Aruba releases branch office WLAN switch

Keeping with its new "mobile edge" strategy targeting the enterprise periphery, Aruba Networks today unveiled a new scaled-down version of its WLAN switch for branch offices and retail locations.

The Aruba 200 Mobility Controller is the first of a series of mid- to low-tier switch products Aruba is pricing in the sub-$2000 range to lure enterprises with numerous small branches and retailing chains into WLAN fold. The switch supports six access points and up to 100 users, and is designed to handle all of the basic authorization and management tasks of a full-fledged WLAN switch while still being centrally administered by the main WLAN controller back at corporate HQ.

Aruba has been extending its intelligent WLAN technology further to the edges of the network, in October announcing two new products for mobile workers and telecommuters. Both of the products were compact access points, allowing employees to create secure hot spots in their homes or on the road that automatically linked them back to the corporate network while still providing authentication and security measures similar to those on the main office network.

Since then, Aruba has been working on filling the gaps between the two extremes of the central switch and the remote access point, said Troy Wendt, director of product marketing. One of the major gaps in its portfolio was a solution for small retail locations, which could not justify the cost of a full-featured switch on-site, but needed more than just an intelligent access point, Wendt said. The Aruba 200 was developed specifically to fit that need, Wendt said.

Previously, Aruba targeted those smaller offices with a version of its 800 Mobility Controller at a reduced cost, removing much of the software and reconfiguring the kit to handle eight access points. But at the end of the day, customers were buying a powerful box designed to handle 16 access points and hundreds of users for a small location--not the optimal scenario, Wendt said.