Vivato produces a line of Wi-Fi switching equipment that provides 802.11b/g connectivity to individual users of a WLAN. The Vivato base stations are provided in both indoor and outdoor flavors, facilitating deployments in offices, campuses, and building-to-building metropolitan environments.

Vivato base stations utilize a phased-array panel antenna design (90 degrees of horizontal visibility) utilizing the vendor's proprietary PacketSteering technology. PacketSteering allows the devices to direct narrowly focused beams of connectivity directly to the intended client (as opposed to a more uniform broadcast spread of traffic) on a packet-by-packet basis; a technology that, according to the vendor, allows the devices to support greater distances per device.

Vivato provides both base stations, which are used to facilitate client connectivity; and bridge/routers, with dual-radio architectures that allow them to be used both as backhaul providers/receivers as well as client connection points. In obstructed scenarios, bridge/routers can be used to re-direct Base Station traffic to "shadow" areas.

Vivato base stations and bridge routers can be managed via multiple methods, including remotely via Web connections (via the vendor's VivatoVision Web interface), SSH, SNMP, and locally via serial console ports. Security features include support for WEP, 802.1x, Inter-Client Communication Filtering (ICCF), VLANs, rouge AP Detection, and built-in hardware support (AES) for 802.11i.

Devices in the Vivato product line as of this writing include:

- VP1200/1210: Indoor and Outdoor base stations offering 802.11b connectivity for up to 100 simultaneous users. Each station sports both dual 10/100 BaseT ports as well as dual Gigabit (GBIC) ports. Operational range for indoor office environments ranges from 820 (1 Mbps) to 410 (11 Mbps) meters, while the outdoor range is 7.2 (1 Mbps) to 4.2 (11 Mbps) kilometers.

- VP2200/2210: Indoor and outdoor 802.11b/g units, with throughput rates of up to 54Mbps for up to 50 siultaneously connected users. Includes dual 10/100 BaseT interfaces for the wired LAN. Indoor range (office environments) is listed at 205 (6Mbps) to 35 (54Mbps) meters, while outdoor range is 7,126 (1Mbps) to 642 (54Mbps) meters.

- VA2200/2210 WiFi/AP Bridge: Indoor and outdoor dual 802.11b radio device can operate in single mode, where one radio receives/transmits a backhaul signal (via the vendor's Wireless Distribution System technology, or WDS) to a Vivato Base Station and the other provides access point connectivity to clients; or dual mode, where both radios execute in AP and WDS mode simultaneously. Up to 100 simultaneous users are supported. In an open environment, the bridge boasts a range of 300-450 meters (11 Mbps), while an office environment range is 45-60 meters (11Mbps).

- VA4200: The newest entry in the Vivato line is a tri-mode (a/b/g) WiFi bridge/access point for indoor use. With support for up to 100 simultaneous users, the dual radio deisng of the bridge allows for one radio to be configured in 802.11a and the other in 802.11b/g mode simultaneously to serve both types of clients or operate as an out of band bridge (with WiFi access served in the 2.4 GHz band and backhaul services delivered in the 5.8 GHz band). In an open environment, the operating range of the unit scales from 35 (54 Mbps) to 255 (1 Mbps) meters in the 2.4GHz band and 25 (54 Mbps) to 185 (6 Mbps) meters in the 5.8 GHz band.

The Vivato product line is now available; the new VA4200 is priced at $695. Visit the Vivato Web site for further information.