The demand for VoWLAN, or Voice over WLAN, has seen explosive growth recently and Industry experts predict VoWLAN adoption will continue in the coming years, especially in enterprises that need a combination of data and voice. Health care, hospitality, retail, manufacturing and higher education all present environments that make heavy use of voice and data transmission and would benefit from the mobility and increase in productivity presented by a high-capacity VoWLAN solution. The benefits of Voice over Wireless LAN are myriad: for example, in an enterprise equipped with VoWLAN, managers are able to make quick decisions, reach whomever they need to, and be reached no matter where they are on the enterprise campus avoiding the delay posed by paging and locating these key employees. Further, in a network with enough capacity, VoWLAN is a cost-effective solution for mobility, allowing enterprises to avoid prohibitive cellular charges.

Voice over WLAN, however, presents a serious challenge for IT managers as it creates capacity issues for traditional WLAN architectures. VoWLAN, in order to be successful, requires there be coverage anywhere an employee can be on the enterprise campus. There also needs to be increased overlap to avoid "dead spots", dropped calls and poor audio quality. As such, VoWLAN demands a large amount of bandwidth and coverage. Xirrus' Wi-Fi Array not only provides the capacity needed by enterprise-grade VoWLAN, but can provide up to two times the range and four times the coverage provided by standard legacy architectures. Please follow the link to learn more about how Xirrus can provide the necessary coverage for enterprise VoWLAN with the Wi-Fi Array.

VoWLAN - As It Stands Today

The only way to increase capacity in traditional WLAN architectures supporting multiple users with bandwidth-heavy applications such as voice is to deploy more WLAN access points. This "solution" only minimally increases capacity, and the addition of more access points ultimately degrades network performance further. This decreases employee productivity, and prevents such networks from providing the necessary bandwidth to support capacity-intensive applications such as VoWLAN. The only real way to successfully increase bandwidth supporting VoWLAN and other demanding applications is to simultaneously use as many non-overlapping channels as possible. Xirrus' Wi-Fi Array's revolutionary Wireless LAN architecture provides a comprehensive solution to the issues presented by VoWLAN and other challenging applications.

The Wi-Fi Array - Meeting VoWLAN Challenges

Our next-generation wireless LAN architecture combines the functionality of a WLAN switch (the Array Controller), up to 16 Integrated Access Points (IAPs), and a Multi-sector Antenna System working together to enable multiple users to access non-overlapping channels. This groundbreaking approach can deliver two times the range and four times the coverage of standard WLAN architectures. Indeed, Xirrus has taken the best from all traditional approaches, combining them to provide an unmatched 864Mbps of Wi-Fi capacity per Wi-Fi Array. Further, we've streamlined wireless LAN setup, as a network of Wi-Fi Arrays uses far fewer devices than traditional WLAN solutions. Since the Wi-Fi Array uses all non-overlapping channels in the 802.11a/b/g specifications, it provides more bandwidth over larger areas than standard WLAN architectures. The Wi-Fi Array Architecture easily supports VoWLAN and other intensive applications for up to 1,000 clients per Wi-Fi Array.

Easy VoWLAN Management for IT Administrators

The Wi-Fi Array Platform's superior coverage results in easier Wi-Fi setup, as far fewer devices need to be deployed. In addition, the Wi-Fi Array supplies the high density RF service required by bandwidth-intensive applications such as VoWLAN at a fraction of the cost of standard wireless LANs. With 16 times the WLAN capacity of other architectures, all in a single device, the installation and maintenance of a workable VoWLAN solution has never been easier, or more cost-effective. For large campus-wide deployments, our XM-3300 provides a suite of software tools designed to manage up to 500 Wi-Fi Arrays. IT administrators can manage the entire network over the existing Ethernet infrastructure from a single device, avoiding the single point of failure caused by installing the WLAN switch or controller in the IT closet. The XP-3100 Remote DC Power System can distribute DC power to the family of Wi-Fi Arrays when AC power is unavailable or cost-prohibitive to deploy.

Our Partners

Only Authorized Xirrus Solution Providers are able to sell next-generation Xirrus Wi-Fi equipment. Please follow the link to find out where to buy Xirrus VoWLAN solutions. If you would like to become a Xirrus partner please take some time to read more about the benefits offered by the Xirrus PartnerAdvantage Program. We offer three different levels of involvement, one of which you'll find ideal to suit your business objectives. We're leading the revolution in WLAN and Voice over WLAN solutions--we'd be happy to have you join us.