Proxim ORiNOCO AP-700 review

Alan Stevens 0

Published: 10 Mar 2005

At nearly £250 (ex. VAT) Proxim’s ORiNOCO AP-700 is a lot pricier than the kind of wireless access point you’d buy for home or small business use. But then, it’s not your average consumer product, as it includes a host of extra features that will appeal to larger companies prepared to pay for such options.

Those features starts with support for 802.3af Power over Ethernet (PoE), where power is squirted over the data cables rather than via a separate AC supply. Of course that’s of little value in companies where PoE has yet to be deployed, and a separate AC adapter is included for such installations. However where it is deployed, PoE really does make life easier -- especially when the AP-700 is a located high up on a wall or ceiling using the mounting plate supplied.

Another plus is a choice of wireless technology, with built-in radios for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz use. Unfortunately these can’t be used simultaneously -- but then, few companies want or need to do that. Rather, you can choose to configure the access point for either a 2.4GHz 802.11b/g or a 5GHz 802.11a wireless network as required. There's also support for what Proxim calls 'Super Mode' to further enhance throughput when used with adapters with compatible Atheros wireless chipsets.

We didn’t actually see much of an improvement with Super Mode in our tests, but performance was already above average -- for both 802.11g and 802.11a networks. Range was pretty good too: we got good signals up to around 20 metres indoors, despite there being no external antennae on the AP-700. Moreover, if range is an issue there are sockets to take a variety of high-gain aerials.

Quality of Service (QoS) facilities are also built into the AP-700 and, as might be expected, security exceptionally well catered for, starting with WEP, WPA and 802.11i encryption options. Support for the latest AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) technology is also provided, along with 802.1x authentication, RADIUS integration and the ability to configure up to 16 separate VLANs each with its own security profile. Intra-cell blocking is another built-in feature, to help stop client-to-client snooping, along with automatic detection of rogue access points.

Initial setup is, typically, done via a Web interface with the usual wizard to get you started. However, it’s also possible to Telnet into the unit or manage it via SNMP, and Proxim sells its own management software (Wavelink Mobile Manager) to centrally manage access points on a large network.

It does take a lot longer to get to grips with the facilities provided by the AP-700, mainly because there are so many. Moreover, on a large network, the Wavelink Mobile Manager software is a must-have in order to enforce security policies and monitor the wireless network without having to configure each access point individually.

Although it can’t quite match the abilities of a custom wireless switch solution, if you marry the ORiNOCO AP-700 access point to the Wavelink software you’ll have the next best thing. It's also a flexible alternative with definite appeal to medium-sized companies, small hot-spot providers and others looking to build an affordable yet secure wireless network.

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