January 18, 2006
(Computerworld)
Branch-office and retail-store wireless systems got a boost from new products announced by vendors at the National Retail Federation show in New York this week.
Aruba Networks Inc. on Monday launched a new branch office and retail switch that handles WAN and LAN traffic.
The new Aruba 200 Mobility Controller is available now and starts at $1,750. It's designed for branch offices and retail stores with up to 100 users over six Wi-Fi access points, and it's easy for nontechnical workers to set up and run, Aruba officials said. In addition, it has an interface for a LAN at Gigabit Ethernet speeds. The controller, at 1.1 by 6.7 by 9.5 in. and two lbs., is smaller and lighter than comparable switches.
One Aruba customer has already deployed the new controllers in 12 stores in shopping malls, where they are used to support customer kiosks. The retailer, whose representatives could not be reached for comment, has plans to expand to other locations, Aruba officials said.
Aruba's 200 Mobility Controller will be popular because of its size and ease of deployment, said Craig Mathias, an analyst at Farpoint Group in Ashland, Mass.
Aruba also announced a new product called the Mobility Management System, which can be used to view an entire network with thousands of access points. Mobility Management System software alone starts at $3,995; an all-in-one appliance starts at $21,995.
Also on Monday, Symbol Technologies Inc. and IBM jointly announced that Symbol's WS5120 wireless switch is now being offered as an IBM BladeCenter appliance to aid in centralized management. Both the IBM/Symbol and Aruba technologies are designed to be easy to deploy and to offer greater manageability, the companies said. Symbol's WS5120 switch can be used in larger offices. Its WS2000 switch is more comparable to the Aruba device, Symbol officials and analysts said.
Aruba competes in the wireless LAN market with several other large equipment vendors, including Cisco Systems Inc., Symbol and Trapeze Networks Inc.
In an unrelated networking announcement, Smoothstone IP Communications in Louisville, Ky., announced a managed IP communications service for medium-size businesses. The service operates on Cisco gear and provides local dial tone service in 5,800 U.S. calling areas, while offering a full range of other services, including IP voice, data and video communications as well as videoconferencing, said Jeff Wellemeyer, Smoothstone's chairman and chief technology officer.
Smoothstone services are estimated to cost $45 per user each month, and Smoothstone customers can expect to see a 20% to 30% reduction in monthly communications costs, Wellemeyer said.