Monday, March 31, 2014

HP Introduces Cloud Managed Wireless Access Points for SMBs

HP announced new cloud-managed and on-premise wired and wireless network solutions designed for branch offices or SMBs.

The HP Cloud Managed Network Solution, which takes the place of an on-premise WLAN controller, lowers upfront deployment costs and does not require on-site IT staff to manage the network.


For on-premise, HP is introducing two WLAN controller appliances that scale to support up to 30,000 devices.

The rollout also includes new HP 560 and 517 IEEE 802.11ac wireless access points, which offer speeds three times faster than 802.11n. The HP 560 access points will also be OpenFlow-enabled, empowering customers to leverage SDN applications without having to rip and replace existing infrastructure.

HP is also partnering with Citrix and MobileIron to offer mobile device management (MDM) integration with the HP Intelligent Management Center (IMC) platform.

In addition, HP is launching a Location Aware SDN application that locates any wireless-enabled device indoors with approximately two meter accuracy.  The solution could be use in context-aware retail, asset management and security applications. This application will be integrated with the HP Virtual Application Networks (VAN) SDN controller.

“Our customers are telling us that their networks are primarily cost centers that are too complex to manage, while they are at the same time facing increasing end-user demand for a better mobile experience,” said Bethany Mayer, senior vice president and general manager, Networking Business Unit and Network Functions Virtualization Business, HP. “With HP’s cloud-managed and SDN-enabled unified wired and wireless solutions, we are enabling IT organizations to provide an improved mobile user experience, as well as offering simplified management and investment protection.”

http://www.hp.com