 Orinoco Smart Wireless Controller. The
controller works with the company's intelligent AP-4000s for
scalability in large networks, says Evan Parker, Proxim product
marketing manager. It will enable roaming among virtual LANs and
subnets for both IP and other Layer 3 protocols, including
legacy protocols such as Novell IPX and proprietary protocols,
he says.

He explains that the dual-Ethernet appliance, which supports 128
APs without redundancy and 64 in a redundant configuration, is
that it will tunnel traffic directly between APs rather than
bottlenecking traffic through a controller or switch.

Meanwhile, the Proxim Orinoco Mesh Creation Protocol will enable
the AP-4000s to connect directly to one another over the air for
metro or campus networking. It will be available via a free
firmware upgrade from the Proxim Web site this month, Parker
says.

With its newly announced products and programs, Proxim hopes to
counter-attack invasions of its customer base.

Colubris, for example, is offering rebates to customers trading
in Proxim products and discounts on the Colubris Network
Management System, which manages Proxim APs. Trapeze Networks
last week announced that the Mobility System Software in its
Wi-Fi switches will manage Proxim AP-4000s on a per-user basis.

RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS

Proxim agrees to sell assets to Moseley
IDG News Service, 06/14/05
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/061405-proxim.html?rl

Proxim offers peek into voice-centric switching system
Network World, 02/18/04
http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir2695

Cisco takes aim at surging XML, RFID traffic
Network World, 06/20/05
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/062005-cisco.html?rl

AT&T expands WiMAX testing
Network World, 06/20/05
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/062005-att-wimax.html?rl

Users swap advice on network mobility
Network World, 06/20/05
http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir2696
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Joanie Wexler

Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology
writer/editor in California's Silicon Valley who has spent most
of her career analyzing trends and news in the computer
networking industry. She welcomes your comments on the articles
published in this newsletter, as well as your ideas for future
article topics. Reach her at <mailto:joanie@jwexler.com>.
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