News
Xirrus Takes the Complexity out of High-Performance Wi-Fi With a New Class of Low-Cost, Cloud-Provisioned and Managed Access Point
January 2013 by Marc Jacob
Xirrus announced major additions to its comprehensive portfolio of wireless solutions. The Xirrus XR-520 represents a new class of Access Point that delivers the advanced services of the Xirrus XR modular Array family in a low-cost, 2-radio AP option for smaller office spaces, class rooms, hotel guest rooms, hospital patient rooms, and more. Xirrus also announced a new release of the Xirrus Management System (XMS) that introduces XMS Cloud, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) deployment option for XMS that delivers the full feature set of the existing on-premise offering without the need to maintain on-site equipment. Xirrus also is introducing Xirrus Activation Server, a service that enables zero-touch provisioning and deployment of a Xirrus wireless network.
Wireless without Compromise
The XR-520 delivers industry-leading price/performance. The new AP, along with the entire Xirrus XR product line, are the industry’s only solutions to feature Application Control, a comprehensive application recognition and policy control engine that operates directly in each XR device. Application Control enables firewall, QoS, and rate-limiting policies to be enforced at an application level directly at the network edge, helping IT administrators manage the exploding wireless usage in today’s BYOD environments to ensure that applications respond predictably when the network is under heavy load.
The XR-520 is the only software-programmable AP in its class with a radio that can run in either the 5GHz or 2.4GHz bands. This enables the AP to adapt to all 5GHz operation as the industry transitions from 2.4GHz-centric to 5GHz devices. This contrasts to traditional 2-radio APs that are fixed with one radio in each band with no provision to add more 5GHz support without adding more equipment.
The XR-520 features an integrated wireless controller, eliminating the reliance on centralized controllers that can create single-points-of-failure and performance bottlenecks in the network. With a dual-core Cavium network processor, the XR-520 delivers a powerful wireless services platform that does not compromise functionality compared to higher-end APs. In addition to Application Control, the XR-520 supports a full suite of integrated services including wireless IDS/IPS, stateful firewall, spectrum analysis, guest access, and Bonjour Director for Apple iOS device optimization.
Management Made Simple, Scalable and Cost-Effective
The new XMS 6.4 release provides a cloud-based option for managing a Xirrus wireless network, in addition to existing on-premise deployment versions. The hosted cloud solution delivers all the functionality of the on-premise XMS solutions in an easy-to-use, quick-to-deploy option. Upon installation, Xirrus Arrays or the new XR-520 AP automatically connect to the new online Xirrus Activation Server to obtain their license. IT administrators then connect to their XMS to begin managing their network, whether deployed as an on-premise system or via an online portal to their XMS Cloud instance — all in a matter of minutes. The cloud delivery option enables enterprises to reduce upfront installation costs and move a portion of their wireless operations to an operating expenditure model. The XMS 6.4 release also provides enhanced management for Xirrus Application Control with global policy control and aggregated application usage reports.
Availability:
The Xirrus XR-520, XMS 6.4, and zero-touch automated licensing capabilities are available February 2013. XMS Cloud is available initially in North America and in International markets mid 2013.
