3Com® Wireless LAN Building-to-Building Bridge
Powerful Yet Economical Campus Network Connections

Important: The Building-to-Building Bridge solution requires an antenna cable. For maximum efficiency, you should use the shortest antenna cable possible between the bridge and the antenna. Antenna cables induce signal loss, which will limit the radiated power output as well as the range of the bridging link. Although 3Com has several cable options available, we recommend the 3Com 6-Foot Antenna Cable Product (Model: 3CWE480).

Caution: Local regulations outside of the United States may limit the authorized radiated power output of the 3Com Building-to-Building Bridge Solution. These regulations limit the range for the bridging links and increase sensitivity to the existing radio environment. The maximum range expected outside of the United States is approximately 1 mile (1.6 km).

Extend your company's campus network economically, without leasing expensive dedicated lines or laying cable. The 3Com® Wireless LAN Building-to-Building Bridge lets you replace costly, lower-bandwidth T1 lines and cable connections with high-bandwidth wireless building-to-building links. You can connect cross-campus buildings, or portable or temporary classrooms, at distances up to 16.9 kilometers (10 miles), depending on the antenna selected and other factors. The wireless Ethernet bridge lets you start with point-to-point topologies, then advance to point-to-multipoint as growth and applications demand—all with a simple antenna change.

3Com Wireless LAN Building-to-Building Bridge will interoperate with any Wi-Fi-compatible access point. With this built-in flexibility, the bridge fits easily into large multibuilding, multivendor environments.

Features & Benefits

• 11 Mbps IEEE 802.11b-standard wireless Ethernet performance delivers three to four times the bandwidth of T1 links (throughput can vary depending on network traffic load, distance between bridges, and type of antenna used)
• Data transmission ranges to distances up to 16.9 kilometers (10 miles), depending on the antenna selected (longest distance requires two 3Com Wireless LAN Building-to-Building bridges)
• Multiple antenna options ensure the optimal signal strength for your environment
• 3Com wireless bridges are competitively priced and economical to operate, without the recurring costs of T1 or cable equipment
• Point-to-point or multipoint (one-to-one or one-to-many) topology support provides maximum flexibility when configuring building-to-building networks
• 3Com wireless LAN building-to-building bridge is the first bridge that can work with any other Wi-Fi certified access points in large multivendor environments
• 802.3af-standard Power over Ethernet reduces power cable installation expenses and increases location options by using a single Ethernet cable to supply both data and power to the unit
• Dynamic rate feature helps keep network connections continuously available by picking up the connection speed best adapted to the wireless radio environment
• 40-bit and 128-bit WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) encryption and 128 Dynamic Security Link encryption protect network data and wireless transmissions from security breaches; VPN pass-through provides additional security
• Simple-to-use, web-based management lets administrators choose between managing all bridges locally from any point on the subnet, or remotely via the Internet
• Convenient locally and remotely upgradeable firmware reduces IT workload and helps lower the cost of ownership
• When the bridge is used with 3Com® SuperStack® 3 Switch 4400 switches, administrators can set up traffic prioritization parameters to optimize data flow between buildings
• Networking protocols, such as NetBui, IPX, and TCP/IP, can be filtered out for higher performance
• Optional cables give you more flexibility in access point installation locations

Additional Information

     3Com® Wireless LAN Building-to-Building Bridge Data Sheet (PDF 121KB)