Cisco Integrates Management of Wired and Wireless Networks Through Major Network Gear Upgrade
Cisco Integrates Management of Wired and Wireless Networks Through Major Network Gear Upgrade by UCStrategies Staff
Cisco is making the lives of overwhelmed network administrators easier by unifying the administration of wired, wireless and VPN networks. The leading network gear maker has rolled out a number of new and upgraded products as part of Cisco Unified Access solutions, an integrated platform for network management and policy configuration across networks through one interface.
The network equipment upgrade includes upgraded server applications to unify access control, network management and application management across both wired and wireless networks; as well as new WLAN access points and controllers. For business networks, two lower-priced 802.11n access points are on the market. For Wi-Fi clients, a new high-end WLAN controller offers a high-availability feature. New virtualization options have also been introduced.
Customers, who were consulted in the year-long product development cycle, have eagerly anticipated the launch of the Unified Access Solutions. Regardless of the network or device business end users choose to connect to the network with, network admin can manage policy enforcement, security and authentication, and network management through one centralized and automated interface. Business users can even register new devices on the system themselves.
The new single policy platform provides improvements to the access control functions of Cisco’s Identity Services Engine (ISE) – the central manager of network policies based on the user’s identity, role and devices. Two new features support the migration to identity-based access. A web-based portal called My Devices allows end users to register their personal devices with the ISE, which enforces IT’s bring-your-own-devices (BYOD) policies. Secure Group Access assigns end users to groups with pre-defined policies for users and their devices while improving visibility, control and protection.
An updated Cisco Prime Infrastructure provides a single user interface to facilitate network management and security across wired and wireless LANs. Updated features include application visibility and control, which creates a visual picture of application behavior based on the end user’s network experience. Delays and other quality standards, for example, can be more easily assessed.
To support Cisco’s one policy, one management, one network solutions, new WLAN products have been introduced.
Cisco Aironet 2600 and 1600 Series access points bring 802.11n enterprise features to the mid-market, although they do not boast all of the advanced features of the high-end 3600 Series, and neither works with the 802.11ac plug-in module, to be shipped by Cisco in early 2013.
The 8500 Series, two new high-end WLAN controllers, adds Wi-Fi networks to existing wired or cellular networks, or large enterprise WLANs. With the one-rack unit, service providers can manage up to 6,000 access points and 64,000 clients.
A big advantage of Cisco’s Unified Access Solutions is that wireless networks will now benefit from high-end wired solutions such as subsecond state failover. To improve WLAN availability, for instance, new controller firmware now supports sub-second state-full switchover. If a controller blows up, a new controller can replace a downed controller in less than a second.
A unified access platform provides easier integration of new technologies and more customized IT solutions, enhancing the productivity of end users doing business on the cloud or over new tablets and smartphones while lowering the total cost of ownership. (CL) Link