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SUNNYVALE, Calif. – April 20, 2011 – Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN) today announced availability of its Mobile Device Access Control (MDAC) solution for Cisco Wi-Fi installations. With Aruba MDAC, Cisco Wi-Fi customers can enable “bring-your-own-device” (BYOD) services including device-specific policy enforcement, device visibility and device self-registration. Providing easy, secure network access to facilitate workers bringing their own devices to work, known as the “BYOD phenomenon”, is one of today’s most significant IT pain points. Aruba MDAC is designed to enable secure and managed network access, including automated provisioning, for smartphones and tablets. The same capabilities are now available for Cisco Wi-Fi networks.

Components of the Aruba MDAC solution for Cisco Wi-Fi networks include:

• Aruba Mobility Controller with ArubaOS 6.0.1 to fingerprint mobile devices that connect to a Cisco Wi-Fi network and enforce device- and application-specific network policies
• Optionally, Aruba AirWave v7.3 for device usage and trend reports
• Optionally, Aruba AmigoPod v3.1 for zero-touch, secure provisioning of Apple iOS mobile devices

Aruba MDAC has been tested and validated with customers to operate on top of existing Cisco Wi-Fi networks. This eliminates the necessity for Cisco customers to immediately replace existing networking equipment, as is required to utilize the TrustSec solution. As a result, Cisco customers under pressure to securely address the BYOD phenomenon can do so simply, quickly and cost-effectively by adding Aruba MDAC to a Cisco Wi-Fi network. Aruba estimates that doing so can cost up to 85 percent less than implementing Cisco’s TrustSec solution, further illustrating the clear customer benefits of Network Rightsizing. The Aruba MDAC solution for Cisco Wi-Fi networks applies to both lightweight as well as autonomous access technology, and is Cisco hardware-independent.

In contrast to Aruba MDAC, enabling context-capable networking with Cisco TrustSec requires existing Cisco Wi-Fi customers to take the following steps:

1. Replace Cisco Access Control Server (ACS) and Cisco Network Admission Control (NAC) with the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
2. Upgrade to Cisco X-series switches for context-capable networking on the LAN, and to Cisco ISR G2 routers for context-capable networking in branch networks
3. Replace Cisco “fat” APs with Cisco 5508 WLAN controllers and access points OR upgrade Cisco 4400 series controllers with 5508 controllers
4. Install Cisco ASA/VPN Firewall appliances facing wired and wireless LAN
5. Install Cisco AnyConnect software agent on mobile devices

In Rethinking LAN Switching Architectures, a February 2011 report from Gartner Research, Mark Fabbi, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, advises that businesses, “not overspend on highly engineered, expensive, traditional approaches to campus LAN architectures,” but rather, “consider extending the life span of current investments. The trends of server and data center consolidation, hosted virtual desktops and cloud computing have altered the requirements for network services. Consider adding new functionality as centralized overlays, rather than updating large portions of existing infrastructure.”