Cisco’s RFID push includes an Application Oriented Network for RFID, Cisco RFID services and a wireless location service. The company also will offer supporting RFID-related products from partners Intermec Technologies, ConnecTerra, ThingMagic and PanGo Networks.
Central to Cisco’s so-called RFID Solution, which is built on open standards, is the extension of Cisco AON to include embedded RFID middleware functions into the network – onto Cisco data center switches and branch office routers.
The RFID-enabled Cisco AON modules can be installed on or at the edge of an enterprise’s network, for RFID event capture and filtering, and in the data center for data authentication, additional filtering and aggregation, and application protocol bridging.
AON modules also can do outbound encryption, digital signature and content-based routing when sharing data with partners outside the enterprise.
The company’s RFID services include an RFID network readiness assessment, pilot service offering and production implementation support.
The Cisco wireless location service is based on the Cisco 2700 wireless location appliance, which uses RF fingerprinting to track up to 1,500 WiFi-enabled active RFID tags from within the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN infrastructure. The device launched in June and costs $14,995 in the US.
The Cisco AON for RFID Solution will cost $16,250 and is slated to ship in the US, Europe, the Middle East and Africa in October. Asia and Japan will see delivery in the second half of next year.
