Aruba AirOS 2.3

Aruba's latest version of its AirOS wireless Lan management software aims to improve functionality for established hardware, such as Aruba AP-60/61 access points (APs), and for recently introduced kit such as the Aruba 70 access point.

We tested the software using an Aruba 800 wireless Lan switch and four Aruba AP-61 APs. Once we had upgraded the 800 wireless Lan switch with the new firmware and rebooted it, the switch configured the 'thin' AP-61 APs with the new functionality.

One improvement is support for deploying Aruba's APs remotely over the net using 3DES IPSec security with PKI and NAT-T support, although only AP-60/61 and 70 models support this.

To manage the 800, we browsed to it using a desktop PC connected to the local subnet, although managing it wirelessly through a remotely deployed AP-61 access point is possible. AirOS 2.3 has a network monitoring page and a new diagnostics page for better troubleshooting by network administrators.

AirOS version 2.3 supports Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2). Since AirOS supports virtual service set identifiers, we could configure APs to behave as if there were two different wireless Lans available, so we could set up one requiring WPA2-type passwords and another with standard access.

Release 2.3 improves Aruba's management of radio frequency (RF). It has better visualisation of RF parameters, plus interference and coverage area, and can locate rogues and allowed clients to an accuracy of 3m.

We could also set up a remote authentication dial-in user service server, to authenticate wireless clients logging on to specific wireless Lans and wired users routed through the wireless Lan switch.

Contact:
Aruba 020 7958 9022
www.arubanetworks.com