Xirrus Introduces Rapid Deployment Wi-Fi Kit for Disaster Response and Temporary Events

Self-contained Kit Enables Fast, Simple Roll Out of Robust Wireless Networks

Xirrus, Inc., the Wi-Fi “Power-Play” that delivers the most wireless coverage, bandwidth, and throughput in the industry, announced today a portable, pre-packaged kit designed for the rapid and simple deployment of Wi-Fi networks in temporary applications. Unlike other Wi-Fi networking solutions which require many different components, the Xirrus Wi-Fi Array integrates everything needed to deploy a large coverage, high density Wi-Fi network supporting up to hundreds of clients into a single device. This makes the Wi-Fi Array the ideal fit for portable applications such as disaster response command posts; high-density events such as conferences and expositions; and short-term events such as festivals, markets, and fairs.

The pre-packaged, self-contained Wi-Fi deployment kit includes:

• Xirrus Wi-Fi Array: Includes 4 or 8 access points, antennas, Wi-Fi controller, switch, firewall, RADIUS server, DHCP server, and management in one device
• Mounting Tripod
• Data and Power Cables
• Ruggedized carrying cases

“We designed the Xirrus Rapid Deployment Wi-Fi Kit for deployment simplicity. The Wi-Fi Array, around which the kit is based, integrates all the elements needed to deploy a Wi-Fi network into a single device,” said Bruce Miller, Vice President of Product Marketing at Xirrus. “The kit comes with all the necessary mounting hardware and cabling and is pre-configured to work out of the box. A Wi-Fi network for hundreds of users can literally be set up in less than 10 minutes. With a range well over 1,000 feet line-of-site outdoors and 200-500 feet indoors depending on environment, the Array is the only solution of its kind for setting up a pervasive wireless network with such simplicity.”

“Adding the Xirrus Wi-Fi Array to our Disaster Recovery solution has allowed us to become more flexible and provide access to an even greater amount of clients – it covers a large area while providing stable and reliable network services to our clients,” said Jake Cordova, Information Services Department, County of San Bernardino. “To provide immediate assistance to those who have been affected by a disaster, it is crucial to establish this capability quickly with the least amount of devices and power possible.”

Xirrus Rapid Deployment Wi-Fi Kits can be ordered online at the Xirrus Store at http://www.store.xirrus.com.

Xirrus Rapid Deployment Kit 100

• 100 concurrent users
• Price: $3,999

Xirrus Rapid Deployment Kit 200

• 200 concurrent users
• Price: $5,999

UK’s Best Hospital of 2007 Improves Medical Services with Xirrus Wi-Fi Arrays

Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic and District Hospital Chooses Xirrus to Increase Wi-Fi Services for Doctors, Nurses, and Patients

Xirrus, Inc., the Wi-Fi “Power-Play” that delivers the most wireless coverage, bandwidth, and throughput in the industry announced today that the world-renowned Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic and District Hospital NHS Trust (RJAH Hospital) located in Shropshire, England has selected Xirrus’ Wi-Fi Arrays to be deployed Hospital-wide. Xirrus was selected over other Wi-Fi vendors to replace RJAH Hospital’s legacy controller-based Wi-Fi network because only the Xirrus Wi-Fi Array’s distributed architecture is capable of providing the coverage, bandwidth, and RF control to support all the medical personnel and applications. The Xirrus high performance Wi-Fi network will provide patient information, prescription services, e-Mail, web browsing, and guest access today with the capability of supporting VoWi-Fi, RFID tracking, and Wireless CCTV in the near future.

RJAH Hospital is an NHS Hospital specializing in bone and joint disorders along with spinal disorders and metabolic disorders affecting muscular development. With a worldwide reputation for innovation and research, RJAH Hospital was voted Best Hospital by patients in the 2007 National Healthcare Commission Survey (United Kingdom) and had the highest score of all NHS Hospitals for Overall Rate of Care Received in the 2007 National Inpatient Survey (United Kingdom).

“At RJAH, we work hard to ensure our patients receive the absolute best care possible,” said Richard Jones, IT Systems Support Engineer at RJAH. “With all the medical advances pertaining to wireless applications and services, we found our existing 802.11b/g centralized controller architecture had several problems related to interference, coverage, and user capacity. We did not have control over the RF management and shaping – we wanted a visual representation of the area each Access Point was covering and what was going on within that RF environment.”

“We selected Xirrus Wi-Fi Arrays, along with their Management System, to give us the desired RF control and to drastically increase the amount of wireless bandwidth distributed among our staff,” continued Richard. “Unlike other vendors, Xirrus designed their products to include multiple radios with directional antennas, thereby increasing the RF range and shaping capabilities, making it far easier and more cost efficient to deploy, manage, and maintain a wireless network. With the Xirrus Wi-Fi Arrays, we will have the performance needed to roll out patient information and prescription drug services in order to operate more efficiently and improve medical services and patient care.”

“RJAH Hospital has been adding and tweaking their existing Wi-Fi network for some time, but with very little improvement to the overall service,” said Chris Allen, Regional Manager (UK) at Xirrus. “To cover the areas required, the Hospital would have needed to install countless more access points, cable runs, and workgroup switches. Deploying a Xirrus Wi-Fi network has given them access to an amount of Wi-Fi bandwidth previously unobtainable; allowing support for more users on both 802.11a and b/g, along with complete control of the users within the Wi-Fi network.”

“We are constantly coming across organizations with Wi-Fi networks that were deployed a few years ago as an overlay to the wired network—supported a small number of clients accessing online information wirelessly,” said David Kynaston, European Business Development Manager at Wireless LAN Source. “However, these same networks are brought to their knees today with the significant rise of both Wi-Fi applications and devices—from prescription drug services at the bedside to streaming video in patient rooms. Only Xirrus planned for the success of Wi-Fi by designing a system that operates like a cellular network with sectored directional antennas for greater coverage and built like a workgroup switch with distributed intelligence for greater throughout and security.”

Wireless LAN Source
Wireless LAN Source Ltd was founded in 2003 and is a specialist provider of wireless networking equipment and antennas. Since its inception, Wireless LAN Source has experienced year on year growth of 100% and has established itself as the leading provider of solutions and hardware in the wireless networking arena. For more information, please visit wlansource.co.uk.

Inside Interop Blog Gives Detail on Xirrus Arrays

I thought this was an awesome blog that Brian Chee posted about Xirrus. Funny thing was I posted something about Xirrus yesterday for being the Wi-Fi provider at Interop. I would like to share what Brian blogged about:

Back in the day, a network engineer commented that “…we sure had to run a lot of wire for wireless…” The gist being that we needed to put in a whole heck of a lot of wireless access points to support the loads found at a technology trade show. Now this is NOT to say that the InteropNET venue is by any means “normal”, because it isn’t. From the NOC we can typically see hundreds of access points with people stomping all over each other with their AP’s cranked up to full volume in a feeble attempt to drown out their neighbor. We also have one heck of a lot of territory to cover since our guests will find a quiet spot just about everywhere in the convention center. So our challenges for wireless are: (1) the need for LOTS of coverage, and (2) the need for intelligent coverage so that we don’t add to the “shouting match” between the hundreds of access points in the exhibit hall.

Our partners at Xirrus are back with their flying saucer WiFi arrays, hovering over the exhibit hall, and on tripods throughout the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. However, these flying saucers actually have up to sixteen radios in each saucer, with sectional antennas and patented signal guides to more intelligently direct the signal to where it’s needed instead of just blasting in a 360 degree circle. The end result for the InteropNET is a whole lot less wire run to support wireless and instead of a hundred or so access points, we’re talking about a dozen now.

These “sector” antennas are mounted along the rim of the saucer, each one covering a piece of the “pie” so to speak. With each radio being individually controllable, the Xirrus folks can “shape” the radio energy to better cover odd shaped areas. One of their favorite examples are schools and how they tend to have a high density of users in long narrow buildings.

These anonymous “heat maps” are actual measurements from various Xirrus customer schools….the funny thing is that warehouses also have heat maps that look like these but for a different reason. Your typical warehouse has long rows of metal shelves with stuff on them and the signal from traditional access points will bounce around like billiard balls causing all kinds of multipath interference. The Xirrus solution of shaping the RF energy patterns, greatly reduces multipathing allowing more throughput with less energy.

To get a better glimpse of the technology and Xirrus’ role in the InteropNET, I shot a little video of John Merrill at hotstage where he shows off the guts of an array.

Xirrus Will Be Wi-Fi Provider At Interop 2009

Wi-Fi company Xirrus will be the Wi-Fi provider at this year’s Interop in Las Vegas, NV. Xirrus has been the official Wi-Fi provider for Interop for the past few years, so this time it won’t be anything different. However, Xirrus will deliver the 802.11n network that we have been waiting for so long. With Interop coming up in three weeks, I’m looking forward to attending this event and to trying out the “n” network! Check out the press release of the news:

Xirrus, Inc., the Wi-Fi “Power-Play” that delivers the most wireless coverage, bandwidth, and throughput in the industry announced today that they have been selected to be the official wireless provider for Interop Las Vegas (May 17-21, 2009) and New York (November 16-20, 2009). Xirrus will deliver the 802.11n network for Interop attendees and exhibitors throughout the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas and the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. This is the fourth time Xirrus has been chosen as the InteropNet wireless provider due to the power and simplicity of our Wi-Fi Array platform.

“Over the past two decades, Interop has advanced the growth and evolution of the IT industry—this year is no different,” said Lenny Heymann, General Manager of Interop. “Thanks to Xirrus, we can continue to use the latest standards like 802.11n -based network—a network that will deliver vast amounts of bandwidth to thousands of concurrent users.”

The Xirrus Wi-Fi Array integrates 4, 8, 12, 16, or 24 802.11abg+n radios with an onboard Gigabit Switch, Wi-Fi Controller, Wi-Fi Firewall, dedicated Wi-Fi Threat Sensor, and Spectrum Analyzer into a single device. Xirrus’ solution delivers 4X the performance and coverage along with 75% less devices, cabling, switch ports, and installation time compared to traditional access points because unlike access points the Xirrus Wi-Fi Array utilizes segmented directional antennas to better utilize and manage the RF energy of the device.

“Providing the 802.11n Wi-Fi network for this prestigious gathering of IT experts is an honor and demonstrates the strength of our Wi-Fi architecture in challenging environments such as Interop,” said Dirk Gates, Founder and CEO of Xirrus. “Distributed Wi-Fi architectures, like the Xirrus Wi-Fi Array, are overtaking centralized architectures the same way Ethernet overtook ATM in the 1990’s. The distributed intelligence and simplicity of our Wi-Fi Array allows us to quickly deploy a network with significantly fewer devices and provide exhibitors and attendees with the highest performance possible for voice, video, and data.”

Interop runs May 17 through 21, 2009 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Xirrus will showcase its 802.11n products at booth #1331. More information is available at http://www.interop.com.

Prestigious Edgbaston Cricket Ground Replaces Wired Switches with Wi-Fi

Xirrus Wi-Fi Array Have Been Installed Throughout the Cricket Ground to Improve Media Connectivity During County and International Matches

 

Xirrus, Inc., the Wi-Fi “Power-Play” that delivers the most wireless coverage, bandwidth, and throughput in the industry announced today the deployment of their Wi-Fi Arrays at the prestigious Edgbaston Cricket Ground in the United Kingdom. The Wi-Fi Arrays were installed to replace wired workgroup switches in order to supply large amounts of bandwidth to the many journalists covering the cricket matches. Xirrus was selected because only their Wi-Fi Arrays are powerful enough to wirelessly deliver the same quality of service as a workgroup switch.

Established as a Test Cricket venue for over 100 years, and designed to meet the highest specifications, the Edgbaston Cricket Ground has a long and proud history as the finest indoor cricket facility in the United Kingdom. Situated at Edgbaston, the home of Warwickshire County Cricket, the centre boasts a range of facilities to meet cricket, community and corporate needs. It is the only International Test stadium within the West Midlands and in an average year, major matches staged at the ground attract up to 200,000 spectators.

“To better serve the media personnel covering cricket matches at Edgbaston, we chose to install a Wi-Fi network, allowing these major media companies to connect their PCs, MACs, and PDAs to the Internet to send large image files take with 30MP SLR cameras down to their London offices as well as for the BBC and Sky Sports commentators to keep up-to-date on team news and match reports,” said James McLaughlin, Commercial Director at Edgbaston. “We’ve had spotted coverage from traditional access points in the past, but with our new WAN link of dual 100MB fibers, we wanted a Wi-FI network that would compliment this speed and allow us to replace wired switches in the press boxes.”

“The traditional access points we tested could not supply enough bandwidth for 50 plus users seated in these small 80 feet by 20 feet press boxes,” continued James. “However, the Wi-Fi Array by Xirrus had no problem with the task—all our users connected immediately and stayed connected without any issues for the entire 5-day match. Thanks to the Xirrus solution, we had the coverage, user density, and bandwidth needed to permanently replace our temporary APs and the wired workgroup switches. Anyone looking for a simple, cost effective, and powerful solution must give Xirrus a call—there is nothing else like it on the market today.”

“Xirrus was selected because we provided a cost effective Wi-Fi network delivering the most bandwidth while using only a handful of devices to cover the entire cricket centre,” said Dave Kynaston, European Business Manager at Wireless LAN Source. “We are honored to have our products deployed at such legendary UK sporting facility.”

“Wireless LAN Source was tasked by Edgbaston to build a world-class Wi-Fi network that would give the press and staff access to wireless applications throughout the cricket grounds,” said Chris Allen, Regional Sales Manager (UK) at Xirrus. “Using our high performance Wi-Fi Arrays allows more users to connect with more bandwidth using fewer devices than traditional Wi-Fi products from other Vendors.”

Wireless LAN Source
Wireless LAN Source Ltd was founded in 2003 and is a specialist provider of wireless networking equipment and antennas. Since its inception, Wireless LAN Source has experienced year on year growth of 100% and has established itself as the leading provider of solutions and hardware in the wireless networking arena. For more information, please visit wlansource.co.uk.

Latest Xirrus News: Xirrus Adopts CWNA® Certification Program

Xirrus Furthers Technology Leadership with CWNP Certification of Technical Services Teams

 

Xirrus, Inc., the Wi-Fi “Power-Play” that delivers the most wireless coverage, bandwidth, and throughput in the industry announced today it has adopted the CWNA® (Certified Wireless Network Administrator) training program, offered by Atlanta-based CWNP (Certified Wireless Network Professional) for certification of all its application engineers and principal technologists. CWNP, creator of vendor-neutral enterprise Wi-Fi certifications, offers four levels of certification for enterprise Wi-Fi.

“As the only Wi-Fi device capable of replacing Ethernet workgroup switches, Xirrus continues to stay ahead of the competition by delivering both superior technology and expertise,” said Bruce Miller, Vice President of Product Marketing at Xirrus. “We believe adding the CWNP certification training will enhance the knowledgebase of our teams, increasing the strength of our free professional services offerings and the technological value delivered to our customers.”

“We believe knowledge is a key differentiator in deploying Wi-Fi successfully,” said Cary Chandler, President of CWNP. “With the complexities and varieties of products and the continually evolving standards within the Wi-Fi industry, ongoing training is critical. Our certification programs teach the technology behind all WLAN products, regardless of vendor product line.”

The CWNA curriculum covers topics from RF theory to 802.11n. The courses include hands-on training labs with the option of instructor-led, online or selfstudy.

About CWNP
CWNP is the de facto standard for enterprise Wi-Fi training and certification. CWNP is the only vendor neutral wireless LAN certification program in the industry, offering four levels of enterprise WLAN certification, from novice to expert. Our focus is to educate IT professionals in the technology behind all enterprise WLAN products, enabling the ability for these professionals to enter an enterprise and manage its wireless LAN infrastructure regardless of the vendor solution utilized. IT professionals in more than 120 countries have achieved CWNP certifications, specializing in how to make wireless LANs more cost-effective, reliable and secure. CWNP is a privately-held corporation based in Atlanta, GA. For more information about CWNP, visit http://www.cwnp.com.

Xirrus Press Contact
John Merrill
E-mail: john.merrill@xirrus.com
Phone: +1.805.262.1644

 

About Xirrus
Xirrus, the only Wi-Fi “Power-Play”, manufacturers the Wi-Fi Array® architecture that displaces both overlay Wi-Fi offerings and switched Ethernet to the desktop. The Wi-Fi Array integrates 4, 8, 12, 16, or 24 802.11abg+n radios coupled to a high-gain directional antenna system into a single device along with an onboard multi-gigabit switch, Wi-Fi controller, firewall, dedicated Wi-Fi threat sensor, and an embedded spectrum analyzer. The Wi-Fi Array provides more than enough bandwidth, security, and control to replace switched Ethernet to the desktop as the primary network connection. The Xirrus Wi-Fi Array delivers the most coverage, bandwidth, throughput, and user density on a per device and per system basis than anything else available on the market today – resulting in a solution that uses 75% fewer devices, cabling, switch ports, power, space, and installation time compared with any other offering.

Xirrus is a privately-held company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. For more information, please visit www.xirrus.com.

Xirrus – Switching: Without Wires™

Xirrus – High Performance Wi-Fi™

Xirrus – The Air is the Network™

Xirrus – Wi-Fi Array®

Chicago School Improves Network Performance For Students with Xirrus Wi-Fi Arrays

The Catherine Cook School Solves Performance Issues by Upgrading to Xirrus Wi-Fi Arrays

 

Xirrus, Inc., the Wi-Fi “Power-Play” that delivers the most wireless coverage, bandwidth, and throughput in the industry announced today the deployment of their Wi-Fi Arrays across The Catherine Cook School, located in Chicago, Illinois. The Catherine Cook School replaced their existing Access Point infrastructure with Xirrus Wi-Fi Arrays to gain better network performance for their one-to-one computer initiative and real-time learning applications used by students and teachers. The transition to the Xirrus Wi-Fi Arrays was quick, seamless, and provided the school with the necessary bandwidth for Wi-Fi to be their primary network connection.

“We have a one-to-one laptop program in place for our 4th-8th grade students, which requires reliable network access campus-wide to be successful,” said Bill Mierisch, Director of Technology at Catherine Cook School. “In addition to this group of 125 students, we also have two mobile laptop carts with 40 computers serving over 200 younger students, 10 wireless desktop computers stationed in classrooms, and an assortment of more than 100 laptops, Blackberrys®, iPhones®, and Windows® Mobile® smartphones used by our staff and parent volunteers.”

“We called in Xirrus to fix the emerging problems of our Cisco wireless implementation—things like maxed out controllers due to our increasing enrollment, network cost over-runs, and arcane skill sets required to manage the network,” continued Bill. “One particular application that was vital to our classroom success was DyKnow®, a classroom management and instructional software package operating over Port 80. With the Cisco’s products, we were getting persistent instabilities, which frustrated our teachers and students alike. We knew we had to find a solution that was sustainable over the long term, give us the ability to connect large masses of students in small spaces, and scale for future considerations.”

“Xirrus helped us expand our network capacity with both excellent products and great ideas,” continued Bill. “With over 90% of our clients able to use the 5Ghz band, our capacity for connections increased exponentially with Xirrus’ multi-radio Arrays. What’s more, during our roll-out, Xirrus helped us identify a problem that had lurked without our knowledge on a legacy server, which resulted in a dramatic drop-off in support calls relating to client connectivity.”

“Thanks to Xirrus, we no longer need an AP in every room,” added Bill. “In fact, for roughly the cost of what our Cisco upgrade alone would have set us back, we now have a network that works, is stable, and has the ‘headroom’ we need to support an increasing enrollment in our school. As for the Wi-Fi facelift, we were up and running in just hours, and did not need to pull any new wiring or add anything other than the Xirrus Arrays. In fact, we did not even announce to our users that we had made the switch. It happened seamlessly, with folks returning to school from Winter Break not even aware that anything had changed, expect for improved performance. As for DyKnow—we are getting far greater ROI thanks to the increased reliability and ability of the Wi-Fi Arrays to handle heavy traffic.”

“It is crucial to have confidence in your Wi-Fi network,” added Bill. “If teachers can’t rely on connectivity, they simply cannot – and will not – do the exciting, engaging, and rewarding teaching that such a program affords. We are more confident now thanks to Xirrus, and it is making a difference in what teachers are willing to do. That means more opportunities for our kids to learn, and for us, that’s the real measure of return-on-investment.”

“Like many organizations we are called in to help, The Catherine Cook School realized that traditional APs cannot handle the user capacity or bandwidth required to be the primary network connection,” said Eric Dean, Regional Manager at Xirrus. “The school quickly realized the need for a better medium and called us in to see what we could do. Working together, we developed a plan and successfully implemented a Wi-Fi system that will support their students and staff for years to come.”

Xirrus Press Contact
John Merrill
E-mail: john.merrill@xirrus.com
Phone: +1.805.262.1644

 

About Xirrus
Xirrus, the only Wi-Fi “Power-Play”, manufacturers the Wi-Fi Array® architecture that displaces both overlay Wi-Fi offerings and switched Ethernet to the desktop. The Wi-Fi Array integrates 4, 8, 12, 16, or 24 802.11abg+n radios coupled to a high-gain directional antenna system into a single device along with an onboard multi-gigabit switch, Wi-Fi controller, firewall, dedicated Wi-Fi threat sensor, and an embedded spectrum analyzer. The Wi-Fi Array provides more than enough bandwidth, security, and control to replace switched Ethernet to the desktop as the primary network connection. The Xirrus Wi-Fi Array delivers the most coverage, bandwidth, throughput, and user density on a per device and per system basis than anything else available on the market today – resulting in a solution that uses 75% fewer devices, cabling, switch ports, power, space, and installation time compared with any other offering.

Xirrus is a privately-held company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. For more information, please visit www.xirrus.com.

Xirrus – Switching: Without Wires™

Xirrus – High Performance Wi-Fi™

Xirrus – The Air is the Network™

Xirrus – Wi-Fi Array®

Emergency Responders Rely on Xirrus for Wi-Fi Communications

The County of San Bernardino Selects Xirrus® 802.11n Wi-Fi Arrays™ for Award Winning Disaster Response Mobile Connectivity Solution

 

Xirrus, Inc., the Wi-Fi “Power-Play” that delivers the most wireless coverage, bandwidth, and throughput in the industry announces the selection of their 802.11n Wi-Fi Arrays as part of the County of San Bernardino, Disaster Response Mobile Connectivity Solution. The County’s Information Services Department’s Core Solutions and Security Division (CSSD) chose the Xirrus Wi-Fi Array to quickly deliver and distribute voice, video, and data network access for County, Federal, and non-profit groups during disaster and recovery operations. The County recently won an award from the National Association of Counties for this Disaster Response Mobile Connectivity Solution.

“To increase our efficiency and effectiveness during emergencies, we require access to resources available on the County’s network and the Internet,” said Jake Cordova, Information Services Department, County of San Bernardino. “To provide immediate assistance to those who have been affected by a disaster, it is crucial to establish this capability quickly with the least amount of devices and power possible. Wi-Fi seemed like the perfect technology for our disaster solution, but deploying multiple APs at a command post was slow and created too many points of failure. We needed a reliable wireless appliance that could compliment our mobile and easy-to-deploy Disaster Recovery Solution consisting of 12 HP® 8510w laptops, a 20 unit Anthro® laptop cart, and a APC® 1500 UPS—that perfect Wi-Fi device was the Xirrus 8-radio Wi-Fi Array.”

“Adding the Xirrus 802.11n Array to our Disaster Recovery solution has allowed us to become more flexible and provide access to an even greater amount of clients—it covers a large area while providing stable and reliable network services to our clients,” added Jake.

“The Wildfires of 2007 was the first test of our Disaster Recovery Solution,” continued Jake. “The Xirrus Array provided the County’s departments, Federal, and non-profit agencies stationed at the Orange Show Fair Grounds with immediate network connectivity and communications from a network drop. Because the Xirrus Wi-Fi Arrays integrated multiple radios, we were able to customize the four radios for 5GHz and an additional four radios for 2.4GHz — reducing the interference across the b/g for the numerous agencies utilizing 2.4GHz, while continuing to provide ample network and Internet connectivity across 802.11a was extremely beneficial and provided us an efficient means to assist the residents of our county.”

“We are proud to be a part of emergency centers around the world—making it possible to quickly deploy reliable communications for the field—making their jobs a little easier,” said Charles Bettinelli, Regional Manager at Xirrus. “We are leaps ahead of the competition. Our Wi-Fi Arrays integrate up to 16 802.11abgn radios, a sectored directional antenna system, and the control into a single device, making it possible for organizations to blanket an area with high performance Wi-Fi connectivity for hundreds of users with a simple flip of a switch.”

Xirrus Press Contact
John Merrill
E-mail: john.merrill@xirrus.com
Phone: +1.805.262.1644

 

About Xirrus
Xirrus, the only Wi-Fi “Power-Play”, manufacturers the Wi-Fi Array® architecture that displaces both overlay Wi-Fi offerings and switched Ethernet to the desktop. The Wi-Fi Array integrates 4, 8, 12, 16, or 24 802.11abg+n radios coupled to a high-gain directional antenna system into a single device along with an onboard multi-gigabit switch, Wi-Fi controller, firewall, dedicated Wi-Fi threat sensor, and an embedded spectrum analyzer. The Wi-Fi Array provides more than enough bandwidth, security, and control to replace switched Ethernet to the desktop as the primary network connection. The Xirrus Wi-Fi Array delivers the most coverage, bandwidth, throughput, and user density on a per device and per system basis than anything else available on the market today – resulting in a solution that uses 75% fewer devices, cabling, switch ports, power, space, and installation time compared with any other offering.

Xirrus is a privately-held company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. For more information, please visit www.xirrus.com.

Xirrus – Switching: Without Wires™

Xirrus – High Performance Wi-Fi™

Xirrus – The Air is the Network™

Xirrus – Wi-Fi Array®

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust Selects Xirrus for Campus-wide Network

Xirrus® Wi-Fi Arrays™ to Improve Patient Care and Hospital Services at Award-Winning Hospital

 

Xirrus, Inc., the Wi-Fi “Power-Play” that delivers the most wireless coverage, bandwidth, and throughput in the industry announced today that Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust in Liverpool, one of Western Europe’s biggest and busiest children’s hospital, has selected Xirrus’ Wi-Fi Arrays to be deployed throughout the entire campus. Doctors, nurses, staff, students, patients, and guests will use Wi-Fi-enabled laptop and handheld computers to deliver a host of wireless applications, such as electronic prescribing, RFID tagging, and VoWi-Fi to improve patient care and overall efficiency of the hospital’s services.

“We had an immediate requirement to enable ubiquitous access to a range of applications throughout the hospital site,” said Dave Murphy, Assistant Director of Information and Communication Technology at Alder Hey. “To make this a reality, we required a Wi-Fi architecture that was quick and easy to deploy without major disruptions to our hospital’s existing network and services. Also, due to limited space, it was important that the solution did not require a great deal of IT closet space for switches and controllers. Xirrus very quickly convinced us that their solution was capable of fulfilling these requirements and more—delivering the user density, bandwidth, coverage, and reliability needed to support our physician and patient applications, and give us the ability to easily upgrade to 802.11n without undue disruption or drain on IT resources.”

Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest specialist children’s healthcare providers in Western Europe. It has a national and international reputation as a centre of excellence for children with cancer, heart, spinal and brain disease and is one of a small number of children’s hospitals in the UK providing a comprehensive range of services from those based in the community to supra-regional specialties for children and young people. It sees and treats more than 200,000 children each year and is England’s first paediatric health promoting hospital accredited by the World Health Organisation.

“We are very impressed with the Xirrus Wi-Fi architecture, especially when compared to the traditional centralized architectures we looked at,” continued Murphy. “The Xirrus Wi-Fi solution will require 194 cable drops to cover the entire campus, while a centralized system from other vendors would have required well over 1,000 cable drops, yet still not have delivered the bandwidth, user density, RF management and shaping, or full switch-level control for our voice, video, and data traffic. By selecting Xirrus, we reduced overall costs due to 800 less cable runs, 800 less switch ports, and 800 less devices to install, manage, and upgrade to 802.11n.”

“Alder Hey was looking for 100% pervasive Wi-Fi coverage across their campus, including the lobbies and outside areas,” said Mark Lowe, Sale Manager of Pinacl Solutions. “Having this ubiquitous coverage was key in allowing doctors and nurses to have full network access whether at the patient’s bedside, in wards, or in the waiting areas. With plans for RFID and voice over Wi-Fi on the horizon, having a high capacity, high bandwidth, scalable Wi-Fi infrastructure was critical to Alder Hey’s IT staff—only Xirrus is capable of providing a Wi-Fi network with the same quality user experience as a wired network.”

“Pinacl Solutions was assigned to find and build a world-class Wi-Fi network that would give Alder Hey wired-like performance for wireless applications like electronic prescribing,” said Chris Allen, Regional Manager at Xirrus. “Using the Xirrus Wi-Fi Arrays allowed Pinacl to deliver more with less—more bandwidth, coverage, and bandwidth with less devices, cables, and switch ports. No other Wi-Fi vendor comes close.”

Click here for more information on the deployment at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

About Alder Hey Children’s Hospital
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust is one of the biggest and busiest children’s hospitals in Europe seeing and treating more than 200,000 children each year and employing over 2,700 staff. It is the birthplace of modern pediatric anesthesia, neonatal surgery, and children’s cardiac surgery. The hospital is one of the few with a University Institute of Child Health and trains over 600 medical students along with hosting national postgraduate medical examinations (MRCPCH). There are 20 specialist services, which include bone marrow transplant, burns, cleft lip and palate, cancer, renal replacement and spinal injuries. The supra-regional services include cardiology and craniofacial surgery. For more information, please visit http://www.alderhey.com.

About Pinacl Solutions
As leaders in innovative communication solutions, Pinacl uses industry-leading products and services to design and implement bespoke solutions for voice, video, and data networks. Our strategic partnerships with key manufacturers such as Xirrus®, Cisco®, Polycom®, Tandberg®, Brand-Rex®, and Krone® ensure that we provide the optimum solution for our clients, utilizing strong technical knowledge, unrivalled sector presence, and an impressive scope of business critical services including consultancy, project management, infrastructure design and commission, application and platform support, maintenance, and enhanced managed services. For more information, please visit http://www.pinaclsolutions.com.

Xirrus Press Contact
John Merrill
E-mail: john.merrill@xirrus.com
Phone: +1.805.262.1644

 

About Xirrus
Xirrus, the only Wi-Fi “Power-Play”, manufacturers the Wi-Fi Array® architecture that displaces both overlay Wi-Fi offerings and switched Ethernet to the desktop. The Wi-Fi Array integrates 4, 8, 12, 16, or 24 802.11abg+n radios coupled to a high-gain directional antenna system into a single device along with an onboard multi-gigabit switch, Wi-Fi controller, firewall, dedicated Wi-Fi threat sensor, and an embedded spectrum analyzer. The Wi-Fi Array provides more than enough bandwidth, security, and control to replace switched Ethernet to the desktop as the primary network connection. The Xirrus Wi-Fi Array delivers the most coverage, bandwidth, throughput, and user density on a per device and per system basis than anything else available on the market today – resulting in a solution that uses 75% fewer devices, cabling, switch ports, power, space, and installation time compared with any other offering.

Xirrus is a privately-held company headquartered in Thousand Oaks, California. For more information, please visit www.xirrus.com.

Xirrus – Switching: Without Wires™

Xirrus – High Performance Wi-Fi™

Xirrus – The Air is the Network™

Xirrus – Wi-Fi Array®

Poudre School District Selects Xirrus to Cover All 50 Schools

School District Saves Money, Time, and Energy by Selecting Xirrus for Wi-Fi Network

 

Xirrus, Inc., the Wi-Fi “Power-Play” that delivers the most wireless coverage, bandwidth, and throughput in the industry announced today the deployment of their Wi-Fi Arrays across Poudre School District (PSD) in Fort Collins, Colorado servicing over 27,000 students, faculty, staff across 50 schools including 32 elementary schools, 10 junior high schools, and 6 high schools. The district-wide deployment is part of an overall learning initiative to use cost-effective, energy-saving technologies that will improve the collaboration and learning between students and teachers—to support and inspire every child to think, to learn, to care, and to graduate prepared to be successful in a changing world—with notebook computers and adaptive Braille Sense devices for the blind.

“There were many reasons we chose to deploy Xirrus, over all the other Wi-Fi vendors” said Victor Rosengren, Telecommunications Manager at PSD. “First, our biggest requirement in selecting our Wi-Fi network was density support—finding a Wi-Fi solution that would scale as we grow over time from mobile laptop labs to a laptop for every student. Second, budgets are always tight, so we needed a solution that would not cost an arm and a leg to install and manage. Xirrus offered us the perfect solution for our needs. By integrating multiple radios and the wireless switch into a single device, we were able to deploy these Wi-Fi Arrays quickly and more cost-effectively without the need of adding large numbers of cable runs and switch ports.”

“Third, we are well known for our energy efficient building projects and our sustainability management process, in fact, we have the first school in the nation to receive the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for schools Gold rating,” added Victor. By selecting Xirrus, which uses less switch ports, PoE boxes, and access points, we were able to extend our energy savings to our wireless network.”

“Xirrus is refreshingly different from most companies we’ve worked with,” added Victor. “These guys are dedicated to our success. They demonstrated why their solution is superior, conducted a real-world site survey, installed the network, and trained us on the system – all for no additional fee. And the clincher, they gave us a signal strength guarantee ensuring that we’d have the coverage we were promised.”

“Leading school districts like Poudre realize that Wi-Fi does not need to be complicated or expensive to be successful,” said Curtis Reid, Regional Manager at Xirrus. “Wireless networks should take fewer devices and cable runs than wired networks, not more. It’s been great working with Poudre to deploy this state-of-the-art Wi-Fi network that will enable them to better utilize their valuable resources as they continue to provide more educational services to their students and teachers. Find out for yourself why Xirrus is the most powerful Wi-Fi solution on the market today.”

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