"Most recently, the US Joint Forces Command layered on AirWave centralized configuration and management software to help scale access point deployment. This move happened after attempting to automate access point setup with Cisco's Wireless LAN Solution Engine (WLSE) for two months and finding it 'not intuitive,' says Derek Krein, wireless engineer." NetworkWorld
Federal, state, and local government agencies are rapidly installing wireless networks for the same reasons as large enterprises and other organizations: to improve employee productivity through mobile access. Increasingly, cities and towns are also beginning to investigate and install municipal wireless networks for city workers, residents, and visitors alike.
The IT organizations supporting these wireless networks have many of the same requirements as their peers in large corporations – but also face unique operations issues that require specific wireless management capabilities.
Flexibility to use multiple wireless technologies to deliver network access indoors and outdoors
For years, government agencies and municipalities have been using WiFi in indoor office areas. Now, government entities are increasingly interested in outdoor coverage as well -- to provide connectivity for public safety workers, to deliver access on military bases, and even to blanket entire towns with high-speed coverage. The AirWave Wireless Management Suite is unique in its ability to support enterprise WiFi, mesh networks, point-to-point solutions and even WiMax from a single console – providing one solution to manage even the largest and most diverse networks.
Vendor-neutral management to allow competitive bidding
Government agencies are often required by legislative mandate to solicit competitive bids when awarding large hardware contracts – and may even have to go through the bid process several times when projects are implemented in multiple phases. Proprietary, single-vendor management solutions result in vendor lock-in, which prevents the agencies from considering other hardware alternatives in the future – or forces the IT staff to use multiple different management solutions, at considerable cost. AirWave's multi-vendor device support lets administrators select whatever hardware solutions best meet their needs and budgets, providing best-in-class management for the current environment and the flexibility to handle whatever the future holds.
Centralized, automated enforcement of security policies
All government agencies – but especially those in the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security -- must pay particularly close attention to the enforcement of security policies. Government auditors have been highly critical of many agency’s efforts to secure their wireless networks, and are sure to be paying even more attention to this in the future. AirWave's automated compliance audit feature automatically compares the configuration of every wireless infrastructure device to your policy -- and generates a high-priority alert whenever a variance is detected. The AirWave software can even be instructed to automatically restore the correct settings whenever a violation is detected.
Detection of unauthorized rogue access points anywhere on the network
Security-conscious agencies simply cannot tolerate rogue access points - but sensor-based IDS solutions can be prohibitively expensive and may take years to install fully. AirWave's RAPIDS module, with wired network scanning, makes it easy to detect rogues anywhere on the network without proprietary sensors.
Efficient centralized management by a small operations staff in IT
Government agencies often have multiple facilities, sometimes in remote areas of the world, that must be controlled centrally – by an IT staff that is often much smaller than you would find in a comparably sized corporation. The IT staff cannot possibly afford to dispatch technicians to each of these facilities – or to every node on a municipal wireless network – whenever users report problems. Via AirWave's web-based interface, government network administrators and helpdesk staff can fully monitor and manage the wireless infrastructure and support users anywhere in the world, across a WAN or LAN.
Affordable location and mapping capabilities
Government agencies often need to know exactly where every user and wireless device is located at all times – and may even be mandated to do so. AirWave's VisualRF module provides accurate location information and maps -- all on the same server as the rest of the AirWave software, without requiring a costly location appliance or additional per-AP fees. The VisualRF module and QuickView screens also enable the helpdesk staff to quickly locate users, assess network conditions in the area, diagnose problems and remotely resolve them.
Automation and scalability for vast wireless networks
With wireless networks in hundreds or thousands of locations, even the most routine management tasks can consume enormous amounts of time and resources. Provisioning new devices, distributing software patches and updates, changing device configurations, conducting compliance audits and rogue AP checks – performing any one of these tasks manually could take thousands of man-hours every year. With AirWave, such routine tasks are automated, and can even be scheduled to occur when network usage is low, freeing the IT staff to focus other, more pressing concerns.
