New Aruba 320 Series AP Boosts Overall Network Capacity With MU-MIMO Optimized ClientMatch® Technology and Integrates Remote Management of BLE Beacons
Aruba Networks, an HP company, (NYSE: HPQ) ushers in greater network
performance for the digital workplace with the introduction of the Aruba
320 series access points (AP). The 320 series is the industry’s
first 802.11ac
Wave 2 AP with dynamic multi-user multiple input/multiple output
(MU-MIMO) grouping, significantly boosting network capacity. It is the
only Wave 2 AP in its class to integrate a BLE Beacon that can help
manage battery-powered Aruba Beacons from the cloud for firmware
updates, battery life monitoring, and configuration changes.
By 2018, it is projected that 75 percent of workers in large
organizations will interact with video more than three times daily1.
Therefore, IT departments are challenged to support increasing Wi-Fi
capacity performance requirements. Additionally, the introduction of a
higher performing 802.11ac Wave 2 infrastructure requires the right kind
of network intelligence to take advantage of new MU-MIMO-capable mobile
devices by steering and grouping them together.
As an Aruba Wave 2 beta customer, Netflix Inc., the world’s leading
Internet television network with over 62 million members in over 50
countries, is closely tracking the advancements in 802.11ac technology
to support the bandwidth and capacity requirements of emerging
applications.
Leveraging Wave 2 to Support #GenMobile in the Digital Workplace
To prepare for the anticipated tsunami of Wave 2 devices, Aruba has
introduced new innovations into its patented ClientMatch technology,
which originally solved the “sticky client” problem. The new enhanced
Aruba ClientMatch incorporates intelligent awareness for Wave 2 MU-MIMO
clients, automatically steering and grouping MU-MIMO devices together on
Aruba 320 series APs. This allows the 320 series to transmit data to
multiple Wave 2-enabled devices simultaneously, increasing overall
network capacity. Through these Wave 2 enhancements, ClientMatch
technology will not only improve individual device performance, but it
will also boost overall network efficiency for 802.11ac Wave 2. The
result is up to 42 percent improvement in performance over competing
Wave 2 solutions without the enhanced ClientMatch technology.
“To accelerate the adoption of 802.11ac Wave 2 solutions, Qualcomm
Atheros is working with networking leaders, like Aruba, to manufacture
next generation Wi-Fi equipment,” said Irvind Ghai, vice president,
Product Management, Qualcomm Atheros, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm
Incorporated. “Aruba has taken an innovative approach to maximizing Wave
2 performance with its enhanced ClientMatch dynamic MU-MIMO grouping.
This technology is designed to automatically identify MU-MIMO-capable
mobile devices and steer them to the closest Wave 2-capable access point
to provide enterprise-grade performance and capacity.”
Expanding Indoor Location Services with Integrated Bluetooth Beacons
and Management
In developed countries, most people spend the majority of their time
indoors, and more than half own Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled smartphones.
This large market, compounded with a growing number of companies
planning to implement indoor location-based services, presents a unique
opportunity for organizations to take advantage of Aruba
Mobile Engagement.
Aruba has integrated Bluetooth low-energy (BLE) Aruba Beacons into the
320 series AP. This enables remote, cloud-based management of
battery-powered Aruba Beacons, eliminating the need to install a USB
version of the Aruba Beacon on Aruba access points. Standalone beacons
from competing vendors lack backend management tools and can’t
efficiently scale to enterprise-wide or large public venue deployments.
With the 320 series’ integrated Aruba Beacon, enterprises can now
remotely manage, configure, and monitor battery levels from a
cloud-based server, even for large-scale deployments with thousands of
beacons.
Pricing and Availability
The Aruba 320 series APs will be available in calendar third quarter
2015. 320 series AP prices start at U.S. list $1,395. Enhanced
ClientMatch is also available in June as part of the new ArubaOS 6.4.4
software enhancement.
Additional Resources
About Aruba Networks, an HP company
Aruba Networks, an HP company, is a leading provider of next-generation
network access solutions for the mobile enterprise. The company designs
and delivers Mobility-Defined Networks that empower IT departments and
#GenMobile, a new generation of tech-savvy users who rely on their
mobile devices for every aspect of work and personal communication. To
create a mobility experience that #GenMobile and IT can rely upon, Aruba
Mobility-Defined Networks™ automate infrastructure-wide performance
optimization and trigger security actions that used to require manual IT
intervention. The results are dramatically improved productivity and
lower operational costs.
To learn more, visit Aruba at http://www.arubanetworks.com.
For real-time news updates follow Aruba on Twitter
and Facebook,
and for the latest technical discussions on mobility and Aruba products
visit Airheads Social at http://community.arubanetworks.com.
© 2015 Aruba Networks, an HP company. Aruba Networks’ trademarks
include Aruba Networks®, Aruba The Mobile Edge Company® (stylized),
Aruba Mobility-Defined Networks™, Aruba Mobility Management System®,
People Move Networks Must Follow®, Mobile Edge Architecture®,
RFProtect®, Green Island®, ETips®, ClientMatch®, Virtual Intranet AccessTM,
ClearPass Access Management SystemsTM, Aruba
InstantTM, ArubaOSTM,
xSecTM, ServiceEdgeTM,
Aruba ClearPass Access Management SystemTM,
AirmeshTM, AirWaveTM,
Aruba CentralTM, and ARUBA@WORKTM.
All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
1 Gartner, Inc. “Video Adds Faces and Value to Digital
Workplaces”, August 14, 2014
Aruba Networks, Inc.
Pavel Radda, +1-408-419-0294
Director of Corporate Communications
pradda@arubanetworks.com
or
LSH Communications for Aruba Networks
Lori Hultin, +1-818-879-4651
Principal
lhultin@arubanetworks.com