Apr 19, 2005This article was originally published by RFID Update.
April 19, 2005—Sun Microsystems announced yesterday the release of Sun Java System RFID Software 2.0, an upgrade to the company's 1.0 version released last July. Yesterday's release includes two major improvements: GEN 2 support and centralized device management. The GEN 2 support ensures that companies purchasing the solution today will not have to worry about upgrading it when they invest in GEN 2 tags and readers later this year or next. Centralized device management, Sun's director of RFID product management Sam Liu told RFID Update, "provides a web-based interface to an enterprise's distributed network of devices from which a customer can not only monitor what's going on, but be notified in realtime of important business events." Configuring the devices, such as powering them on or off and activating or deactivating them, can all be done over the web.
Liu sees RFID readers evolving from being relatively "dumb" today to eventually having much more data processing capability. By pushing that processing further out to the edge of the enterprise, he said, "it simplifies the RFID software architecture and reduces network congestion." Consistent with that vision, Liu noted that Sun has developed their RFID middleware with a highly modular design, such that components of the technology can be embedded on RFID readers. He expects that Sun will eventually partner with RFID reader companies, licensing them certain functionality of the Java System RFID Software.
When asked about differences he sees between Sun RFID clients now and a year ago, Liu pointed to the expanding uses of RFID. Whereas last year Sun clients were preoccupied with meeting mandates, this year many are considering all sorts of applications for the technology. "RFID has broadened beyond mandates," said Liu. "Our applications are being used in security, access control, and asset tracking."
The press release is available on Sun's site
