News

AIR2LAN gets Security

AIR2LAN, a fixed wireless broadband Internet service provider with customers in cites of the Southeast from Texas to Alabama, is partnering with Vernier Networks to provide enhanced security for users.

by Eric Griffith Managing Editor of Wi-Fi Planet [April 29, 2002]

Through Mountain View, Calif.-based Vernier Networks' standards-based Vernier Networks System, wireless customers of Jackson, Miss.-based AIR2LAN can now get a secure connection to their corporate networks. Using Vernier's system also allows AIR2LAN to extend security to public hotspots in its service area.

In the announcement, Vernier CEO Doug Klein said, "By providing AIR2LAN with centralized control of all its wireless access points, we can help them extend both their service portfolio and their service footprint to best serve the needs of the mobile professional."

Vernier Networks System diagram

The Vernier Networks System is scalable for small businesses up to enterprises using distributed Layer 3 access intelligence. Users of AIR2LAN services with Vernier security will not need any special software or hardware for access. The system will authenticate users at home or remote as they log into corporate networks. Administrators can set individual and group security policies ahead of time, based on time of day, protocol, user identity, location, or duration of a network session. Visitors to AIR2LAN powered facilities can also be given full Internet access, while other network areas are shielded.

Mobile users at AIR2LAN-serviced public hotspots with 802.11b also fall under use of the Vernier Networks System, as the ISP can centrally control access. New clients can be automatically configured for secure trial use of the service, making it easier to sign up customers later.

The system uses centrally-operated key services, with a rights manager in the NOC, and access managers at each wireless POP (see diagram above).

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