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Zyxel adds ‘ultra-thin’ AP system

Zyxel has announced its WLAN Controller System, which it bills as the industry’s first "ultra-thin" access point.

The managed WLAN solution includes the NXC-8160 controller and NWA-8500 AP and features what Zyxel calls “channel blanket technology”. Zyxel said the technology guarantees throughput, delivers zero delay roaming, eliminates site survey and channel planning and reduces total cost of ownership (TCO) by more than 40 percent.

The system offloads all functions of the AP to a centralized controller and puts all APs on the same channel, using the same BSSID. Zyxel's "channel blanket" technology prevents the multiple APs on the same channel from interfering with each other. This technique provides zero delay roaming, because roaming no longer requires switching between multiple channels or having to reconnect to each access point. Each AP has two radios, enabling the user to dedicate one channel for voice and one for data.