EWeek reports that Cisco is about to introduce new products that will enable roaming between access points: The capability is key to rolling out voice services on WLANs. The products will work in conjunction with Cisco's Catalyst 6500 switches. One apparent downside to the Cisco setup is that it won't support roaming between APs that are connected to different switches. Also, packets will travel from the client to the AP then through to potentially multiple switches before reaching their destination, which could be a client attached to the same AP.
Most WLAN switch vendors and security gateway developers already support roaming across networks and even across subnets. But Cisco always has a leg up on startups because of its installed base.
Cisco is hosting a Webcast for journalists tomorrow during which executives may detail more about the new platform. EWeek wasn't expecting an announcement from Cisco until Networld+Interop next week, however.