Meru Networks has introduced a wireless LAN solution optimized for delivering high-quality video over 802.11n networks. Specifically, the company introduced a Video Services Module (ViSM) designed to address video-delivery issues specific to 802.11n networks, which are susceptible to unpredictable loss rates that can negatively impact video quality. The module applies application-aware optimization techniques to web streaming and real-time multicast video, the underlying technologies that enable a broad array of video applications, from wireless projection, IPTV and event simulcast to videoconferencing, telepresence and video surveillance.
The Meru Video Services Module uses several mechanisms to deliver video traffic based on application and user characteristics, allowing scaling to large numbers of concurrent video sessions without appreciably degrading user experience.
- Application-aware prioritization: synchronizes the voice and video components of a video stream, adapting the delivery of each frame based on its importance to the application. Higher-priority MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 marked frames are transmitted with greater assurance of reliability and timeliness.
- User- and role-based policy enforcement: provides granular control over application behavior (e.g., a teacher can be assigned higher priority than a student).
- Seamless video-optimized handoff: proactively reroutes the multicast delivery tree to prevent lost video frames during a transition between access points, and ensures zero-loss for mobile video.
- Multicast group management: optimizes delivery to only those virtual ports whose clients are members of the multicast group, reducing network waste both wirelessly and on the wired network.
- Graphical visualization: reveals which clients are running which applications (data, voice, video) to aid in monitoring network-wide application performance.
The Meru Video Services Module is available in June as an add-on module to Meru's System Director software. For a network with 100 wireless access points, the module is priced at $7,995.
http://www.merunetworks.com
