Instant802 Networks Inc. (San Francisco, CA) has announced the release of OpenAP, an open source Linux distribution for 802.11 access points. OpenAP is said to be a complete set of open-source software needed to produce a fully 802.11b compliant Linux-based wireless access point. The OpenAP website points out that “one cool feature of OpenAP access points is their ability to do multipoint-to-multipoint wireless bridging, while simultaneously serving 802.11b stations.” According to the OpenAP website, nearly all the software is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL).

Instant802 CEO Eduardo deCastro contends that “the release of this open-source software dramatically raises the quality bar for software shipped in 802.11 access points while opening the floodgates for community development of wireless networking.”

“The OpenAP release is actually just a side product for Instant802,” says deCastro. “Our company's real focus is to develop commercial 802.11 software,” he adds. Accordingly, the company's first two products are: an 802.11 software solution (including a custom Embedded Linux implementation) called “Phantom 802.11 Access Point Software”, which targets the 802.11 access point reference designs of chipset manufacturers; and a high-end software solution (under development), intended to run on large rack-mount servers in enterprise-level environments requiring 802.11 connectivity.

Why Linux? “Given the choices in the market, Linux and VxWorks are the only operating systems that can realistically deliver the needed functionality”, reads the company's Phantom 802.11 product brochure. “Linux is cheaper and has a much larger developer community. With Linux, you can rapidly develop a product line — take a DHCP server, a NAT firewall, a web server, a router — and roll them all into the distro!”

deCastro says his company's unique strength involves the combination of specialized expertise across multiple technical fields including low-level data networking, security, radio, embedded systems, and enterprise systems integration, which are required to make full use of 802.11's capabilities.

Instant802 changed its name to Devicescape in February, 2005

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