Rangelan2
Encyclopedia
RangeLAN2 was a broad family of wireless devices developed by Proxim Wireless
, and is a trademark
of that company. It also refers to the RangeLAN2 wireless
communications protocol
, used by these devices, but the protocol was officially renamed OpenAir
. This protocol was in use prior to the adoption of the IEEE 802.11b
standard, and was in competition with it, and uses approximately the same portion of the radio spectrum
. When 802.11b was adopted as a standard, the RangeLAN2 market began to contract.
market, but drivers for some RangeLAN2 products (such as PCMCIA cards) for Mac OS 9
were developed, although
these did not get wide distribution. Linux
drivers were also developed for many RangeLAN2 devices.
Typical RangeLAN2 figures:
Proxim Wireless
Proxim Wireless Corporation , is a San Jose, California-based company that builds scalable broadband wireless networking systems for communities, enterprises, governments, and service providers. It claims to offer WLAN, mesh, point-to-multipoint and point-to-point products through a global channel...
, and is a trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
of that company. It also refers to the RangeLAN2 wireless
Wireless
Wireless telecommunications is the transfer of information between two or more points that are not physically connected. Distances can be short, such as a few meters for television remote control, or as far as thousands or even millions of kilometers for deep-space radio communications...
communications protocol
Communications protocol
A communications protocol is a system of digital message formats and rules for exchanging those messages in or between computing systems and in telecommunications...
, used by these devices, but the protocol was officially renamed OpenAir
OpenAir (communications standard)
OpenAir was an early wireless standard promoted by the Wireless LAN Interoperability Forum implemented predominantly by Proxim Wireless devices. It operates in the 2.4GHz band and uses frequency hopping with 0.8 and 1.6 Mb/s bit rates via 2 or 4 frequency-shift keying modulation....
. This protocol was in use prior to the adoption of the IEEE 802.11b
IEEE 802.11b-1999
IEEE 802.11b-1999 or 802.11b, is an amendment to the IEEE 802.11 specification that extended throughput up to 11 Mbit/s using the same 2.4 GHz band. This specification under the marketing name of Wi-Fi has been implemented all over the world...
standard, and was in competition with it, and uses approximately the same portion of the radio spectrum
Radio spectrum
Radio spectrum refers to the part of the electromagnetic spectrum corresponding to radio frequencies – that is, frequencies lower than around 300 GHz ....
. When 802.11b was adopted as a standard, the RangeLAN2 market began to contract.
Performance
RangeLAN2 devices have typical bandwidths of about 2 Mbit/s, and an indoor range of about 150 ft (46 m), similar to 802.11b. RangeLAN2 uses spread-spectrum radio transmission technology. These devices can interoperate with 802.11b and can still be used today. Support for RangeLAN2 products was aimed primarily at the Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
market, but drivers for some RangeLAN2 products (such as PCMCIA cards) for Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as...
were developed, although
these did not get wide distribution. Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
drivers were also developed for many RangeLAN2 devices.
Typical RangeLAN2 figures:
- Radio Data Rate: 1.6 Mbit/s per channel, 800 kbit/s fallback rate
- Channels: Supports 15 independent, non-interfering "virtual channels"
- Official Indoor Range: Up to 500 feet (~150 m) radius (not necessarily reached in practice)
- Official Outdoor range: 1,000+ feet (300+ m) radius