The IT Nerd

I’ve got two pieces of news from Linksys that will be of interest to businesses. The first piece of news is that Linksys announced two new wireless access points. Their feature set includes:

• Wi-Fi 802.11ac Dual Band support
• Data Rates up to 1200 Mbps – Linksys AC1200 Dual Band Access Point (LAPAC1200)
• Data Rates up to 1750 Mbps – Linksys AC1750 Dual Band Access Point (LAPAC1750)
• LAPAC1200 has a MIMO 2X2 configuration
• LAPAC1750 has a MIMO 3X3 configuration
• Support as Powered Device with 802.3at (PoE+)
• Support for up to 16 different SSIDs
• Configurable as a Workgroup Bridge for range extension
• Designed for ceiling or wall mounting
• Industrial-strength Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA, WPA2) security and data encryption
• Advanced security and preventions (802.1X Supplicant, SSID to VLAN Mapping, MAC Access Control, Rogue AP detection)
• Set-up and management through the Web Interface or Simple Network Management Protocol
• Limited Lifetime Warranty
• IPv6 support

The ratified 802.11ac is the new wireless standard for client devices such as laptops, tablets and smart phones going forward. Future-proofing new networks or upgrading older wireless-G or N networks with Wireless-AC routers and access points provide businesses with the high performance wireless functionality that offices, large or small, require. Plus they come with business-class security features including Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA/WPA2), 802.1X Supplicant Authentication, MAC-based ACL, Rouge AP Detection, SSID-to-VLAN Mapping, Wireless Scheduler, and more.

The Linksys Business Wireless-AC Access Points are planned to roll out in April through major distributors. SMBs and resellers can find a participating distributor at http://www.linksys.com/en-ca/business/find-a-distributor. MSRP is as follows:

• Wireless-AC1200 Dual Band Access Point (LAPAC1200):  MSRP $329.99 USD
• Wireless-AC1750 Dual Band Access Point (LAPAC1750):  MSRP $379.99 USD

The second piece of news is the announcement of new business class switches from Linksys. The new Smart Switch line-up is available in 8, 18 or 26 Gigabit Ethernet port configurations with or without Power over Ethernet+ to provide power to connected devices such as Wi-Fi access points or IP security cameras. The new Linksys Smart Switches include network management features that are not found in unmanaged switches, such as various QoS features and DHCP Snooping, to further enhance network performance and security. The new Linksys Smart Switches are energy efficient by powering down ports when connected devices are inactive and also detect the cable length of connected devices to adjust the power accordingly. Here’s a look at their lineup:

Linksys Smart (PoE+) Gigabit Switches

8-Port Smart Gigabit Switch (LGS308)    

8-Port Smart Gigabit (PoE+) Switch (LGS308P)

• 8 PoE+ Gigabit ports (with 72W) (LGS308P only)
• Desktop form factor with metal enclosure
• Easy configuration and management
• Energy efficient
• Fanless
• VLAN
  • Port-based and 802.1q tag-based VLANs
  • Management VLAN
  • Guest VLAN support
  • Dynamic VLAN assignment via Radius server with 802.1x client authentication
• Advanced Security:
  • 802.1X with RADIUS
  • DHCP snooping
  • IP-MAC binding
  • Storm Control, Spanning Tree, Link Aggregation
• QoS priority levels with 4 hardware queues
• IPv6 support
• Set-up and management through the Web Interface or Simple Network Management Protocol
• Limited Lifetime Warranty

18-Port Smart Gigabit (PoE+) Switch (LGS318P)

26-Port Smart Gigabit (PoE+) Switch (LGS326P)

18-Port Smart Gigabit Switch (LGS318)

26-Port Smart Gigabit Switch (LGS326)

• 18 Gigabit ports (16 with PoE+ and 125W power) LGS318P only
• 26 Gigabit ports (24 with PoE+ and 192W power) LGS326P only
• Rack mountable form factor with metal enclosure
• Easy configuration and management
• Energy efficient
• Advanced Security:
  • 802.1X with RADIUS
  • DHCP snooping
  • IP-MAC binding
  • Storm Control, Spanning Tree, Link Aggregation
• QoS priority levels with 4 hardware queues
• IPv6 support
• Set-up and management through the Web Interface or Simple Network Management Protocol
• Limited Lifetime Warranty

The Linksys Smart (PoE+) Gigabit Switches are planned to roll out in March through major distributors. SMBs and resellers can find a participating distributor at http://www.linksys.com/en-ca/business/find-a-distributor. MSRP is as follows:

• 8-Port Smart Gigabit Switch (LGS308)                                                      MSRP $119.99 USD
• 8-Port Smart Gigabit PoE+ Switch (LGS308P)                                        MSRP $249.99 USD
• 18-Port Smart Gigabit Switch (LGS318)                                                   MSRP $229.99 USD
• 18-Port Smart Gigabit PoE+ Switch (LGS318P)                                     MSRP $429.99 USD
• 26-Port Smart Gigabit Switch (LGS326)                                                   MSRP $299.99 USD
• 26-Port Smart Gigabit PoE+ Switch (LGS326P)                                     MSRP $599.99 USD

This entry was posted on March 31, 2014 at 6:37 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Linksys. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.