Meru Mixes WLAN Security and QoS

Meru Networks introduced new wireless LAN software this week that pulls double duty by helping to secure wireless traffic while also optimizing mobile application performance.

AirShield Security Suite 2.0, due to ship at the end of the month, blocks threats from rogue devices while ensuring time-sensitive applications such as voice and video traffic get an adequate level of service, Meru said.

The vendor also announced new partnerships with network access control vendors including Juniper Networks, Lockdown Networks, Microsoft, and Vernier Networks to further help enterprises secure their WLAN deployments.

Unlike other wireless security solutions that turn off RF scanning to allow bandwidth-intensive real-time traffic to cross the network unimpeded, AirShield Security Suite 2.0 lets the traffic through while continuing to look for radio frequency (RF) interference from rogue devices, Meru said.Meru's offering includes a per-application, per-user policy enforcement firewall and traffic separation capabilities that network managers can use to block intruders from the network. The new software also incorporates generic routing-encapsulation (GRE) tunneling to segregate traffic based on user type and the location of access.

Meru said the software uses policy-based bandwidth policing and rate limiting to guarantee that time-sensitive applications receive high-priority handling. The suite, priced at $3495 for a WLAN with up to 30 access points, also provides a consolidated point for enforcing security and performance management policies.