Product Reviews

Wireless networking is one of those technologies that's bubbled under for so long it's almost a surprise that it's arrived. After years of proprietary niche products, new wireless LAN devices are now popping up every month. ZoomAir was the first one PC Pro looked at (reviewed enterprise, issue 58, p18), but there are also devices from Symbol already on the UK market, with 3Com looming on the horizon. Proxim is unlike the other companies in this arena in that it concentrates solely on wireless networking. Its Symphony range of products also differs from the norm as it doesn't use the 802.11 standard, instead opting for Proxim's own proprietary OpenAir standard.

However, OpenAir isn't very different from 802.11. Both use SS (spread spectrum), a technology developed in WWII to make it difficult to eavesdrop on radio signals, and both operate in the 2.4GHz radio waveband. However, 802.11 can use either DS (direct sequence) or FH (frequency hopping), whereas OpenAir is exclusively FH. Proxim claims this allows its wireless networking to achieve a throughput of 1.5Mbits/sec where 802.11 DS, as used in ZoomAir, can only manage 1.2Mbits/sec. On the negative side, Symphony has a 150ft range indoors, while the ZoomAir extends to twice that.

That's the theory. More important is how the real products actually perform. The three Symphony products I looked at were the Cordless ISA Card, Cordless PC Card, and Ethernet Bridge. Starting with the lowest common denominator scenario, I set up a simple peer-to-peer network between a notebook and a desktop PC using the PC Card and ISA Card. (By the time you read this, the latter should have been replaced by a PCI version). Both PC Card and ISA Card are simple plug and play devices. The PC Card is in theory hot swappable, but the network bindings aren't, so regardless of which adaptor you're using it must be installed with the PC or notebook powered off. The Plug and Play Wizard leads you automatically through drivers and then software utility installation. When the device itself is working, the Composer Wizard leads you through setting up the network. If you're planning to share a modem on one of the machines with other systems on the network, you choose to do so here. The manual also mentions a wireless modem, but this won't be available in the UK until a later date.

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Once up and running, the Symphony network is represented by a tray icon, which can be used to call up the Maestro configuration utility. This allows you to monitor the status of any shared modem, connect to the Internet via the Conductor utility, and even store up to three different ISP accounts. Apart from some other sundry network-testing widgets, Maestro can also store two network profiles and switch between them so, if you're a mobile worker attaching to a home and work network via Symphony, you can change the settings with a single mouse click. Of course, you'll still have to reboot for the alternative settings to take effect.

While an all-wireless network is viable for a home or small office, most larger networks will have wired portions as well, for which the Ethernet Bridge is just the ticket. This is a small box, and installation is a simple matter of plugging it into the power and then into your switch or hub via the supplied crossover cable. It's a 10BaseT device, so you'll have to be running at this level or have a dual-speed switch. Drivers are supplied, but these are for the client systems equipped with Symphony wireless network cards. You can either use these drivers when first installing the cards in the clients, or upgrade an existing wireless-only network using the upgrade utility supplied. Either way, once the drivers and utilities are installed, any protocols used on the wired network can be used with the wireless card. The Bridge seamlessly translates them across. For example, a router used for a shared Internet connection can be used by the wireless clients as well - simply set the IP addresses as you would with a network card.

Overall, Symphony worked well. It's easy to install and cheaper than any of the other wireless LAN products currently available in the UK. Although it doesn't conform to the 802.11 standard, it's questionable whether the latter will bring the cross manufacturer interoperability that everyone has been hoping for. The Ethernet bridge is a bit pricey, but it negates the requirement of a dedicated PC to gateway between the wireless and wired world - a real problem with ZoomAir. It's great for home networking, and ideal alongside the Bridge to make hot-desking with a notebook that little bit easier.