Science & Technology
Science and Technology
Science and Technology
Mon, September 14, 2009
Sun, September 13, 2009
Aruba Networks, Inc.: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Banks on Aruba's FIPS 140-2 Teleworker Solutions to Stay in Touch W
SUNYYVALE, CA--(Marketwire - September 14, 2009) - Aruba Networks, Inc. (
Prior to deploying Aruba, the FDIC used costly, labor-intensive dedicated circuits and virtual private network (VPN) services between its data center and the field teams. This design proved very difficult to scale as the number of teams escalated during the recent banking crisis, and was out of step with the mobile access needs of the field teams. The teams include as many as 100 members equipped with laptops and PDAs, and upwards of 25 teams might be in the field at any given time. Since these teams move regularly, the FDIC needed a remote networking solution that could easily follow them.
"Teleworking is a growing component of many emergency and recovery planning programs in U.S. Federal government agencies, as well as in private enterprise programs," said John Girard, VP Distinguished Analyst at Gartner. "Teleworking can provide added benefits such as cost reduction, job recruitment incentives, and green environment policy implementation."
Aruba provided the FDIC with rapidly deployable, FIPS 140-2 validated wireless teleworker kits configured for small or large teams. The small team kits include a single Aruba Remote Access Point (RAP) and provide Wi-Fi and wired connectivity with government-grade security to teams of 5-10 users. RAPs are designed to connect temporary workers, teleworkers, and branch offices to a data center with plug-and-play simplicity -- delivering voice, telephony, video, and data applications with the security of a VPN, but without the complexity or expense of client software. When equipped with a USB broadband cellular modem, a RAP can instantly deliver all network resources to users wherever they work or roam.
The FIPS 140-2 standard specifies the cryptographic security requirements for sensitive but unclassified information. The standard defines multiple levels of security that correspond with the wide range of potential applications and environments in which such systems may be employed. In addition to the FDIC, FIPS 140-2 validated networks using remote networking and mesh have been successfully deployed at NASA, the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Defense Medical Health System facilities, and several U.S. Air Force bases worldwide.
The large team kits include a pre-configured wireless LAN with upwards of 16 indoor and ruggedized outdoor access points. The network uses Aruba's FIPS 140-2 validated resilient, self-healing mesh to link access points without laying any data cabling. Mesh allows data, voice, or video signals to hop wirelessly from access point to access point with the security of end-to-end encryption.
All of the field kits are plug-and-play, and require no field configuration. Management is centrally handled by Aruba Mobility Controllers at the FDIC data center. A field kit can be torn down in minutes, transported to a new location, and set-up in minutes -- with no network or client changes required.
"The Aruba teleworker field kits are a force multiplier, allowing the FDIC to scale the number and size of the teams that work in the field," said Dave Logan, Aruba's General Manager of Federal Solutions. "The kits have significantly reduced the time required to activate a team to just minutes instead of days, using an instant-on solution that can be set-up and taken down with minimal IT involvement. Equally significant, by replacing the previous VPN system, the FDIC was able to do away with client software and management issues. Now users need only authenticate to their laptop or PDA using built-in wireless LAN support and they're on the network. The FDIC gets end-to-end transmission and application security with no fuss or bother."
High performance wireless connectivity is ensured by Adaptive Radio Management (ARM) technology, which continuously optimizes Wi-Fi performance. By automatically compensating for interference, network traffic, and even the types of applications run on the network, ARM ensures that data, voice, and video applications have sufficient network resources, including airtime, to operate properly.
"Aruba's policy-enforcement firewalls run at the data center as well as in the field kit RAPs and controllers, and provide identity-based security, Quality of Service control, and traffic management," continued Logan. "The firewall classifies traffic on the basis of user identity, device type, location, and time of day, and provides differentiated access for different classes of users. Access is tightly controlled, and each user's application traffic is inspected and validated against security policies to ensure compartmentalization between user groups inside the FDIC."
Additional information on [ Aruba's government solutions ] is available on-line.
About Aruba Networks
People move. Networks must follow. Aruba securely delivers networks to users, wherever they work or roam, using a combination of award-winning solutions:
-- Adaptive 802.11n Wi-Fi networks optimize themselves to ensure that users are always within reach of mission-critical information. Rightsizing expensive wired LANs by replacing them with high-speed 802.11n Wi-Fi reduces both capital and operating expenses; -- Identity-based security assigns access policies to users, enforcing those policies whenever and wherever a network is accessed; -- Remote networking solutions for branch offices, fixed telecommuters, and satellite facilities ensures uninterrupted remote access to applications; -- Multi-vendor network management provides a single point of control while managing both legacy and new wireless networks from Aruba and its competitors.
The cost, convenience, and security benefits of our secure mobility solutions are fundamentally changing how and where we work. Listed on the NASDAQ and Russell 2000® Index, Aruba is based in Sunnyvale, California, and has operations throughout the Americas, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific regions. To learn more, visit Aruba at [ http://www.arubanetworks.com ]. For real-time news updates follow Aruba on Twitter at [ http://twitter.com/ArubaNetworks ].
© 2009 Aruba Networks, Inc. AirWave®, Aruba Networks®, Aruba Mobility Management System®, Bluescanner, For Wireless That Works®, Mobile Edge Architecture, People Move. Networks Must Follow., The All-Wireless Workplace Is Now Open For Business, RFprotect, Green Island, and The Mobile Edge Company® are trademarks of Aruba Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
