Wherever you go, take your work desk along

There was a time when companies laid large labyrinth of wires to get network for their buildings. Over the years, wired networks, as they were come to be called, grew both in terms of speed and reliability. IT departments in the organisations did not have much trouble in laying security around such networks.

Sure, they remained the nests where computers worked effectively and securely as well. But given that many of world’s workforce is functioning more on the move, can organisations find such havens useful any longer?

Today, no laptop makes to the market without wireless connectivity on it. And mobile network is rapidly moving towards data access. And so, it only becomes natural for organisations to think of extending networks beyond the confines of their buildings. Here again, there are some choices for them. Over the years, Virtual Private Networks has become the best way for mobile workers to tap-into the pool of enterprise resources and keep pace with the ever-demanding work conditions. But VPNs are not without their limitations.

Installed in one device, it can be used by a single user and the experience may not be quite like carrying your work desk around.

For branch offices functioning from remote locations, network connectivity is extended through switches and routers, which, despite its efficacy, remains expensive as well as too cumbersome to deploy and maintain. Just as organisations look for a fluid and easy to operate solution which any kind of mobile workforce can handle, Aruba Networks have come up with solutions that are closest to this description.

Wireless Remote Access Points or (RAP), which Aruba has made specially for workers on the move, and Branch Office Control (BOC), combines the sophistication of the VPN and effectiveness of branch networks to let users connect to their computers and phones at their work desk without having to do anything complex than plugging a few wires.

A smaller hardware -its basic level device is not bigger than a pack of cards - lets users connect to their data centres from virtually anywhere in the world. "You can use this device to connect to your data centre from any network (WAN or 3G cellular)," Manav Khurana, Head of Industry Marketing, Aruba Networks, explained. "Not only the RAP device allows you to access the network at the same speed as you would find it at your work desk, but it also extends the policy set for other users in the organisation."

Using the VOIP facility available with the solution, the user can connect his landline from the remote location and receive calls coming into it. Through a data centre control software, which governs the user's access to the network and its resources, it is possible to push policies set on data centre usage to dissolvable firewall agents to every RAP and BOC.

“With the basic RAP device costing just $110, our solution can be a cost-effective way of connecting educational institutions, ambulance services, disaster management teams and practically any worker or organisation looking for reliable network connectivity,” Khurana said.

The suite of solution contains RAP-2, a smaller device that can connect between one to five users. RAP-2 is meant for tele-workers and micro branches. RAP-5, a slightly bigger consol, can connect upto 50 users and can therefore cater to full-fledged, but small remote offices. The 600 BOC (Branch Office Controllers) can support about 260 users and provide facilities such as WAN  connectivity, Network Attached Storage, Gigabyte Ethernet, Power Over Ethernet (POE) etc.

In addition, a single Aruba 6000 Multi-Service Controller equipped with VBN software will support up to 8,000 RAP or 600 series devices, and up to 32,000 users.