Aruba AirWave

Overview:

AirWave is a powerful and easy to use network operations solution designed to manage the Aruba Networks Mobile Virtual Enterprise (MOVE) portfolio of WLAN and remote access solutions. Providing multi-infrastructure and multi-vendor support for leading traditional "FAT" APs, AirWave can also help organizations easily migrate from legacy Wi-Fi to the latest Aruba 802.11n wireless networking solutions. AirWave gives IT staff the clarity and control needed to effectively manage enterprise mobility, including providing real-time monitoring, proactive alerts, historical reporting, and fast, efficient troubleshooting, all through a centralized, intuitive user interface.

Additionally, AirWave includes powerful tools to help organizations better manage RF coverage, address specific wireless security issues and demonstrate compliance with regulatory mandates. Using VisualRF™ location and mapping capabilities, AirWave presents a comprehensive view of the enterprise-wide RF environment. By generating a map of Wi-Fi coverage and the underlying wired topology, AirWave VisualRF provides a clear and accurate picture of who is on the network, their location, and how the network is performing.

Working in conjunction with ArubaOS™ RFprotect spectrum analysis and wireless intrusion protection software, AirWave RAPIDS™ collects rogue AP, rogue client and wireless intrusion events and correlates this data with wired network data, highlighting the most relevant threats while greatly reducing falsepositives and vastly improving network security

With its easy-to-use interface, identity-based approach to network access and tight integration with the Aruba MOVE architecture, AirWave lets service desk personnel triage connectivity issues so that IT engineers can focus on proactively optimizing network performance. Available as software or a combined hardware and software appliance, AirWave reduces cost and complexity, improves service quality, and helps IT make intelligent, wellinformed decisions about network design.

Features:

Easy-To-Use Web Interface

• Role-based access; viewing rights and administrative privileges tailored to job responsibilities.
• Customizable views of key information.
• Identify and search for users by user name.

Device Discover

• Automatically discovers wireless LAN (WLAN) infrastructure devices.
• Operates in any network environment, including distributed networks with large numbers of facilities.

Client Device Classification

• Collects and displays client device data from ArubaOS, Aruba Instant, and SOTI MobiControl, including Device Type, OS, OS
• Detail, Manufacturer, Model, and more.
• Client device report filters provide inventory reporting by device classification.

Real-Time Monitoring

• Automatically tracks every wireless and remote users and devices connected to the network.
• Creates visibility into the wired infrastructure that connects wireless controllers and APs.
• Logs and displays radio and RADIUS errors, a frequent cause of connectivity problems.
• Provides rapid drill-down from network-wide to device-level monitoring views.

Root Cause Analysis and Event Correlation

• Maps upstream relationships between APs, controllers and switches to help identify the root cause of downtime and performance problems.

Automated Configuration Management

• Automatically configures APs, controllers and Aruba S3500 Mobility Access Switches.
• Configuration policies are defined using a web-based user interface or by importing a known-good configuration from an existing device.
• Hierarchical policy definition allows quick and easy updates of general configurations across the entire network without overwriting settings that may vary from location to location.
• Efficient remote software distribution eliminates time-consuming and error-prone manual updates.
• Intelligent scheduling lets IT automate configurations or firmware updates with minimal disruption and create recurring tasks.
• Supports archived device configurations for auditing and version control.
• Maintains detailed audit logs of changes made by all AirWave operators

Better Network Planning and Provisioning

• VisualRF and the offline VisualRF Plan tool allow quick planning of RF and wired coverage for new sites.

Managing the Latest Technologies, Architectures and Products

• A single management interface for multiple generations of devices.
• Support for autonomous, controller-managed, and mesh APs, including Aruba AirMesh.
• Monitors Aruba S3500 Mobility Access Switches and other edge devices using standard MIB data.
• Generates reports on wired port utilization to support capacity planning and network Supports Aruba's latest management capabilities.
• Supports legacy WLAN products from leading vendors.

Open Architecture

• XML API enables cost-effective integration of valuable location data with other applications.
• Any data that is visible in AirWave is accessible via the XML API.

Platform Data

• Centralized network operations center require no local agents.
• Runs on standard PC hardware/standard Linux operating system.
• Device communication through SSH, Telnet, SNMP v1/v2c/v3 and other standard protocols.
• Supports up to 100,000+ managed devices.

VisualRF Features

Real-Time Visualization

• Voice overlay displays coverage for voice handsets, including a radio count heat map.
• Displays Aruba Mobility Access Switches and other wiring closet devices for a comprehensive view of the network edge.
• Simulate failure feature enables analysis of what-if scenarios for proactive RF coverage planning.

Effective Site Planning for Precise Deployment

• Determines the right quantity and placement of APs, controllers, Aruba Mobility Access Switches and other edge devices based on RF coverage goals.
• Incorporates Aruba Mobility Access Switches, other wiring closet devices, as well as Aruba AirMesh products into the network design.
• Automatically generates bill of material reports.

Standalone VisualRF Plan Tool

• Runs on Windows-based laptops and workstations.
• Uses the same RF planning and visualization algorithms as the integrated VisualRF module.
• Allows plans made offline to be exported into the integrated VisualRF module; also allows plans from the integrated VisualRF module to be exported into the standalone VisualRF tool.

Integrated Location Tracking and RF Visualization

• Allows quick location of users and wireless devices for troubleshooting, planning and asset tracking.
• Playback location history of individual users over the past day to aid in troubleshooting and recovery of lost devices.
• Last known location of each tracked device is stored indefinitely to help find lost or stolen devices.

Rapids Features

Rapids Highlights

• Flexible rules-based determination of what a rogue AP means to the existing environment.
• Correlates data gathered from the wired infrastructure with data gathered from the WLAN infrastructure to reduce false positives.
• Central management console for ArubaOS RFprotect software module monitors intrusion detection and prevention activity, while identifying and neutralizing rogue APs.
• Utilizes location data from VisualRF.
• Compliance reporting, including the payment card industry (PCI) data security standard.

Rogue Device Visualization

• Integrates with VisualRF to display the location of each rogue device on a building floor plan.

Intrusion Detection System (IDS) Events

• Aggregates, correlates, alerts and logs wireless attacks that have been detected and reported on the network, providing a comprehensive picture of infrastructure security.

Strong Enterprise-Grade Security

• View locations of rogue APs discovered by AirWave RAPIDS for faster investigation and threat removal.
• Plan the precise locations to deploy dedicated Wi-Fi sensors, such as Aruba air monitors, to ensure complete coverage.
• Compares wired and wireless scanning results to eliminate duplicates and refine threat assessment.

Rules-Based Threat Classification

• Classify potential threats based on customized rules that define is the characteristics of a rogue device.
• Reduces false-positives and lets the network security staff focus on the most significant threats.

Automated Alerts and Reports

• Predefined, customizable reports address common security and compliance information needs, such as rogue device tracking and PCI compliance.

Automatic and Manual Containment

• Perform manual or automated rogue AP containment with Aruba and Cisco controllers.
• Customized operator-defined rules-based classification determines when to automatically contain devices.
• Disable wired switch ports if attached rogue APs are detected.

AirWave Master Console™ and Failover Servers:

The AirWave Master Console offers a single point of control to manage large, extensive wireless networks, while AirWave Failover Servers ensure management availability and redundancy in mission-critical environments.

Aggregating and presenting critical real-time information from multiple AirWave servers, the AirWave Master Console is ideal for networks that encompass tens of thousands of access points, controllers and wired infrastructure devices.

AirWave Failover Servers deliver exceptional management availability and redundancy to mission-critical networks with a single AirWave server and larger networks with multiple AirWave servers distributed throughout the enterprise.

AirWave Failover Servers maintain communication with one or more servers that are running AirWave, and assume management responsibility for the appropriate devices if a server goes down.

What’s Unique About Master Console?

• Centralized network-wide reporting provides consolidated data for intelligent decision-making.
• Centralized alerting makes more efficient use of staff members’ time.
• Centralized configuration management lets you define standard group policies while allowing for local variations required to meet business and compliance requirements.
• Smartphone-viewable portal delivers access to mobile web-enabled devices.
• Many-to-one failover model saves on initial and ongoing expenses.

How Is the AirWave Master Console Used?

The larger your network grows, the more you need real-time information and centralized control. Large organizations need a management architecture that scales without sacrificing the operational benefits of a single view of the network infrastructure and devices. AirWave Wireless Management Suite accommodates these needs by distributing processing across multiple AirWave servers — collocated or distributed in NOCs around the world — and consolidating monitoring and management in a single AirWave Master Console.

Key Features

Centralized Network-Wide Reporting

• Runs all reports available from a standalone AirWave server with a network-wide view
• Allows for report customization, scheduling, and export of data into XHTML and CSV format

Centralized Search

• Performs powerful free-form searches that will find any user, AP, device, server, or other component under management
• If an employee traveling overseas is having connectivity problems, the local service desk can find that employee instantly

Centralized Configuration

• Lets you define standard group policies for configuration and security settings that are then pushed out system-wide
• Allows for local variations required to meet business and compliance requirements

Consolidated Alert Management

• Presents alerts from all AirWave servers in a single view
• Lets staff acknowledge, investigate and delete in one place the events for which they are responsible

Smartphone-Friendly Portal

• Includes a smartphone-viewable portal that delivers access to mobile web-enabled devices
• Provides metrics on uptime, network usage, user load, and other read-only monitoring information
• Can populate intranet applications to generate customized views for executives, customers or the general user population

Timezone-Aware Scheduling

• Executes scheduled configuration changes and software updates using local time at each site, rather than simultaneously on a system-wide basis
• Minimizes business disruption while maximizing the benefits of automated configuration

Screenshots:

Documentation:

Aruba AirWave Datasheet (.PDF)

Aruba AirWave Master Console and Failover Servers Datasheet (.PDF)