Air Traffic Control

Air Traffic Control is the technology at the heart of Meru's Virtualized Wireless LAN system. Deployed successfully by thousands of customers, it does exactly what the name suggests: control air traffic on a wireless network. Unlike other systems that concentrate only on managing access points, Meru's can govern all wireless LAN radio transmissions ­– from clients as well as from access points.

The granular management of the physical layer enabled by Air Traffic Control is critical for Wireless LAN Virtualization. But even by itself, Air Traffic Control gives networks several key benefits.

• 30% Fewer Access Points Needed
  In a Meru network, every access point can transmit at the maximum power allowed by the FCC and similar regulatory agencies worldwide. Competing network designs that lack Air Traffic Control force access points to reduce their power to minimize interference, resulting in a "microcell" architecture in which each access point's coverage area is smaller than it could be. Meru's use of higher power means fewer access points are needed, with related savings in infrastructure and installation cost.
• Only One Channel Needed
  The first difference customers notice when they install a Meru network is that adjacent APs all use the same radio channel. This lets a complete network be deployed in as little as one channel, with additional channels enabled as needed for added capacity. The complex patchwork of different channels and power levels that microcell-based WLAN systems use is eliminated, as is the associated costly and time-consuming planning.
• No Overlay Security Network Needed
  Air Traffic Control works in part through continuous radio frequency scanning. With the network already aware of all wireless activity, no additional sensors or overlay networks are required for security or management. Meru's integrated security can scan for intruders and rogue access points at all times, even when serving real-time voice or video traffic.