When it comes to Wi-Fi management, there are a couple of different ways companies have decided to handle the task. The sheer number of people who are accessing the Web using wireless Internet these days is staggering compared to that number just a few years ago. Areas like New York City are among those that are expanding their Wi-Fi networks, and the load on those requirements is something that companies are working hard to find a solution to. Aruba Networks (News - Alert) thinks it might have found one such solution. The company is taking Wi-Fi Network Management to the cloud.
Tasks like managing multiple Wi-Fi access points in an enterprise or even larger scale environment was something that used to require a standalone and on-premises Wi-Fi controller. Aruba has made that stance a thing of the past with the announcement of its cloud-based Wi-Fi AP solution dubbed Aruba Central. This isn’t the first time that the company has tried to go with a cloud-based AP management system.
In 2009, Aruba launched the AirWave (News - Alert) on Demand solution. That particular program was geared to enable cloud management of wireless devices. Aruba no longer actually offers the Airwave on Demand as a solution that customers can purchase. This new solution is expected to be around a little bit longer. If the solution becomes popular enough, there is a very good chance that enterprise companies around the world are going to be looking toward Aruba Central as a big-time solution to their needs.
Rajeev Shah, senior product manager at Aruba, talked about Aruba Central in a recent release saying, "The reality is that the architecture is such that most of the adaptive Wi-Fi capabilities are in the Instant OS to minimize any dependency on the cloud service," Shah said. "So, if for any reason the Internet link goes down at a branch office, the radio management system can still run."
Aruba is not the only company that has come up with the idea to manage Wi-Fi APs from the cloud. Cisco (News - Alert) is working on its own solution and it appears it will be a race to the finish line to see which company can master this market.
Edited by Rory J. Thompson