Trapeze Networks Routs Cisco in WLAN Resiliency Test

PLEASANTON, Calif., Nov. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Today, The Tolly Group, a leading global provider of third-party validation services for IT vendors, has published a report showing that Trapeze Networks (NYSE: BDC) offers its customers wireless networks that recover from failures 800 times faster than Cisco.

Specifically, The Tolly Group report says that Trapeze Networks, "delivers sub-second fail-over using Trapeze's clusters wireless controller approach, while a comparable Cisco solution results in network downtime of 9 to 12 seconds." The report goes on to say Trapeze Networks "exhibits less that 0.1 seconds recovery without interrupting applications, while the Cisco solution drops both FTP and VoIP sessions during recovery." Trapeze Networks is making the report available free-of-charge and may be downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/trapeze-tolly

"In the real world the question isn't 'if' a network component fails but 'when' and Trapeze Networks has an answer that will satisfy the most demanding situation," said Ahmet Tuncay, Trapeze Networks' chief technology officer. "The Tolly Report tells the tale. Trapeze Networks instantaneously recovers from a network failure, faster than the blink of an eye, and fast enough so critical applications never have the chance to fail."

Resilience: The Key Issue for Wireless

During the past year, there's been much speculation about when -- and how -- wireless networks will become a viable alternative to wired networks. Resilience was identified as a gating factor as far back as 2003 in the Communications of the ACM, the world's most prestigious computer science publication (http://tinyurl.com/trapeze-CACM). And recently the manager of network services at Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Duke University Medical Center, (Duke University, a Cisco customer), was quoted in Network World saying, "I believe that once the WLAN is as reliable as wired access, you will begin to see enterprises move away from wired infrastructures, based on cost savings alone..." (http://tinyurl.com/trapeze-NW) The good news for Duke University and Cisco customers around the world is that their wait for reliable wireless access is now over.

NonStop Wireless for the Always On Enterprise

NonStop Wireless, introduced in the spring of this year, is an innovation delivered in Trapeze Mobility System Software (MSS). MSS is the distributed wireless operating system that runs on Trapeze's wireless LAN equipment and delivers the benefits of Trapeze's Smart Mobile architecture. MSS runs on all Trapeze equipment, from access points to controllers and is backwards compatible across the company's entire product line.

Industry Analysts Praise Trapeze Networks' Nonstop Wireless

According to Stan Schatt of ABI Research:

Trapeze edges out its competitors with respect to resilience and high availability. The company's "Non-Stop Wireless" is more than a slogan. Its use of virtual cluster controller functionality is highly innovative. Each controller contributes capacity resources to a community of controllers; and that means no impact on sessions should a controller go down. It also means that content is balanced automatically if a controller ceases operation.

And according to Michael Brandenberg of Current Analysis:

Customers of other WLAN vendors should consider Trapeze when looking to upgrade the existing WLAN. ... Trapeze pulls out all the stops for its NonStop Wireless strategy. (http://tinyurl.com/trapeze-CA)

Customers Cast the Deciding Vote

Even more compelling than the kudos from leading analysts are the wins Trapeze Networks is achieving due to NonStop Wireless. For example, Draeger Medical, an international leader in medical equipment, recently certified Trapeze Networks equipment to wirelessly connect its patient monitoring equipment used in hospital intensive care units. Top-tier schools around the world including University of Minnesota, University of Utah and Aberdeen University rely on Trapeze Networks as do massive hospitals such as Belfast Royal and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare.

Trapeze Networks: Putting the Networking in Wireless Networking

"Security, performance, compatibility, ... these are just table stakes for wireless networking and are inherently tied to standards and the progress made by merchant silicon companies that supply every WLAN vendor," said Tuncay. "Trapeze Networks has made wireless networking as easy to design and manage as wired networking and -- with the advent of NonStop Wireless -- we've made wireless networking just as reliable."

About The Tolly Group

The Tolly Group is a leading global provider of third-party validation services for vendors of IT products, components and services. The company is based in Boca Raton, Florida, and can be reached by phone at (561) 391-5610, or via the Internet at http://www.tolly.com or sales@tolly.com.

About Trapeze Networks

Trapeze Networks, a Belden brand, is a leading provider of enterprise wireless LAN equipment and management software. Trapeze was the first company to introduce NonStop Wireless -- delivering unmatched reliability to the enterprise wireless LAN and its solutions are optimized for companies requiring mobility and high bandwidth such as healthcare, education, and hospitality. Trapeze delivers Smart Mobile(TM) providing scalable wireless LANs for applications such as Voice over Wi-Fi, location services, and indoor/outdoor connectivity.

SOURCE Trapeze Networks