NETGEAR Insight Enables Easy Wi-Fi Management

By Paula Bernier
Executive Editor, TMC

Communications technology is a double-edged sword.

It can help people and teams more efficiently conquer the tasks they need to complete. But, it can also create a lot of frustration and waste time.

NETGEAR Inc. recently came out with a new solution to help small businesses benefit from the former while eliminating the latter. That solution is a remote management and monitoring tool for NETGEAR Wi-Fi networks.

Called NETGEAR Insight, this solution allows for plug-and-play set up and management of NETGEAR Wi-Fi access points, switches, and storage devices. It enables automated discovery and one-tap device registration. It delivers in-app firmware updates. And it can provide email and instant push notifications as well as warnings on user network and device connectivity and network health.

NETGEAR Insight provides the user control through a free mobile app. Because this is all delivered via the cloud, there’s no need for businesses to purchase and install an additional appliance, cloud controller, PC, or server.

Additionally, NETGEAR Insight provides in-app click through to NETGEAR support for registered devices.

Speaking of NETGEAR devices, the company has introduced four new network switches for small and medium business users. All of them are manageable via NETGEAR Insight.

Each of the switches has eight copper gigabit Ethernet ports, 2 SFP fiber ports, and can be used either on desktops or mounted on walls. They feature Layer 2 switching. And they support ACLs, IGMP snooping, LAG, LLDP, loop prevention, port mirroring, port trunking, port-based rate limiting, priority queuing, quality of service, RSTP, storm control, VLANs, and more.

NETGEAR has also unveiled new wireless access points to work with NETGEAR Insight. The APs are called WAC505 and WAC510. The company’s ReadyNAS solutions also work with the new remote management solution.