Black Box SmartPath Moves Wireless LAN Management to the Cloud 
It’s not just mobile that benefits from the cloud. WAN management and Wi-Fi is leveraging the cloud with the launch of SmartPath Enterprise Wireless from Black Box Corp., a communications SI. The device is 802.11n technology that migrates WLAN management to the cloud, and will also make it easier to upgrade to Wi-Fi.
Black Box Corp., a communications system integrator, is taking WAN and Wi-Fi management to the cloud with the launch of its SmartPath Enterprise Wireless, a new 802.11n technology that migrates WLAN management to the cloud and also makes it easier for companies to upgrade to next-generation Wi-Fi communications.
SmartPath Enterprise Wireless brings management to wireless networks with multiple access points without expensive WLAN controllers. This approach lets companies manage all their access points from the cloud by simply subscribing to Black Box’s online SmartPath Enterprise Management System (EMS), according to Keith Ross, wireless product manager for Black Box.
SmartPath removes the expensive controller from the buying process,” Ross said in a statement. SmartPath is also designed to integrate easily into existing networks, offers resiliency and traffic management and provides secure access enforced by per-user policies and SLAs.
SmartPath allows organizations to manage an entire wireless enterprise from anywhere because there’s no controller hardware to install, configure, or patch. And the APs will continue to function on their own even if the connection to the cloud is lost temporarily—no backup controllers are needed for redundancy, he added.
“Once plugged in, each SmartPath AP automatically joins the network and contacts the EMS in the cloud,” Ross said. Then an administrator can use the EMS system’s user-friendly GUI platform to manage various APs in multiple locations, Ross said. The admin can also apply group policies to some or all APs, making new deployments in various offices easier, Ross said.
In addition, admins can use the EMS to manage security settings because the SmartPath platform offers built-in firewall with virtual private networking features. It also supports full 802.1X authentication for secure access, as well as RADIUS with Active Directory, LDAP, Open Directory, and eDirectory integration, according to company officials. SmartPath EMS is hosted in the cloud so it provides centralized management but isn’t active in passing traffic or making forwarding decisions.
“Because there are no expensive controllers required, you can scale the SmartPath system from a few APs to thousands of APs as funding becomes available to you,” Ross added.
