NextHop has its first customer. D-Link will be building in the NextHop UNS 4.0 software for unified switching of wired and wireless networks into the D-Link xStack DWS-3250 switches, as well as some of its enterprise class access points.
Albert Lew, Wireless Product Manager at NextHop, says it’s a complete turnkey software solution providing all the software on the switch and APs, turning the latter from “fat” APs into so-called “thinAPs” that can be controlled centrally from the switch.
The DWS-3250 is a stackable Gigabit Switch for centralized AP management with 48 ports. Up to 16 of them can stack together to provide 768 ports.
D-Link isn’t a stranger to enterprise wireless, having made APs that work with switches from Trapeze Networks, as well as OEMing a switch of its own, the DWS-1008, which runs the Trapeze Mobility System.
Lew says the difference is that with the NextHop software, D-Link will have a solution that handles both the wireless and wired sides of the network.
“The product with our software enables all enterprise-class switching, with a unified interface for Layer 2 class features — it’s truly an integrated wired and wireless product,” says Lew.
NextHop’s technology goes back to the early days of the wireless switch and the startup company Legra Systems. NextHop purchased Legra’s intellectual property (IP) and combined it with its own expertise in wired switching, with plans since early 2005 to license its software to hardware makers.
An official announcement regarding the products will be made next week. There’s no word yet on pricing or availability of the D-Link products, as the company did not get back to us by post time.
