| meijin 2003-06-18, 2:41 pm |
| Thought some would have an interest in this:
Radionet releases WLAN access point software as open source code
16/06/2003 Editor: Leigh Phillips
Finnish WLAN network provider Radionet has announced the Linux-based Radionet Open Source Environment ("Rose"). Available as open source, Rose provides systems integrators, equipment manufacturers as well as private users with all the software required to build IEEE 802.11 standard based WLAN access points. To support the technology, Radionet has also launched the Rose online developer community.
Rose is an open source implementation of the software Radionet has used in building city-wide WLAN Hotzones in Finland. The package includes a collection of open source software as well as Radionet's own technology. Based on customised Linux, Rose offers a comprehensive software environment and it is available free of charge under a GNU General Public Licence (GPL).
Rose is targeted at WLAN equipment manufacturers and systems integrators as well as private users. For the former, Rose reduces time to market and cuts development costs by providing an easy-to-use and open platform for developing WLAN solutions. The software can be customised
with different graphical user interfaces or authentication solutions for example, and extended by additional Radionet feature packages, which are available under commercial licences.
Suited also for consumer needs, ROSE allows users to turn any computer with a standard IEEE 802.11 WLAN card into a wireless access point. Users can, for example, easily set up a WLAN network at home by just running the software on a laptop. The software has low system requirements allowing users to turn even handheld devices and otherwise outdated computers into WLAN access points.
"The WLAN market is in a state of continuous development and new features are constantly introduced and standardised. We believe that WLAN access point manufacturers cannot really compete with standard features such as RADIUS or 802.1x. Competitive advantages must be found elsewhere. ROSE combines all these standard features into a comprehensive and highly customizable open source platform", says Miska Kaipiainen, Director, Business Development, Radionet. |