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Newbury Networks Introduces WiFi Workplace
Newbury Networks Inc., (www.newburynetworks.com) provider of location-based management and security solutions for wireless networks, unveiled WiFi Workplace(TM) -- a new enterprise software system for both management and security of 802.11-based WLANs. By utilizing Newbury's patented location-based detection and tracking for 802.11, WiFi Workplace optimizes overall network performance by identifying where WLAN activity is occurring and analyzing the quality and type of network associations being established enterprise wide.
"In wireless LANs, the air is the medium, and existing WLAN management tools fall short when it comes to managing the 802.11 airwaves. Subsequently, enterprise organizations have no knowledge of where, how and when the wireless network is being used," said Michael Maggio, president and CEO, Newbury Networks, Inc. "When you can identify and locate all wireless LAN usage in a 'air traffic control' like fashion, it gives you a host of diagnostic aids to correct problems immediately. This is exactly why we created WiFi Workplace - - to deliver airtight security, optimal access point coverage, quality of service benefits, and the ability to maximize the ROI on end user mobility."
WiFi Workplace leverages the security capabilities found in Newbury's award-winning WiFi Watchdog(TM) product and works in conjunction with industry standard switches and access points, such as those provided by Cisco and Proxim, leveraging and enhancing the enterprises' existing investment in WLAN infrastructure.
Some of WiFi Workplace's features include:
* Location-based Network Provisioning -- by using 802.1q virtual LAN (VLAN) tagging, WiFi Workplace controls which network resources users are permitted to access based on where they are located in the facility. For example, organizations can establish access policies based on the nature of the area -- public spaces and conference rooms for visitors have only general Internet access while sensitive areas such as human resources, patient records, or research would be shut-off completely from wireless access to non-employees.
* Access Point (AP) Roaming Policy -- by controlling associations with access points on a location basis, WiFi Workplace enhances the quality of service (QoS) and performance of the wireless network. Organizations can create high performance and high availability zones by restricting certain access points to be used only in those locations.
* Usage Monitoring -- WiFi Workplace provides 24x7 monitoring of WLAN usage statistics for analysis, reporting and alerting. All information is correlated to the physical location of each user/device providing unprecedented visibility into not only who is using the wireless network but where and how the network is used.
* Management Reporting -- by taking advantage of the system's data mining and analysis capabilities, WiFi Workplace provides IT/security personnel with a number of reports correlated to physical location:
-- Top talking devices: APs, clients, VoIP phones, other equipment
-- Top locations (location with most conversations)
-- Roaming (locations with most access point handoffs)
-- Access point associations
* Real-time WLAN Monitor -- WiFi Workplace provides a detailed, graphical view of the location of all 802.11 traffic.
"The enterprise and government sector continue to roll-out wireless LANs at a rapid pace. Despite this growth, organizations are experiencing security and network management issues that are fundamentally different from traditional wired-side networks," said Brian Mansfield, chief security consultant, The Mansfield Group LLC. "Newbury's introduction of WiFi Workplace provides a great combination of location-based usage and authorization policy features and visual aids to increase the level of performance and security of the enterprise wireless network."
Launched at this week's WiFi Planet Conference & Expo in Baltimore, Newbury Networks will provide regular demonstrations of WiFi Workplace at its booth #200 on the exhibit floor.
Availability and Pricing
WiFi Workplace will be commercially available in September 2004. Pricing starts at $18,995 for enterprise deployments. 08.06.2004, Newbury Networks Inc.
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