Great Solutions: Superior Wi-Fi for Assisted-Living Healthcare Facilities throughout California

With 18 facilities and 1,900 beds throughout California, Generations Healthcare is one of the largest providers of assisted-living services in the United States.

Its CloudCommand-powered network provides outstanding Wi-Fi to more than 1,300 wireless devices used by hundreds of staff and visitors connecting 24×7.

“CloudCommand enables us to remotely manage a single Wi-Fi network that operates in 18 locations from San Diego to north of San Francisco,” said IT Administrator Pat Cosby. “We monitor activity in real time and troubleshoot problems from our desks.  Most of our facilities have no on-site IT support, making this kind of management critical.  CloudCommand provides a tremendous service at an unbeatable price.”

Generations Healthcare provides a protected primary network for staff.  Visitors and patients access the Internet via a separate guest network.  Network administrators track devices individually and can make network-wide modifications with the click of a mouse button.  Alternately, they can adjust settings at  individual sites and even add/remove individual users.

Generations Healthcare leverages the CloudCommand-powered platform through D-Link’s popular DAP-2555 AirPremier wireless acces point.

D-Link offers a full suite of cloud-managed Wi-Fi products powered by CloudCommand, including the DAP-2555, the DAP-3525 Outdoor AP and the DAP-2565 Plenum AP.

Solution at a Glance

• 70 access points provide robust connectivity to staff and visitors.

• 18 facilities successfully use a single network that spans nearly 500 miles.

• More than 1,300 connecting destaff and visitors connect to the primary and hotspot networks.

• The administrator efficiently manages the entire network from anywhere by logging into the browser-based CloudCommand dashboard.

• Business-grade features enable the administrator to track connecting devices, monitor network traffic and edit or update access points on an individual basis.

• The network delivers real-time SMS alerts notify the administrator to issues occurring anywhere on the network.

CloudCommand’s Unbeatable Combination of Features, Usability & Affordability

Our CloudCommand platform delivers the first and only Wi-Fi solution specifically designed to meet the needs and budgets of SMBs and MSPs that support them.

The combination of enterprise-type features, remarkable usability and unprecedented affordability make CloudCommand the preferred networking platform for SMBs, schools, medical offices and hospitality businesses around the United States and world.

Our recent CloudCommand 2.0 release offers even more rich functionality and control.  Some highlights:

Configuration & Updating

• Self-Configuring Access Points. Self-configuring equipment deploys in minutes instead of hours or days. Simply plug the equipment into a live Ethernet connection with Internet access and in less than three minutes, it is ready for use.

• Group Configuration, Network-Wide Roaming. Seamlessly configure access points across multiple locations and empower connected users to roam easily with no need to reconfigure devices.

• Remote Reset and Reboot. Access points can be remotely reset and rebooted to solve basic connectivity problems with no need for on-site presence.

• Automatic FW Update with Group Updates and Scheduled Updates. All complications related to upgrading the firmware on your access points disappear: when an update is available, it can be pushed it to all access points at the click of a button.

Security

• Private Network with WPA2-PSK Encryption. A secure Wi-Fi connection enables trusted wireless devices to safely connect to your business Local Area Network (LAN).

• Enhanced Security with Individual Device Authentication. Patented, two-factor Individual Device Authentication (IDA) technology enables administrators to identify and secure each connected device individually via a self-service process leveraging email or text messaging. Know who is on the network and what their activity levels are.

• Site Survey & Rogue AP Detection. Learn what other Wi-Fi network are broadcasting near you and use the information to identify access points that may be connected to your network without being authorized before they become security threats. The same information can also be used to optimize your channel selection.

Management

• Remote Cloud Management. With cloud management, Wi-Fi networks across multiple locations can be monitored and administered in real time through the Internet.

• Real-Time Alerting. The system can provide real-time SMS or email alerts if critical elements of the system are disrupted.

• Auto RF Management with Auto TX Power and Auto Channel Selection. Simplified automated management of radio frequency parameters means no need for planning or manual configuration in simple environments.

• Networks Broadcasting Schedule (Weekly). Select on a daily and weekly basis when your Wi-Fi networks should broadcast, thereby limiting security exposure and unauthorized bandwidth usage.

• VLAN Tagging. Each SSID can be associated to a VLAN tag for VLAN partitioning. If VLAN tags are used across the Ethernet network, each SSID is independently connected only to the resources associated to the assigned VLAN.

• Extended Usage Reporting and Graphing (30 days). View upload and download bandwidth usage on your wireless network on a per-connected device and/or access-point basis for up to 30 days. You can use this tool to optimize the placement of your access points based on their actual usage.

[Next: Learn about CloudCommand 2.0's Hotspot features]

The D-Link DAP-2565 Wireless Access Point Is Seriously Serious

The tech team at HotHardware.com highlights our newest CloudCommand-powered networking product, the D-Link DAP-2565.  With the launch of the DAP-2565, D-Link becomes the first OEM vendor to offer a complete CloudCommand portfolio of indoor, outdoor and plenum-rated cloud-managed access points to SMB/SME customers.  Here’s what contributing writer Ray Willington had to say:

Plenum-rated. Networking. Cloud. Small biz. Mix those all together with D-Link, and you’ve got the company’s new DAP-2565 Wi-Fi Access Point, which is designed for indoor plenum deployment in above-ceiling airspace installations. The new Cloud-Managed solution provides small and medium-sized businesses, as well as K-12 and hospitality environments, with a secure, reliable and affordable way to manage their networks.

As a new member of the D-Link Cloud-Managed Access Point family, the DAP-2565 delivers business-grade features at a lower cost than other enterprise solutions, including flexible IEEE 802.11n performance, Power Over Ethernet (PoE) support for installation in areas where power outlets are not readily available, and secure guest access and control privileges for individual users. The DAP-2565 also utilizes CloudCommand, which allows end users and value-added resellers (VARs) and managed service providers (MSPs) to easily and quickly set up, secure and remotely manage high-performance wireless networks with multiple access points through a Cloud portal, saving significant time and resources. In addition, the DAP-2565′s plenum-rated metal chassis meets specific requirements to be flame retardant and have low smoke production for placement in air passageways.

Read the story.

D-Link Expands Its Product Portfolio of CloudCommand-Powered Networking Solutions

D-Link, the worldwide leader in delivering networking connectivity to SMB/SMEs, continues to take the lead in moving its customers into the cloud.

Today, the company released its latest CloudCommand-powered networking device.

With the launch of the new DAP-2565, D-Link becomes the world’s first OEM to offer a complete portfolio of indoor, outdoor and plenum-rated cloud-managed access points to SMB/SME customers.

All three leverage the CloudCommand platform and deliver to SMB/SMEs an unbeatable combination of:

• Business-grade features
• Consumer usability
• Affordability

Also, the three products can be managed simultaneously from the same user-friendly CloudCommand dashboard – a key advantage that highlights the platform’s ease of use.

Today’s milestone underscores the industry’s rapid march toward cloud-managed networking solutions and a model of Networking as a Service (Naas).  Over the next several months, many vendors will add a portfolio of cloud-managed networking products to their lineups and many will do so by leveraging CloudCommand.

Read the release

Analysis: WLAN Management Takes to the Cloud (Part 2)

Earlier, we highlighted an important big-picture analysis about cloud-based Wi-Fi management and its bright future (see Part 1).  Writing in Network World, industry wireless analyst Craig Mathias predicts that cloud management is fast coming to a Wi-Fi network near you:

It would be hard to imagine any showstopper with respects to cloud-based WLAN management.

Mathias reviews a customized version of our CloudCommand technology that is used by D-Link in its suite of cloud-managed access points.  Here’s what he had to say:

Setup is very easy — just plug in the access points, go to the D-Link CloudCommand website, register with contact info, enter UICs for each access point (on a label on the bottom of each), enter SSID, set encryption options and guest access preferences, name the access points and enter their location, review everything and press enter — that’s literally it.

The console of CloudCommand is quite simple, with just a few tabs for a Dashboard snapshot view of settings, status and activity.

An interesting security option is to augment WPA2 with what PowerCloud calls Individual Device Authorization (IDA), a variant on the per-user key theme, in this case delivering credentials out-of-band via text messaging. Individual tokens are entered via the browser, and can be individually revoked as required.

Overall, CloudCommand is a simple but effective management console that would be especially at home in smaller installations.

We anticipate that PowerCloud will be adding new features on a regular basis.

                                                         

(Pictured: DAP-2555 Indooor AP and the DAP-3525 Outdoor AP)

The review is a powerful indicator that growth in cloud-managed Wi-Fi is poised to explode.  It’s an exciting moment for the networking industry as we enter a paradigm shift.  All networking companies are going to need cloud-managed Wi-Fi products.  There are only a few companies that provide cloud-based Wi-Fi solutions, and only PowerCloud Systems allows existing networking vendors to leverage our technology.

Read the report. (login required)

Analysis: WLAN Management Takes to the Cloud (Part 1)

There is no reason, based on available capabilities, that a cloud-based WLAN management system could not completely replace a local implementation.

That’s the frank assessment of veteran wireless analyst Craig Mathias of Farpoint Group.

In a breakthrough analysis for Network World, Mathias reviews the cloud-management software that powers 3 wireless networking products, including D-Link’s DAP-2555 which is powered by CloudCommand.  He has identified a major paradigm shift and predicts that traditional Wi-Fi management will transition to cloud-based management within several years.

The movement is already underway.  Early adopters are on board, and several years from now we may point to this review as the seminal moment when broad acceptance for cloud-based Wi-Fi management began.

To evaluate the merits of cloud-managed WLAN versus traditional WLAN management, Mathias asks 3 critical questions:

• Is there a compromise in capability between cloud and traditional WLAN management systems?
• What do the economics of cloud-managed WLAN really look like?
• Can cloud capability literally move the network operations center into the palm of one’s hand?

The review includes a version of our customizable CloudCommand online software platform that powers the D-Link DAP-2555 AirPremier N Access Point as well as Aerohive’s HiveManager Online and Meraki’s Cloud Controller service.

Mathias is highly impressed by what he sees today…and even more excited by what’s in store for the future:

It’s about capabilities – services deployed cost-effectively, reliably, and location-independently – not hardware. It’s about the economics of the contemporary organization – minimizing capital and operating expense without compromising functionality – not having title to all of the required pieces… Even the list pricing in each case is enticingly low enough to generate a lot of interest.

Thus the shift: It’s about fundamentally location-independent services, not products. As we’ve seen in the sampling explored here, the range of function is broad, the services responsive and simple to use, and each is clearly effective and worthy of further consideration…

Bottom line: the cloud is coming to WLAN management.

Cloud-managed Wi-Fi has arrived, and we are at the early stages of a major paradigm shift.  Growth is poised to explode.

It’s worth noting is that the Network World review focuses on cloud-based network management.  It’s an extremely important topic and this review is must-reading for anyone in the networking space.  But we see an even bigger revolution coming in the much broader category of cloud-managed networking.

In Part 2 of this posting, we’ll highlight Mathias’ observations about our CloudCommand technology.

Read the report (login required)

D-Link New Outdoor CloudCommand-Powered Access Point

At Interop, our partner D-Link announced its first cloud-managed outdoor access point, the new DAP-3525 Air Premier® N Dual Band Exterior PoE Access Point powered by CloudCommand.

We’re thrilled the DAP-3525 is available.  It delivers a Wi-Fi environment with core business-grade features for a fraction of what traditional enterprise solutions cost, filling the product gap between non-scalable, consumer-grade Wi-Fi products and complex, expensive enterprise platforms within the SMB market.

Visit the DAP-3525 product page.

Read the press release.

Read news about the DAP-3525.

Article: D-Link Launches Cloud Management Platform, IP Surveillance Cameras

Nathan Eddy, Associate Editor, Midmarket, at eWEEK.com covers D-Link’s announcement of its cloud-managed products, leading with the new DAP-3525 AirPremier N Dual Band Exterior PoE Access Point powered by CloudCommand.  The DAP-3525 is the outdoor version of D-Link’s DAP-2555.

Unified networking solutions provider D-Link announced a line of cloud-managed products, including the DAP-3525 AirPremier N Dual Band Exterior PoE Access Point powered by CloudCommand, Insight and the DIR-605 Fuzion broadband aggregation router, which leverage cloud-based automation for remote configuration and monitoring, resiliency, load balancing, and security management that can be outsourced or handled internally.

The D-Link line of WiFi products powered by CloudCommand has been expanded with the DAP-3525 for outdoor deployment and offers features including selectable dual-band 2.4/5GHz for flexible IEEE 802.11n performance of up to 300M bps; 802.3af Power Over Ethernet (PoE) support; secure, segregated guest access with control privileges for each user; and a one-year subscription to CloudCommand Cloud service.

Read the article.

Article: D-Link Turns Eyes to Cloud for Network Management

Andrew R. Hickey of CRN writes about “the three-pronged cloud assault D-Link is plotting.”  D-Link leverages our CloudCommand technology to power the DAP-2555 and its outdoor sibling, the DAP-3525, to deliver cloud-based networking to SMBs/SMEs.

According to Ken Loyd, D-Link’s director of product marketing, adding cloud capabilities to its growing portfolio gives D-Link new features and functions to target is SMB and mid-sized clients and arms solution providers with the ability to offer clients in that market segment more sophisticated capabilities…

CloudCommand eases the deployment of wireless access points by leveraging the cloud for automated configuration. VARs can deploy secure, managed Wi-Fi networks with several access points more quickly. CloudCommand enables users and solution providers to send an access point to a remote office and when that access point is plugged in it configures itself via the cloud to create a plug-and-play WLAN…

“This is a growing need in the market place,” Loyd said. “It’s all around ease of deployment, maintenance and service.”

Read the article.

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.