Networking & Wireless | News

Aruba Launches Controllerless WiFi Solution

• By Leila Meyer
• 10/01/12

Aruba Networks has released a new controllerless WiFi solution, Aruba Instant Enterprise, a software solution for distributed enterprises that requires no physical or virtual controllers. According to information released by the company, Aruba Instant Enterprise offers voice and video optimization, integrated spectrum analysis, advanced security, layer 3 roaming, and support for Apple AirPlay and AirPrint.

Aruba Instant Enterprise also includes Aruba Activate, a cloud-based zero-touch provisioning service. With Aruba Activate, Aruba Instant Access Point (APs) can automatically download their appropriate configuration once they're plugged in, so IT staff members don't have to configure each one individually.

Key features of Aruba Instant Enterprise include:

• Application fingerprinting, a built-in policy enforcement firewall (PEF) that identifies voice and video traffic to help ensure uninterrupted real-time communications, even for encrypted applications such as Microsoft Lync and Apple FaceTime;
• Support for Apple AirPlay and AirPrint, which are made available to mobile devices based on the user's identity and location;
• Multicast video optimization that transmits multicast traffic as unicast over the air, so only clients subscribed to the feed receive the video;
• Integrated spectrum analysis that automatically identifies and avoids RF interference;
• Layer 3 roaming to enable mobile devices to roam across subnet boundaries;
• Authentication survivability, which works with Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager to ensure that known users can still join the secure network if centralized authentication resources become unavailable; and
• IPSec tunneling for secure VPN access over the Internet.

Aruba Instant Enterprise is available now and is free for existing Aruba Instant customers.

Further information about Aruba Instant Enterprise is available on the Aruba site.