Managing wireless through the Cloud

NETGEAR has launched Business Central, the company’s first secure, cloud-based IT service platform. Business Central is designed to provide small to mid-sized organisations with an affordable way to establish, provision and manage key IT networking services and network devices. The first service module to debut under the Business Central umbrella is the new Business Central Wireless Manager (http://wireless.netgear.co.uk), which enables companies as well as Value-Added Resellers (VARs) and other Systems Integrators (SIs) to centrally manage an entire wireless network across multiple borders, cities, buildings and floors, anytime and anywhere, securely through the cloud.

As a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform, Business Central provides enterprise-grade service levels with sophisticated client load balancing and redundancy to ensure maximum uptime while minimising capital cost expenditures. Business Central Wireless Manager is a new way to deliver managed WiFi for growing organisations that want to cost-effectively and centrally manage single or multiple NETGEAR ProSAFE® WiFi access points (APs) per site, or hundreds or thousands of access points across multiple sites. For retail chains, coffee shops, small offices, multiple branch offices, and restaurant chains, the alternative is using standalone AP deployments without centralised management, or hardware-based wireless controllers that have service sizing limitations.

“Having multiple standalone access points is no longer feasible as configuration changes become routine rather than occasional. However, for some organisations, the jump to a managed wireless LAN network can become demanding and overly complex for both IT budgets and IT resources,” said Peter Newton, senior director of product management for the NETGEAR Commercial Business Unit.

He added, “What’s needed is a bridge solution between standalone APs and a controller, where flexibility, scalability and ease-of-use are standard and —more importantly— affordable. For small to large enterprises and organisations with single to multiple branch locations, our Business Central Wireless Manager maximises ROI and is the optimum tool for easy and cost-effective centralised WiFi management. It’s an effective solution for both customer-deployed scenarios as well as a VAR-managed service. VARs and their customers can benefit from a free 90-day introductory trial.”

An effortless cloud network for resellers and their customers

With Business Central Wireless Manager, all management is performed remotely through a standard web browser. As the management function is hosted on the web, operational administrative tasks that are relevant to traditional controller architectures are eliminated — the purchase, update, support renewal, and maintenance of separate hardware are not required. With Business Central Wireless Manager’s single, comprehensive portal dashboard and simple-to-use configuration wizards, the IT manager, VAR or SI can bring multiple sites, APs and users under one management umbrella within minutes. With just a few clicks, it’s easy to manage wireless SSIDs, configure wireless security settings, control free or fee-paying guest and private WiFi access on the network, and run bandwidth usage reports. Leveraging NETGEAR’s best-in-class user experience design, Business Central Wireless Manager enables IT administrators to have clear, comprehensive and real-time visibility into the network for total control of evolving service needs.

While appropriate for self-managed end-customer deployments, Business Central Wireless Manager broadens the product choice available to VARs and SIs. It provides them the ability to offer managed WiFi not only via customer-premise hardware controllers, but through the cloud as a trusted managed service for customers who have no desire or IT skills for network management. Business Central Wireless Manager doesn’t require hardware installation at customer premises and provides a pay-as-you-grow model.

Exploding Growth in Demand for Wireless Connectivity

“Our research shows that the number of network-connected devices on SMB and enterprise networks is expected to jump 20 percent between 2014 and 2016, driven by a growing user population, more devices per user, and new use cases like Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication and Internet of Things (IoT),” said Matthias Machowinski, research director for enterprise networking at IHS Infonetics (www.infonetics.com). “Three out of every four devices are expected to connect wirelessly to the network, making robust wireless connectivity a must-have for organisations who want to take advantage of new capabilities and incorporate mobility into their business processes.”

Shopping centres offering free and paid WiFi access to shop owners and the public, a restaurant owner with multiple franchises and several access points at each site, a group of community centres — all add up to more devices, users, traffic and concurrent connections placing heavier burdens on growing wireless networks. Knowing what is connected to the network, where there is client and traffic congestion, as well as bandwidth utilisation, shouldn’t be a guessing game.

“Every Sunday, the New Hope Church network is stressed by hundreds of additional client devices jumping onto WiFi,” said Kyle Larson, the IT director for New Hope Church in Houston, Texas (www.newhopechurch.tv), which has multiple locations. “A flexible, cloud-based solution like NETGEAR Business Central Wireless Manager is an attractive option for its flexible captive portal, maximum uptime, and easy scalability. We also appreciate its cost-effective, pay-as-you-go licensing model.”

Manage Your NETGEAR Access Points

NETGEAR Business Central Wireless Manager provides centralised control and comprehensive monitoring of all wireless access points and clients directly from the cloud. It supports the following NETGEAR access points.

· ProSAFE® Wireless-N Dual-Band Concurrent Premium Access Point (WNDAP660)
· ProSAFE Wireless-N Dual Band Concurrent Access Point (WNDAP360)
· ProSAFE Wireless-N Dual Band Concurrent Access Point (WNDAP350)
· ProSAFE Wireless-N Single Band Access Point (WNAP320)
· ProSAFE Wireless-N Single Band Access Point (WNAP210v2)

Depending upon the purchase date of the access point, a free firmware upgrade may be needed for it to become cloud-ready. Firmware is available for download from the NETGEAR Support website.