Symbol to Bridge Wi-Fi and RFID

Symbol to Bridge Wi-Fi and RFID: "Symbol Technologies announced Nov. 1 at the Mobile Business Expo in Chicago a new switch that, based on its Wi-NG (Wireless Next Generation) architecture, enables users to centrally and simultaneously manage RFID readers along with a Wi-Fi network infrastructure. ADVERTISEMENT Symbol's new RFS7000 Radio Frequency Switch in a sense bridges the gap between Wi-Fi, RFID and other radio frequency-based technologies like 802.11n, mesh, voice over wireless LAN and WiMAX, by enabling users to manage wireless voice, data and infrastructure devices all in the same place. By leveraging Symbol's Wi-NG-based architecture that runs on a Linux operating system, the switch provides a layer of separation between the infrastructure, services, application and management tiers. The RFS700 RF Switch is also designed to evolve as both RFID hardware and Wi-Fi requirements themselves continue to mature. It is 802.11n-ready (in other words, ready for the latest IEEE Wi-Fi standard), and can support up to 256 802.11 a/b/g access ports. eWEEK.com Special Report: RFID It enables a new switch clustering concept, officials said, that provides redundancy and scalability for more than 2,000 access points."