HP ProCurve adds in 802.11n wireless

HP ProCurve has launched an 802.11n Wi-Fi access point and has revitalised its wireless LAN range with products acquired through the recent purchase of Colubris Networks.

The ProCurve MSM410, announced on Monday, is a single-radio 802.11n access point designed for use in such places as hotels and hospitals. It will cost $649 (£421), HP ProCurve said in a statement. The product is based on technology from Colubris, whose acquistion was announced in August.

In addition, HP ProCurve has revitalised its whole WLAN range, which previously relied on technology from outside providers, with switches and other access points from Colubris. The Colubris range also adds 802.11n capabilities, which were lacking in the HP line.

Colubris's network products were well-established in hotels and other hotspot providers, but the company had not got into the enterprise market. HP ProCurve has done well in enterprise networking, but has been hampered by its WLAN product range, which was based on older technology licensed from Symbol Technologies.

By shifting to wireless technology that it owns, HP ProCurve promises to let customers handle their wired and wireless networks through the same management console. It is updating ProCurve Manager to handle the Colubris products — discovering, mapping and managing them.

HP ProCurve has extended its normal lifetime warranty to the Colubris kit. The new 802.11n access point and the Colubris range will go on sale through HP in January.

The Colubris acquisition was the work of Marius Haas, senior vice president in charge of HP ProCurve, and was the division's first purchase. "The rapid integration of two product lines was achieved in less than 45 days and illustrates the power of an open-standards strategy and our dedication to delivering the secure, scalable and unified wireless networks that customers demand," Haas said in Monday's statement.