Trapeze Wireless Management System Adds Support for Access Control Plugins

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 07/02/08

Trapeze Networks has introduced SmartPass 7.0, a new version of access management software for its wireless networking products. The new release supports plugins that enable IT administrators to control wireless network access, perform location-based authentication, do RADIUS-based monitoring and reporting, and grant guest access. The company has also published application programming interfaces for SmartPass so an organization can write its own plugins.

With the Advanced Access Control plugin, an administrator using SmartPass can set access based on location, time of day, identity of user, SSID, VLAN, or accounting data. One example is in an education setting where student access to network bandwidth is reduced after the student has downloaded a set amount of data in a single session.

The Location-based Authentication/Access Control plugin works with the Trapeze Networks Location Appliance to provide location-based services and add location information to accounting data. Network managers can set rules to permit or restrict access, allocate bandwidth and allow resources based on location. For example, if a faculty member is giving a test from 2 to 3 p.m. in Classroom 230, he or she can change wireless access for students instantly to deny access to the Internet during that time and at that location. The students could still have access to relevant classroom materials on the local area network.

The software uses RADIUS accounting for maintaining per-user statistics, lifetime session counts, traffic details, and total traffic passed for a user session or specific device.

With the new SmartPass release, when guest accounts are created, they are automatically purged after a pre-determined time, such as at the end of a work day, and can be changed in mid- session.

At the beginning of June Trapeze announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Belden to be acquired.