A new crop of broadband-networking products will be hitting the market soon,
aimed at linking up broadband modems with multiple devices in the house.
SMC Networks Inc. announced its latest wireless-networking product that can
link either cable or digital-subscriber-line modems to other computer devices
using either wireless 802.11a or 802.11b connections.
Aimed at small-business or residential users, the 'Barracade Turbo
2.4GHz/5GHz Universal Wireless Cable/DSL' broadband router will start shipping
in October. The unit will be priced at about $299.99.
The unit also functions as a four-port 10Base-T/100Base-T Ethernet switch and
includes firewall security, network management, parental control and the ability
to support virtual private networks.
Also on the wireless front, Broadcom Corp. has released its 'AirForce
BCM4702' network-processor chip for 802.11 wi-fi-compliant networking
devices.
With the reference design included, the release will allow manufacturers to
build wireless-networking access points and routers that support 802.11a,
802.11b, or dual schemes. It will also support the recently drafted 802.11g
standard when products become available.
Home-networking provider Linksys Group Inc. will be the first vendor to use
the Broadcom chip for dual-band routers. The chip set is now in volume
production.
On the software side, residential-gateway-system provider Jungo Software
Technologies Inc. announced the availability of its 'OpenRG' residential-gateway
software for developers of residential and small-office/home-office broadband
gateways.
Optimized for Conexant Systems Inc. 'CX821xx' home-network processors, the
Linux-based software features applications such as Internet-protocol sharing,
home networking, network security, VPN and remote management.
