Start-up offers Ethernet silicon for enterprise Wi-Fi support

Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) is so hot that investors are willing to back companies such as start-up SiNett, even though the company's first chips aren't purely WLAN (wireless-LAN) plays. Instead, the OneEdge switch-processor family focuses on making Wi-Fi support an integral part of enterprise networks. The offerings will compete with the new Broadcom (www.broadcom.com) StrataXGS III family of Ethernet chips (see "Switch chip mixes security, wireless, and IPv6 support," EDN, Feb 17, 2005, pg 14). The Broadcom ICs clearly offer more wired-Ethernet-capabilities, but SiNett is counting on more robust wireless support to win sockets (Picture).

The OneEdge family features the SN5024 unified-access WLAN switch and the SN6004 WLAN controller. The SN5024 integrates an Ethernet switch/router with enterprise wireless support and targets sockets in mainstream enterprise switches. The SN6004 offers only the enterprise WLAN support and targets use in dedicated wireless appliances that users add to wired networks or in a switch in conjunction with a stand-alone switching/routing chip. Depending on volume and configuration, the chips will sell for $100 to $200. The vendor will ship chips in the second quarter but offers an FPGA-based development board allowing design teams to get an early start.

SiNett's core competence is clearly wireless integration in the enterprise. The products answer the demands of IT managers moving Wi-Fi support from islands on the edge of the network into the core of the network. Bringing WLAN support into the core enables seamless roaming across a corporatewide LAN, including across geographically spread campuses. The SiNett chips support session persistence across virtual LANs and subnets. The chips offer Mobile IP support, including unidirectional and bidirectional tunnels.

Security features include a flexible policy engine and wireless-firewall functions. SiNett Vice President of Marketing Shrikant Sathe states, "OneEdge's TRAPS [trust-aware-perimeter-security] feature set provides line-rate cryptography and VPN [virtual-private-network] services, centralized security management, trust-based access policies, and firewalling—all targeting wireless processing in an integrated networking environment. [Broadcom's] StrataXGS does not offer security features, such as VPN termination and trust-aware policies, and has limited centralized security and firewall capabilities."

SiNett Corp, 1-408-522-4800, www.sinett.com.