October 16, 2007 -- SMC Networks recently received the Wi-Fi Alliance's certified 802.11n draft 2.0 designation for its Barricade N Series Draft 11n Gigabit Broadband Router (SMCWGBR14-N) and Broadband Router (SMCWBR14-N2).
According to SMC, designed for the home and office, each of the platform independent multi-functional routers combines a 4-port LAN switch (the SMCWBR14-N2 with 10/100 switching; the SMCWGBR14-N with Gigabit 10/100/1000 switching), a high-speed, draft 2.0, 802.11n wireless access point, a NAT firewall with Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI), intelligent stream handling technology, and a user-friendly Web-based management interface. The Gigabit-capable SMCWGBR14-N also includes a multi-function print server in its list of functional capabilities.
The company says its 802.11n draft 2.0 wireless networking products offer the speed, distance and bandwidth advantages of 802.11n alongside backward and cross-vendor compatibility with 802.11 b/g wireless platforms. Capable of data transfer rates of up to 300 Mbit/sec, the new products are especially designed to excel in demanding applications such as network gaming, high-definition video streaming, file sharing, and VoIP.
"802.11n draft 2.0 is an advanced standard for delivering increased throughput, improved range and QoS for enhanced multimedia capabilities," comments Karen Hanley, senior director of the Wi-Fi Alliance. "SMC's support of the Wi-Fi Alliance's 802.11n draft 2.0 certification program demonstrates its work to ensure full industry interoperability and the best user experience for the digital home and the enterprise."
Seperately, SMC announced that all of its 802.11n draft 2.0-certified products have also been tested and certified for use with Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system.
"Microsoft is pleased that SMC Networks has earned the 'Works with Windows Vista' logo for its two Barricade N series routers," comments Justin Jed, group product manager of Windows client product management at Microsoft Corp. "By achieving the designation, SMC is letting its customers know that the products have met explicit standards for reliability and quality, and have been tested for their ability to deliver a compatible experience in Windows Vista environments."