Aruba Networks has unveiled its Mobile Virtual Enterprise (MOVE) architecture to capitalise on the increasing trend of workers using their smartphones and tablets on enterprise networks.
The architecture, which can be hosted in an enterprise datacentre or by a third-party cloud provider, enables the convergence of wireless and wired networks by aggregating siloed networks so they can be accessed through a single point.
The objective is to make the process of introducing a user’s personal mobility device to an enterprise network easier for IT departments.
“The last six months has really seemed more of a change in the enterprise than the last five years with respect to what people are putting on the network and it’s primarily smartphones and tablets,” Aruba senior director of product management, Bobby Guhasarkar, said.
“We are bringing out a solution that puts a certificate on dynamically on, say, the Apple iPad and then we can track that iPad throughout the organisation then revoke the certificate at any point so gives IT folks a way to really keep track of these personal devices on the network.”
Using the ArubaOS Mobility Services, MOVE can enforce a single set of network services to manage security policy and network performance. It can identify individual users as well as individual devices regardless of whether they are accessing an enterprise network through a virtual private network (VPN) or a public wireless service.
ArubaOS Mobility Services are centrally deployed with private or public cloud-based management and include guest access capabilities, device fingerprinting authentication as well as application traffic management.
MOVE is partially fuelled by technology developed by Australian company, Amigopod. The company was acquired by Aruba in December last year and its assets were used in the development of the new architecture.
Aruba has also introduced a number of products to target other markets.
One of these is the Aruba Instant, a Wi-Fi device targeted at small to medium businesses. The vendor claimed it provides enterprise-grade Wi-Fi capabilities on an 802.11n access point that can be set-up as easily as a standard WLAN router.
It can be deployed in a cluster of 16 access points to support hundreds of users simultaneously.
Aruba touted it as cheaper than an access point for enterprises and just a bit more expensive than a router consumers can pick up at an electronics retailer. The exact local price for Aruba Instant is yet to be advised.
