Musenki Solutions was founded to bring Linux into the 802.11 market, according to Jim Thompson and Kem McClelland, the company’s co-founders. They were attracted to the open-source software, like others before them, because it is smaller, cheaper and more flexible than other options.

Built on Open Source Linux 2.4 code base, Musenki’s access point solutions will support one or more WLAN standards, including 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g and Bluetooth. In addition, Musenki supports a number of backhaul technologies, including broadband, dialup, and wireless, for ease of configuration and deployment. Wireless by-pass, wireless bridges and wireless VoIP phones are all possibilities with Musenki’s Motorola MPC8245/MPC8241 PowerPC-based design. 

Instead of all or most of the WLAN management and control functionality being based in the PC to which the AP is connected, Muskenki’s solutions shift the burden to the AP, according to Mr. Thompson. Taking the PC out of the equation not only increases efficiency but also reduces the total cost of ownership, he added.

The Musenki M-1 solution is a single-slot design with a miniPCI card slot, using the 200 MHz MPC8241 processor. The Musenki M-3 solution is a three-slot design, with one PCI and two miniPCI slots, running the 266 MHz MPC8245 processor.

• Support a variety of network protocols
• Provide a security solution based on smart card technology that incorporates OpenWEP, which replaces WEP with an IPSEC implementation at Layer 2, and 802.1x authentication, L2TP, and supports external AAA protocols including RADIUS and DIAMETER
• Offer multiple wired and wireless connectivity options
• Provide 32 MB memory, which is expandable to 128 MB

For more information: http://www.musenki.com