Aruba Networks is coming to market with a wireless LAN platform it says is optimized for the challenges of mobile application delivery and BYOD thanks to integrated application intelligence and better control.

The Aruba 7200 Series controllers, unveiled Tuesday, leverage what Aruba calls its AppRF software to perform deep packet inspection and identify application traffic at a granular level. According to the company, the controllers can then optimize how an application performs over the air based on the type of application and how the customer is attempting to use it.

"You can start to make intelligent prioritization decisions and get down to the URL level, not just a giant bucket of Web traffic," Sylvia Hooks, director of product marketing at Aruba, told CRN.

[Related: Aruba To Partners: BYOD Opportunity Is Yours To Seize]

The practical use case is that Aruba AppRF can provide visibility and control over server-based applications as well as the range of cloud- and Web-based mobile applications used by employees, including platforms such as Salesforce.com and Box.net. According to Aruba, in tests, a 7200 series controller using AppRF downloaded content from Box.net in 12 seconds -- much faster than comparable Cisco Wi-Fi devices, at a cost savings of about 50 percent with hardware and support factored in, Hooks said.

The 7200 controllers also are optimized for the 802.11ac standard, expected to see broad commercial adoption within the next few years as companies move beyond 802.11n, she added. The controllers also provide 40-Gbps stateful firewall and encryption capabilities.

The 7200 series includes three models -- the 7210, 7220 and 7240 -- which are listed starting at $16,995.

Aruba, Sunnyvale, Calif., has continued to evolve its channel program to support architecture-based wireless networking sales and steer partners toward solving the mobile infrastructure and security challenges presented by BYOD.

Hooks said Aruba will continue down that path for partner training and will be launching a promotion to get Aruba customers with older controllers to upgrade to the 7200s and to more efficient wireless systems.

"A lot of customers are still paying all this money per year for hardware and software support on [wired endpoints] they're not using or underutilizing," she said. "Just by decommissioning those you save them money. Their last cord is typically the desk phone, and when you finally get them to unplug that and go with a UC platform, you're bringing down overall costs."

PUBLISHED DEC. 4, 2012