Aruba Boosts OS' Wireless Device Management

With Apple's iPad leading a wave of wireless devices invading IT enterprise applications, Aruba Networks has unveiled its Aruba6.0 operating system to manage business-critical networks bursting with the proliferating devices.

Announced Tuesday, the new operating system equips IT managers with important features to manage the unexpected proliferation of wireless devices, predicted by market research studies to number nearly 1 billion devices in 2014.

Security for video and QoS over-the-air is provided via fingerprinting technology while Aruba's Spectrum Analyzer provides visibility of RF interference sources. A comprehensive wireless intrusion prevention system that incorporates tarpit containment and TotalWatch technology delivers threat mitigation, but doesn't affect wireless client performance, Aruba said.

A few months ago, after Apple reported that more than one-half of Fortune 500 companies were evaluating the iPad, Aruba sensed the iPad would find its way into enterprise networks in a big way, particularly burgeoning 802.11n networks, so the company studied the iPad-in-the enterprise-phenomenon.

"Aruba engineers tested the iPad in the lab and then documented the step-by-step configuration guidelines to get the hard stuff working like enterprise wireless LAN security," said Ozer Dondurmacioglu, Aruba's product marketing manager, in an email. "Aruba is also sponsoring an industry working group, which consists of approximately 20 leading enterprises who are working through the issues of what it takes to successfully deploy large numbers of tablets and smartphones in the enterprise network."

Reliable fingerprinting technology is necessary for the success of a wireless network heavily loaded with multiple wireless end user devices. Deep packet inspection is integrated into Aruba's mobility Controller as media streams are established with an encrypted signaling protocol. Aruba WLANs prioritize over-the-air delivery of voice and video performance as, for instance, it does with Blackberry's Mobile Voice System.

Aruba said it has drawn on its experience with more than 11,000 global customers in polishing the latest 6.0 operating system. The company pointed to its experience at The Ottawa Hospital where iPads were integrated into an existing network using 6.0. The 1,200-bed hospital was upgraded from Aruba 802.11 a/b/g solutions to encompass the firm's 802.11n portfolio. Dale Potter, CIO of the hospital, said: "We recently initiated a system-wide program to move to iPads in clinical use, which, with the existing use of Spectrlink phones and other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, make ours a very high-density client environment."

Also underscoring the notion that simple upgrades by themselves aren't enough, Aruba's vice president of products Chris Spain, said legacy 802.11 a/b/g networks must be updated, stressing that solid application monitoring, control capabilities and solid security must be present in rapidly-expanding networks.

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