Airespace

Airespace was founded in 2001 by Pat Calhoun, Bob Friday, Bob O'Hara, and Ajay Mishra. The company was initially known as Black Storm Networks and was venture backed by Storm Ventures, Norwest Venture Partners, Fidelity Investments, and Battery Ventures. Its business developed around enterprise wireless LAN infrastructure at a time when organizations were moving beyond isolated wireless access points toward centrally managed networks. The company manufactured wireless access points and controllers and promoted an AP-Controller architecture intended to make enterprise deployments faster and easier to administer. In this model, access points could work with centralized controllers that handled network-wide functions rather than requiring every access point to be managed independently. Airespace also developed the Lightweight Access Point Protocol, an early protocol associated with the evolution of lightweight wireless access-point systems and the later CAPWAP standardization effort. The company was also an early provider of integrated wireless location-tracking capabilities. Airespace used both direct positioning and OEM partnerships to build its business. In 2003, it agreed to provide equipment to NEC. In 2004, it signed agreements to supply equipment to Alcatel and Nortel. These arrangements placed Airespace technology inside broader networking and telecommunications offerings. The company grew rapidly in the enterprise Wi-Fi market and was described in the available company history as reaching market-leader status within roughly a year and a half. The supplied references do not provide enough information to document exact sales, revenue, employee counts, or market-share percentages. Cisco Systems acquired Airespace in 2005 for a reported $450 million. The acquisition was described as one of Cisco's thirteen acquisitions during that year and as its largest acquisition up to that point. After completion, Airespace's products and technology were folded into Cisco's wireless networking business, with the products merged into the Cisco Aironet line. Airespace consequently stopped operating as an independent company. Its legacy is primarily technological: centralized wireless LAN control, lightweight access-point deployment, wireless location capabilities, and an early protocol contribution to the managed enterprise Wi-Fi ecosystem.

• 2005

  Acquired by Cisco Systems

  [1]Airespaceen.wikipedia.org

  Cisco Systems acquires Airespace for a reported $450 million and integrates its products into the Cisco Aironet wireless networking line.

• 2004

  OEM agreements with Alcatel and Nortel

  [1]Airespaceen.wikipedia.org

  The company signs agreements to supply equipment to Alcatel and Nortel, expanding its technology partnerships in networking and telecommunications.

• 2003

  OEM agreement with NEC

  [1]Airespaceen.wikipedia.org

  Airespace enters an agreement to provide wireless networking equipment to NEC on an OEM basis.

• 2001

  Airespace is founded

  [1]Airespaceen.wikipedia.org

  Airespace is founded in the United States by Pat Calhoun, Bob Friday, Bob O'Hara, and Ajay Mishra. The company had previously been known as Black Storm Networks.

Enterprise wireless LAN infrastructure centered on centralized control, rapid access-point deployment, managed wireless operations, and integrated location capabilities.

• Enterprise wireless networking equipment

  Wireless access points

  Airespace manufactured wireless access points for enterprise local-area networks. Its access-point approach emphasized centralized operation with wireless LAN controllers, allowing organizations to deploy and administer multiple radio endpoints as part of a coordinated infrastructure. The product family was later absorbed into Cisco's wireless networking portfolio.

• Enterprise network infrastructure

  Wireless LAN controllers

  Wireless LAN controllers were central to Airespace's business model. They provided a point of centralized control for associated access points and supported the configuration and operation of enterprise wireless networks. This controller-based architecture addressed the management demands of larger deployments and became part of the technology base integrated into Cisco Aironet.

• Wireless network architecture

  AP-Controller model

  The AP-Controller model combined lightweight wireless access points with centralized control. Airespace developed the model to support rapid deployment and unified administration of enterprise Wi-Fi environments. It represented a shift away from treating each access point as a fully independent device and helped define the managed WLAN architecture later used broadly in enterprise networking.

• Wireless networking protocol

  Lightweight Access Point Protocol

  The Lightweight Access Point Protocol was developed by Airespace to support communication between lightweight access points and centralized controllers. It was an early contribution to the protocol model that preceded the CAPWAP protocol, which was later standardized for control and provisioning of wireless access points.

• Wireless location technology

  Integrated location tracking

  Airespace was an early provider of integrated location-tracking capabilities within enterprise wireless infrastructure. The feature used the wireless network as a platform for identifying or locating devices and assets, expanding WLAN systems beyond connectivity and basic access control into operational visibility and location-aware applications.

• 2005

  Cisco Systems acquires AirespaceM&A

  Background

  Airespace had established a position in enterprise wireless LAN infrastructure through centralized controllers, lightweight access points, protocol development, and OEM relationships. Cisco pursued the acquisition as part of its expansion in wireless networking.

  Action taken

  Cisco Systems acquired Airespace for a reported $450 million. The transaction was completed in 2005, after which Airespace's technology and products were incorporated into Cisco's networking operations and Aironet product line.

  Aftermath

  Airespace ceased to operate as an independent company. Its products and technical capabilities continued within Cisco's wireless networking portfolio rather than as a standalone Airespace brand.

  Acquisition price. $450 million (2005 acquisition)

  Source

1. 1Airespaceen.wikipedia.org