Advanced Wired and Wireless Switch Networks
by Mark Carpenter, CEO, Centricity Communications

Irvine, CA, USA, October 1, 2007 — Today, most offices run some form of local area network in order to share Internet access, file servers, printers, etc. The internal office often has one or more switches that connect different servers, workstations, and peripheral equipment together. Larger offices may have one or more internal routers that route between different group local area networks (ex. marketing and engineering departments). On the external interface to the office, there is usually a router + firewall to secure and route the traffic between the inside office and the outside wide area network (i.e. the Internet, other remote office locations, etc).

Previous generation switches generally only ran at the data-link layer (Layer 2), which provides connectivity among the various servers and workstations via their physical network address. Routers traditionally handled the logical network IP address connectivity (Layer 3) that allowed a server or workstation to route to different local area or wide area network locations. However, modern switches are now capable of running at both the physical and logical network address layers, and can often eliminate the need for a separate dedicated router.

With the ability to handle logical network addresses, switches allow a company to separate and secure different groups into virtual local area networks (VLANs), even though they may still be physically located on the same switch. Conversely, these companies can now also route between multiple switches at different locations to allow groups in different regional offices to operate virtually as if they were on the same physical local area network. As an added benefit, modern switches are often more efficient than routers in many cases where the network topology is known and well-defined. Routers will always be required to connect and route between inter-networks, but modern switches can more efficiently handle logical network address traffic among different local area networks.

Next generation fixed wireless networks based on WiMAX™ are also beginning to emerge. This fixed wireless technology provides commercial class connectivity at long range (5-30 miles) and at high bandwidth (1.5Mbps to 80Mbps). By definition, these fixed wireless networks connect point-to-point and point-to-multiple-point locations on a secure, dedicated connection. This means that the fixed wireless infrastructure effectively operates as a modern switch network. A connection on the network is usually secured via 128-bit encryption and has the ability to operate as a separate, isolated VLAN.

Furthermore, different point-to-point fixed wireless connections can be configured to operate on the same VLAN. Therefore, different regional office locations can now be connected on the same VLAN and can operate as if on the same local area network, even though they are physically located across the city, county, or state. Historically, companies have had to use virtual private networking (VPN) or other related tunneling technology to connect different office locations, which often are not as efficient or secure since they operate over a shared traffic medium (i.e. the Internet) and can have higher associated costs to operate.

Next generation wired and wireless switch networks are emerging to enable companies to more efficiently, securely, and cost-effectively connect their internal and remote office locations on the same local area network.

About the Author
Mark Carpenter is founder and CEO of Centricity Communications LLC, an Irvine Chamber Member and provider of fixed wireless point-to-point and Internet services for small to mid-sized businesses in Orange County, delivering commercial bandwidth from 1.5Mbps to 80Mbps. For more information about Centricity please visit www.centricitycomm.com or you can contact him directly at mark.carpenter@centricitycomm.com.