D-Link first to unveil all-in-one wireless, wired smart switch

D-Link, the end-to-end solutions provider for consumers and business, today introduced the market's first wireless smart switch for growing businesses looking for a cost-effective solution for network infrastructure, with the added benefit of centralised access point (AP) management.

D-Link's DES-1228P, a high-performance, all-purpose 24-Port, 10/100 smart switch with Power Over Ethernet (POE) and a friendly Web-based graphical user interface (GUI), is a member of the D-Link Web Smart family.

Existing DES-1228P customers will be able to add the wireless management functionality free of charge via a firmware upgrade.

The DES-1228P, ideally designed for businesses with up to 200 employees, features centralised AP management for easy deployment, configuration, replacement and monitoring of multiple APs. With WEP, WPA and WPA2 security built in, the DES-1228P switch offers configuration templates for easy set-up and quick discovery of APs, an AP mapping utility, full-time AP status controls and the ability to maintain all AP traffic history and generate reports with statistical diagrams.

Another popular feature is AP load balancing, which automatically disperses traffic equally among multiple APs.

"We're pleased to be the first company to introduce centralised AP management to the smart switch market and to offer our existing customers the ability to upgrade their switch to support the new wireless functionality at no additional cost," said Tobie van Schalkwyk, country manager for D-Link in South Africa.

"Unified wireless switching belongs in both SMB and corporate environments. Our DES-1228P offers growing businesses an easy way to configure a unified solution for today's diverse network environments at a price even a small business can afford."

The DES-1228P takes only minutes to configure using a built-in browser-based management interface. With full-colour graphic pictures, diagrams and easy to understand navigation menus, configuring the customised features is nearly as simple as surfing the Internet.

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In addition to the wireless features, the DES-1228P offers all the functionality of a smart wired switch, such as virtual local area network segmentation, quality of service, prioritisation and denial of service (DOS) prevention.

It also includes a wide array of plug-and-play functions, like 10/100Mbs auto-negotiation, Universal UTP cable recognition, full/half duplex support, and IEEE standards support. The switch boasts 15.4 watts of POE power per port to easily support devices such as phones, Internet cameras and access points. The DES-1228P helps reduce additional costs often associated with delivering electrical power to remote or difficult-to-reach locations.

Other Key Features/Benefits:

* 802.11b/g compliance - 802.11g provides up to 54Mbps* speeds and is compatible with the majority of wireless network clients on the market.
* Support for 24 Access Points (APs) - the more APs, the more area can be covered. With 24 APs, a good size office space could be equipped with ample wireless coverage.
* D-Link Safeguard Engine - provides advanced mechanisms to detect an attack against the central processing unit of the switch and takes corrective action on the attacking interface. In the face of a DOS attack, it detects the threat and prevents overload of the central processor, thus ensuring network integrity and helping to maintain open network bandwidth channels.
* 802.1D Spanning Tree - provides protection from unintentional cable loops forming within a network infrastructure. Loops are dangerous because they create an unending circle that can result in a storm of traffic that overwhelms the network and brings traffic to a crawl.
* Port Trunking - supports static port trunking of up to six groups of eight ports per device. Ports can be combined together to create multi-link load-sharing aggregated trunks to a server or a network backbone. To expand the network, the switch uses link aggregation to eliminate bottlenecks between cascading switches.
* 802.1Q VLANs - provides support for improved security and bandwidth utilisation. VLANs work by segmenting broadcast domains, thus reducing network congestion due to constant network broadcasting.
* SNMP Management - is a useful tool for managing and controlling SNMP-supported devices and giving users instant status, saving time and money. * 802.1p Priority Tagging - in 802.1p a port can receive frames with varying priority tags and classify them based on these tags. VOIP phones that support 802.1p can assign priorities to VOIP, ensuring clear, jitter-free communication.
* IGMP Snooping - forwards multicast packets such as streaming audio and video without increasing network broadcast congestion. * 802.1x Authentication - provides a secure means to allow users to log on to the network.

Price and availability:

The DES-1228P is available through Comztek, Mustek and Pinnacle Micro at a suggested retail price of R7 200.

The unit has a limited lifetime warranty and 24/7 technical support, including firmware updates.