Aruba Delivers Mobile-First Networking Portfolio to Accelerate the Move to the Digital Workplace

Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company (NYSE: HPE), today announced a new suite of integrated networking software and hardware solutions that enable enterprises to address the digital workplace requirements of GenMobile, today’s mobile-savvy workforce, and the escalating connectivity demands of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The new portfolio enables IT teams to anticipate and resolve connectivity problems, and create secure policies to build digital workplaces that are optimized to boost employee productivity.

 

Legacy networking models were built on the concept of static, wired desktop clients communicating with a pool of internal servers, an approach that is outdated in today’s business environment. The proliferation of mobile and IoT devices, as well as cloud-based apps, has caused enterprises to rethink traditional connectivity and mobility requirements to accommodate new workplace behavior, where collaboration and non-routine schedules have become the new normal. As a result, organizations must adjust their approach to implementing employee-centric services to attract and retain top talent.

 

Aruba’s new set of networking solutions and software-powered approach advance its offering beyond fixed, hardware-focused networking solutions. The new, integrated wired and wireless portfolio, combined with innovations in network management and security, allow IT organizations to design and augment their networks for the digital workplace.

 

Predict Wi-Fi connectivity issues before they happen with Aruba Clarity

 

With massive volumes of devices connecting to the network, IT teams require detailed visibility into the access layer — at the user, device, and app level — to keep productivity high and ensure business continuity. Aruba Clarity, a new software module for Aruba AirWave network management, delivers powerful and intuitive forensics so that IT teams can anticipate and quickly resolve connectivity problems before the user is affected, rather than troubleshooting after the fact. With Aruba Clarity, AirWave can monitor a broad set of metrics proactively such as the time it takes for a mobile device to associate with a Wi-Fi radio, authenticate to a RADIUS server, obtain an IP address through DHCP, and resolve names for DNS services. Clarity allows network operations teams to gather this information not only as Wi-Fi clients connect and roam, but also with on-demand or scheduled client simulation tests running between Aruba access points (APs).

 

Additionally, the new AirWave 8.2 release gives IT professionals detailed information on the amount of airtime wasted on web content that has been assigned a lower priority category and reputation, so they can take proactive action and improve Wi-Fi health. Enhancements to AirWave’s VisualRF feature set allow for time-lapse visualization of Wi-Fi coverage for up to 24 hours, dramatically reducing the time and manual intervention it takes for wireless network engineers to identify negative trends in Wi-Fi coverage.

 

Secure the network down to the device with powerful enhancements to Aruba ClearPass

 

To meet the challenges of the digital workplace – particularly with the addition of IoT devices – enterprises must be able to modify their security policies quickly and enforce underlying infrastructure changes on-demand. With the increasing use of cloud-powered devices and apps connecting to their network, enterprise IT teams need a common policy framework to protect business resources, regardless of device type or connection method.

 

The new Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager 6.6 release allows security operations teams to create policies that adapt to BYOD growth and the emerging challenges surrounding IoT adoption. ClearPass 6.6 enables custom device profiling for any uncategorized connected device, multi-factor authentication on mobile devices for network usage, and deeper forensics into security incidents. As a result of its seamless integration with next-generation firewalls from Palo Alto Networks and multi-factor authentication partners, Duo Security and ImageWare, ClearPass enhances device, network and app threat protection in real-time.

 

Optimized performance with new multi-gigabit wireless and wired networks

 

Aruba’s new multi-gigabit 330 series Wave 2 APs with HPE Smart Rate technology help provide a seamless user experience by delivering maximum performance to bandwidth-intensive applications and the highest quality of service for latency-sensitive applications, such as Microsoft Skype for Business and Wi-Fi calling. With Aruba’s unique ClientMatch technology, the 330 series ensures that each Wave 2-capable mobile device can take advantage of the multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) standard. The new APs come with integrated Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to effortlessly manage battery-powered Aruba Beacons and scale indoor location-based services.

 

As businesses transition to the digital workplace and employees continue to opt for Wi-Fi over all forms of connectivity[1], organizations won’t need as many wired ports to support them directly. However, the surge in IoT devices means that the wired infrastructure remains vital. The new Aruba 3810 Switch Series incorporates HPE Smart Rate technology, allowing enterprises to deliver data rates from 1 / 2.5 / 5 / 10Gbps. With the multi-gigabit capability, the 3810 offers investment protection for IT departments that want to future-proof their network infrastructure as higher capacity wireless technologies emerge, far surpassing the 1Gbps Wi-Fi backhaul limit that exists today.

 

The new Aruba 3810 Series and the existing portfolio of Aruba 2530, 2920 and 5400R campus switches are powered with the new ArubaOS-Switch, a unified operating system that integrates the best features and capabilities from the ArubaOS and HPE ProvisionOS operating systems. With their integrated Aruba ProVision ASIC, this next generation of switches enables real-time programmability without the need to sacrifice line-rate packet forwarding performance.

 

Take action faster with HPE Services

 

In the age of digital disruption in the workplace, organizations are faced with the need to offer more consumer-like experiences. Making changes within large scale enterprise networking and collaboration environments while maintaining business continuity can be challenging. HPE’s multivendor integration expertise and decades of communication and collaboration project experience reduces risk and implementation time. These services provide a consumer-like experience, boosts productivity, and extracts insights from business-critical connected devices. HPE services help bring together key elements to the digital workplace, including strategy, assessment, design, deployment, integration, management, and optimization as well as ongoing support of Aruba networking solutions. 

 

Read the HPE Services media advisory: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hpe-news/press-release.html?id=2192492

 

Pricing and Availability

 

The new multi-gigabit Aruba 330 Series Wave 2 Access Points are available in the second quarter of 2016 and priced at $1,695 U.S. list. The Aruba 3810 Series switches are available today with pricing starting at $4,299 U.S. list. Aruba ClearPass 6.6 is available in April 2016 as a software upgrade with no additional costs for existing customers with valid service contracts. Aruba AirWave 8.2 and the new Aruba Clarity module will be available in March 2016.