Proxim Symphony

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 (By the time you read this, the latter should have been replaced by a PCI version).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.

The next job is to select a security code of up to 20 alphanumeric characters. This must be used by all of the systems that are to share the Symphony network. This isn't a huge level of security, but you still have the general network logon to keep prying eyes away from your data. The Composer can also create a virtual modem port, so that all of the computers on the network can use the shared modem as if it was installed locally. Finally, the Composer picks up any existing ISP account information used with the modem, lets you assign the computer a name on the network and guides you through sharing any local drives and printers.

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.