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WLAN 2300 series

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pat2006

Technical User
Jun 23, 2006
30
TT
Hi all.
Does anyone have experience with Nortel's WLAN 2300 series? I just wanted to know the good/bad and how it compares (if that is possible) to Cisco.

I'm thinking about deploying 2332's and the WSS 2361.
 
I've put in quite a few of them. It got much nicer and more stable in the 6.X code releases. I haven't yet played with the 7.0 release. There were some scalability issues which have been mostly resolved. Other than that, it's been a fairly decent product. You can mix and match pieces between the Nortel branded gear and Trapeze branded gear, as Trapeze is the OEM. For example, the MP620 outdoor AP is made by Trapeze, and will register to a Nortel branded controller.

I can't speak much for Cisco wireless as I haven't worked on it. I worked on the Airespace/Nortel 2270 stuff before Cisco bought up Airespace. The Cisco 4400 gear is based on that technology. I think the 2300/Trapeze gear is a bit more intutive than the Airespace/Cisco 4400.
 
The WLAN 2300 is a very nice way to wirelessly service your users. The 2300 serie does have some great features, especially in their latest products/software.

The 2332 allows for meshed setups, for example offering network connectivity between separated buildings by 2 ap's. Another feature which is supported by this ap is local switching. This can be very usefull when using a central controller setup. Traffic can be forwarded locally, off-loading unneccesary traffic from your controller and WAN connections and lowering latency (excellent for enabling VoWLAN communication).
A break through within the latest software (release 7.x) is the 'NonStop Wireless', also called 'Smart Mobile'. What I like the most is should there be a WSS failure, all connected ap's remain connected (although towards a second WSS), while maintaining user sessions! It is comparable with the SMLT features of Nortel's ERS8600's and ERS8300's. Should there be a failure, users will not experience any disconnects.
Currently I'm using this in our test environment and I have not experienced a single disconnect or other side-effect.

The WMS 7.x (management tool) has been adjusted, offering a simple consolidated overview of alarms and events (rogues, utilisation, ids, rf, etc.).

Another great tool is Smart Pass (formerly GuestPass). It not only allows for guest access, but also when, where, how, through simple management and with the ability for reporting. Just how you would like the guest access should be controlled within your environment.

The configuration of the 2300 is not that difficult. Once you have configured the basic settings through console, you are able to config most of the settings through WMS which gives you tips and verifies settings you make. Can be very helpfull.

Those are just a couple of features and my experience with the 2300 series.
In the past we also used the airespace products, however besides of the mentioned features the 2300 serie is more mature than the airespace products from my point of view.

Should you be interested, you should take a look at Nortel's ( or Trapeze's ( website which offers more information regarding this serie.

Goodluck!
 
Thanks for the info. I'll certainly look into it some more.
 
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