Customer : Airespace Industry : Wireless LAN Application Name: Airespace Control System (ACS) Software
Business Challenge
Airespace is a leading WLAN switch vendor enabling enterprises
deploy large wireless LANs. Airespace’s objective was to make
enterprise wireless networks as robust as wired Ethernet networks.
In making this a reality, Airespace had to face multiple challenges including that of providing
a robust wireless LAN management system.
Airespace had to offer its enterprise customers a truly enterprisegrade,
single console, operator-friendly management software using which,
the enterprises can manage Airespace’s wireless LAN devices.
With the market abound with opportunities and being dynamic, Airespace
had to offer the management software quickly, and costeffectively.
Solution
Airespace chose WebNMS Framework as the platform for building
their management software. Using WebNMS Framework, the team at
Airespace quickly built the Airespace Control System Software (ACS)
in a very short time. The excellent technical support offered by
WebNMS enabled a hassle-free development for the Airespace team.
“We have been very happy with your support. It has always
been very responsive and fits the needs of a fast moving company
like Airespace.”- Pramod Badjate, Airespace Inc.
The Airespace Control System software interacts with the AireWave
Director Software for controlling the devices. The AireWave Director
Software handles the RF related functions such as automatic channel
management, mobility management, rogue detection, user load management
etc. The AireWave Director software connects to the Airespace devices
such as the appliance, switch, and access points.
Solution Highlights
Single solution for planning, configuration, and management:
ACS is a single solution for planning, configuration, and management
of Airespace based wireless LANs. Enterprise users can use ACS software
for planning the WLAN deployment, and for configuration of APs during
deployment, and management of WLAN devices during post deployment.
Real-time data visualization: WebNMS Framework facilitates
performance data collection and detailed reporting of the collected
data. Using graphs the information on AP statistics are displayed
real-time in the client GUI. Historical data could also be stored
and retrieved.
Web-based GUI: As most of the EMS functionalities are available
out of the box with WebNMS Framework, the team at Airespace spent
their energies on making the client truly enterprise-grade. The
new client GUI displayed all relevant data in a user-friendly manner.
To serve enterprise IT managers, ACS was well set with a GUI that
is simple, effective, and intuitive.
Interoperability with existing enterprise applications:
Leveraging the open interfaces of WebNMS Framework, the ACS software
is made interoperable with any existing wired LAN management application.
For enterprise IT managers this interoperability is a basic need
which cannot be ignored. If the WLAN software is not interoperable
with existing systems, then the IT managers would land up with two
islands of networks, which need to managed separately.
Site survey capability through third party tool integration:
The ACS software had two components – the one which offers
EMS functionality and the other which offers RF functionality. The
team at Airespace integrated a third party Site Survey Tool with
WebNMS Framework to provide the site survey functionality.
The framework was flexible enough to provide a smooth integration
with that third party tool.
Airespace Control System Software DeploymentDetails
Airespace has been shipping the control system software with most
of its large-scale enterprise deployments. Few of the deployments
include the following:
Pacific Exchange (PCX): The WLAN system deployed at Pacific
Exchange consists of Airespace 4000 WLAN Switches and Airespace
1200 Access Points. Airespace Control System (ACS) Software was
also used to validate WLAN configuration after deployment via a
minimal site survey, and to create and enforce system-wide security, Quality of Service (QoS), and locationbased
policies.
GTSI Corp.: The system installed at GTSI consists of the
Airespace 4000 WLAN Switch, Airespace 1200 Access Points, and Airespace
Control System (ACS) Software, which handles policy and device configuration,
troubleshooting, and ongoing maintenance of the Airespace wireless
network.
Key Features of Airespace Control System (ACS) Software
Intuitive graphical user interface.
Dashboard views.
Hierarchical maps.
Policy management.
Seamless software upgrades
Auto discovery.
Integrated RF planning and management capabilities (achieved
by integrating third party RF tools)
Key Benefits
The following are the key benefits that WebNMS Framework brought
forth with ACS software:
Reduced development time: Airespace hit the market much
sooner than its competitors. Thanks to the high productive
WebNMS Framework platform, which provided most EMS functions out-of-the-box.
Cost-efficiency: Using WebNMS Framework Airespace was able
to control costs which they passed on to the end users. Today, ACS
is probably the only WLAN management software that is sold for less
than $1000.
About Airespace Inc.
Airespace designs and develops intelligent wireless networking
platforms that support business-critical applications. The company
has set the standard for enterprise Wireless LANs, having earned
CMP LLC’s “Best of Interop Award,” Network Computing’s
“Editor’s Choice Award” and “Well Connected
Product of the Year,” Network World’s “World Class
Award” and “Best of the Test Award,” Internet Telephony’s
“Product of the Year,” eWeek’s “Annual Excellence
Award”, and nomination as one of the “Best Wireless Products
of 2003” in InfoWorld’s “Reader’s Choice”
Awards. With dynamic RF management, air-tight security, seamless
mobility, and support for real-time applications such as voice,
Airespace helps enterprises implement secure and manageable Wireless
LAN networks worldwide.
Airespace is a registered trademark of Airespace, Inc.
About Zoho Corporation
Zoho Corporation provides affordable software for management and provisioning
of complex networks, systems, and IT applications. With a broad
product portfolio and an active customer base ranging from enterprises,
equipment vendors, and service providers, Zoho Corporation has emerged
as a very affordable and high-quality alternative to expensive software
that is common in this industry. Zoho Corporation has offices in CA, Austin, New Jersey, Chennai, Singapore, Tokyo and Beijing. It has a well-trained partner base around the globe and thousands of customers world-wide. For more information, call 888-720-9500 or visit our Web site at: www.webnms.com.
