Devicescape to use Wi-Fi Alliance Simple Config technology

Devicescape Software, a company that designs embedded software for wireless connectivity, will make a series of announcements this week aimed at extending WLAN capabilities for both business and home users.

Licensing an as yet unannounced technology from the Wi-Fi Alliance dubbed by the Alliance Easy Config, Devicescape will introduce its version called Easy Access.

Easy Access, like Simple Config, will authenticate and secure devices onto the network with minimal user intervention.

The technology is aimed at addressing the connectivity challenges around the small but growing number of Wi-Fi enabled hardware devices.

Devices now include office projectors, printers, and VoIP phones. There are also numerous Wi-Fi enabled consumer electronics products such as video and still cameras, televisions, and MP3 players.

Rather than presenting a user with arcane menu choices such as how many bits the encryption scheme uses, Easy Access-enabled devices, which will include both access points and client devices, will use a standardized discovery and registration protocol. After a device is accepted, the device and the AP will use a shared security key. 

A network administrator or home user will be able either to input a PIN number or push a single access button on an AP to allow the device to enter the network.

With connectivity issues overcome, ISVs will create for these so-called "service-enabled" devices numerous Web service applications, said David Fraser, CEO at Devicescape.

Devicescape also announced a deal with LVL7 to use its technology in the design of a converged access point. The AP can be used either as a switch-controlled device or as a stand-alone AP if the switch fails.

"This gives WLAN switching capability to a broader array of [smaller] OEMs who can now compete with the likes of Cisco," Fraser said.

Fraser also said that in recognition of all the help the company has received from the open source community, Devicescape will release its Advanced Datapath Driver for Linux 2.6 kernel.

The technology that handles all the communications between a device and an access point will make it easier for those using the Linux platform to adopt the latest Wi-Fi adapters. In the past, every time a company came out with a new adapter it was usually made available for Windows but not Linux, Fraser said.

The technology is expected to speed the creation of voice over IP products on the Linux platform.

"Our hope is it would be adopted by the core of Linux. The goal is to inspire Wi-Fi proliferation. It is being worked up and will be in 2.6 on an experimental branch and in the next several months will move to a product branch," Fraser said.