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Championing Enterprise Wi-Fi, Aruba Intros New Wireless SlateBy Pedro HernandezApril 21, 2008
As Interop draws closer, Aruba Networks is backing up its "All Wireless Office" vision with a slate of new offerings. The company will be showing off new wireless gear and management software with the purpose of making WLANs as safe and reliable as their CAT5 cousins. And the plan also involves roaming workers.
According to the company, their compact shape opens up a variety of installation options—after all, rarely are APs just plopped atop a desk in campus or business settings. For instance, they can sit unobtrusively in the cavity of suspended ceilings. AP-124 accepts third-party antennas while AP-125 ships with three attached, fold down antennas. They also accept Power over Ethernet (PoE) or local power supplies. On each, two GbE ports attach the devices to wired networks. Both the AP-124 and AP-125 are software upgradeable to 802.11n via software. An optional Aruba-supplied download upgrades the units for increased throughput, range and sensitivity. 802.11a/b/g functionality comes standard. Aruba is also looking past the office to mobile workforces. Its remote Mobile Remote Access Point software, which can be loaded onto any standard Aruba AP, provides mobile workgroups access to WLANs while maintaining security though its VPN-free, encrypted connection to one of the company's Mobility Controllers. Plus, there's little risk that security threats will come back to bite the organization thanks to a "full policy-based firewall that will enforce all the security policies locally," says Tennefoss. Another benefit is the ability to keep hotel hotspot costs down by registering the access point instead of individual laptops. In terms of mobility, one critical component is support for 3G cellular networks. By plugging in an EVDO or HSDPA USB modem into the company's AP-70 Mobile Remote Access Point, remote workers or teams of workers can wirelessly connect to an organization's WAN anywhere on a cellular provider's 3G coverage map. Another aspect is ease of use. As far as getting up and running, there is "no user setup; the login and user experience is exactly the same," explains Tennefoss. Configuration is a one-time deal, accomplished by IT personnel at the home office before the AP is issued. Also on the software front, the company is rolling out a new version of the RFProtect Wireless Intrusion Prevention System, which the company acquired from Network Chemistry last year. In addition to monitoring, vulnerability assessment, and intrusion prevention, the software now supports user-defined signatures. The goal is straightforward, says Tennefoss, to "reduce the size of the gap between the vulnerability and the ability to do something about it." Instead of waiting for a vendor to address newly discovered or undisclosed security threats, users can close the zero-day window by implementing their own signatures. And there's always the WVE.org community to fall on, where participants trade knowledge on the latest Wireless Vulnerabilities and Exploits. The company also plans to demonstrate the multi-vendor WLAN smarts of its AirWave Wireless Management Suite version 6 during Interop next week. Aruba's AP-124 and AP-125 access points, Mobile Remote Access Point software and the latest version of RFProtect go on sale this summer. The company will be exhibiting its new wares at Interop in Las Vegas, April 29 - May 1.
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First up are new Wi-Fi access points that give customers a level of future-proofing or the option put off 802.11n upgrades until they are ready. Coming in at about "the width and length of a CD case, and 1.5-inches tall," explains Michael Tennefoss, head of strategic marketing for Aruba, the new AP-124 and AP-125 access points were built with flexibility in mind.
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