WALTHAM, Mass. -- Chantry's VNSWorks Enables Students and Faculty to Access Wireless Network Through Secure Virtual Subnets
Chantry Networks, the leading provider of secure integrated mobility management solutions for WLANs, has deployed a cost-effective, scalable and future-proof 802.11 a/b/g wireless network at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, Canada. Mount Allison University selected BeaconWorks(TM), Chantry's flagship Layer 3 wireless networking product suite, for its unmatched security, availability and manageability. BeaconWorks' ability to leverage and easily integrate with an existing network infrastructure of switches from Cisco and Hewlett-Packard also saved the University time, money and resources.
"As with most smaller educational institutions, we need to make well informed, cost effective short term and long term technology investments in order to maintain a limited IT budget," said Helmut Becker, Director, Computer Services, Mount Allison University. "When we evaluated vendors providing wireless LAN solutions, we found Chantry Networks to be the best partner, delivering advanced technology, superior functionality with the best price per square foot ratio."
With a full-time enrollment of 2,250 students, Mount Allison University wanted to address the mobility needs of all students. However, the wireless network needed to be extremely secure - students can easily get viruses on their laptops and the transient nature of the university population both create significant security risks. With such a 'wide open' network, rogue access devices and unauthorized users could present both a problem and a drain on limited resources.
Chantry's BeaconWorks proved to be the solution to this challenge through its innovative, award-winning virtualization technology, VNSWorks(TM) (Virtual Network Services). Using VNSWorks, Mount Allison University has created multiple subnets to provide secure wireless Internet and network access to students and faculty across campus. Anyone who is not assigned to a subnet will not have access or authorization to the network.
Additionally, Mount Allison University required a wireless solution that could be centrally managed and allow for minimal labor expertise and expense for adding new access points. With BeaconWorks, Mount Allison has a central console for managing all BeaconMasters(TM) (routers) and BeaconPoints(TM) (access points). The management features also include the ability to upgrade these components through the central console. VNSWorks provides a Captive Portal feature, making it easier for the University to manage and administer various subnets.
"Technology investments should not be 'money pits,'" said Tom Racca, vice president of marketing, Chantry Networks. "Rather, customers should be able to understand all their hardware, software and maintenance costs at the start. Our product suite allows organizations of all sizes to realize the industry's best technology at the appropriate price point. BeaconWorks products also deliver shorter term return on investment through low maintenance costs. This truly is the best WLAN value in the marketplace."
Mount Allison University's new wireless network serves 30 subnets for students, faculty, staff and visitors. Users of the network can plug in easily Macintosh, Windows and Linux laptops, and a wide variety of handheld devices and PDAs. The network consists of two BeaconMasters, creating a redundant network, and 175 BeaconPoints.
During the evaluation phase, Mount Allison University determined Chantry's BeaconWorks offers low-latency hand-offs and excellent Quality of Service (QoS). Other customers have reported similar results; the independent testing firm The Tolly Group has recently verified BeaconWorks latency and performance. To view this report, go to: www.chantrynetworks.com/site/content/technology/ind_reports.asp.
About BeaconWorks
BeaconWorks is a router-based fit (thin) access point architecture for more scalable and easily maintained wireless LANs. The solution consists of the BeaconMaster access controller with BeaconPoint access points. Embedded in BeaconWorks is Chantry's innovative VNSWorks technology that manages multiple virtual wireless networks over one physical wireless network. This technology provides yet one more cost effective approach to meeting the needs of wireless users.
BeaconWorks is the only Layer 3 router certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance for 802.11 a/b/g compliance.
Since the launch of BeaconWorks in April 2003, Chantry's wireless solutions have been adopted by a number of leading healthcare, government, hospitality and higher education institutions. Chantry has been named both a winner and finalist for a number of industry awards, including "Best of Show" at Networld+Interop 2003, the Investor's Choice "Best Follow-On Investment Opportunity" from VentureFair, the "Forum Favorite" award from the Canadian IT Financing Forum and EDUCAUSE's ShowStopper award.
About Chantry Networks
Chantry Networks is the leading provider of secure integrated mobility management solutions for wireless networks. Chantry's innovative WLAN suite of products, BeaconWorks, offers unprecedented scalability and availability, coupled with unique network virtualization features, to overcome the obstacles inherent in traditional WLAN systems and provide enterprises and service providers with the first economical and practical solution for building seamless and pervasive wireless networks. Founded in April of 2002, Chantry Networks is headquartered in Boston with offices in Chicago, Denver, New York, San Francisco and Toronto. Chantry is backed by top-tier investors including Flagship Ventures, Primaxis Technology Ventures, Siemens Venture Capital, Venture Coaches/Skypoint Capital and Ventures West. For more information on Chantry Networks visit www.chantrynetworks.com.
BeaconWorks is a trademark of Chantry Networks, Inc.
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