Taking the Management of APs into the Cloud

Paul Mah, an SMB Tech expert who writes for IT Business Edge, posts a great overview of how different vendors approach the management of networks with multiple Wi-Fi APs.  He highlights our CloudCommand technology as the proof point for rapid innovation in the Wi-Fi networking sector:

Proving that the WLAN field is one where innovation is taking place at a rapid pace, at least one company has decided to take the management of APs into the cloud. PowerCloud Systems in 2010 unveiled its CloudCommand technology that the company says allows networking equipment to be configured, deployed and managed from the cloud. The startup has at least one commercially available AP that supports CloudCommand (D-link DAP-2555), and Atheros Communications – a WLAN chipset heavyweight – also added the technology into its networking software platform in January. Cloud-based management of AP is definitely in its infancy at this point, though it may well gain traction in the SMB market for its advantages on the device management front.

Read the Post.

Cloud-Based Networking Hardware Is Coming to a Wiring Closet Near You

Shamus McGillicuddy, news director at TechTarget’s Networking Media, wrote a long piece on cloud-based networking that’s definitely worth a look:  

Cloud-based networking may sound like hype, but network engineers should take notice: Network devices that are managed through the cloud are becoming a reality. Some pioneering companies have already pushed the management and control planes of wireless LAN infrastructure into the cloud, and now they are introducing wired devices that use the same cloud-based networking hardware model…

The story quotes Harold Mann of Mann Consulting, who deployed our first CloudCommand-enabled Wi-Fi networking product, D-Link’s DAP-2555 access point, at a busy customer site.  And it highlights how our recent partnership announcement with Atheros, the global leader in manufacturing Wi-Fi chipsets, is a sign that cloud-based networking hardware has arrived:

More: Atheros, the world’s leading manufacturer of Wi-Fi chipsets, has also embraced cloud-based networking hardware. It announced a partnership with PowerCloud Systems, a startup vendor that offers a “networking cloud operating system” for networking OEMs. Atheros is integrating some of its chipsets with PowerCloud technology so that wireless LAN vendors can build access points that can be managed through a cloud. D-Link is the first vendor to take advantage of this partnership, offering a new family of SMB-focused, cloud-controlled access points.

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News: Atheros Endorses Cloud-Based Wireless in a Big Way

Network Computing just delivered an incredibly strong endorsement for our new collaboration with Atheros.

Analyst Lee Badman is one of the country’s leading experts in network computing. When Lee spots a market shift, people take notice.

Here are several quotes from the article:

• When a company as integral to the wireless LAN space as Atheros endorses a new market direction, you’d do well to pay attention…

• It’s one thing to hear this message from the likes of Meraki and Aerohive, and it’s another to see the provider of well over 50% of all WLAN access point radios buy in to the cloud movement…

• (T)he result is high-quality networks that are out-of-box simple to install.

• (T)his fast-evolving space is certainly morphing again before our very eyes.

Don’t walk…Run to the article

Atheros Adds CloudCommand to Wi-Fi Chipsets

From SmallCloudBuilder and reporter Matt Smollinger:

Atheros has bundled cloud-based management capability from PowerCloud Systems into its networking software platform, enabling cloud management for routers and access points based on Atheros chipsets.

Cloud managed routers are not a new concept, as Meraki continues to improve its cloud-based router offering.

However, Meraki’s products are relatively expensive and require an ongoing subscription fee. Atheros’ addition of PowerCloud’s CloudCommand technology will allow Atheros’ OEM partners to provide a similar, Meraki-esque experience.

CloudCommand will give smaller businesses management features similar to those enjoyed by larger enterprises using expensive, multi-AP management solutions. However, those systems don’t scale down to meet smaller businesses’ needs very well, which might have only a small number of APs to manage.

Atheros is hoping to change this by allowing OEMs to cloud-base multi-AP management and bring cost-effective and flexible wireless network management to more products.

Atheros + PowerCloud Systems = The First WLAN Chipsets With Cloud Management Features

Here’s today’s press release on the Atheros and PowerCloud Systems collaboration to add cloud management capabilities to Atheros’ WLAN solutions for small, medium and large enterprise networks:

SAN JOSE, CA–(Marketwire – 01/24/11) – Atheros Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:ATHR – News), a global leader in innovative technologies for wireless and wired communications, today announced it has added cloud management capabilities to its WLAN solutions for small, medium and large enterprise networks. Through collaboration with PowerCloud Systems, Atheros is offering CloudCommand™ technology in its XSPAN® software development kit, which enables wireless access points and routers to be deployed and managed from the cloud with a web browser. This will accelerate the adoption of cloud-managed network devices and expand the opportunities for networking.

Read the Release