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SUNNYVALE, Calif. – September 25, 2012 – Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARUN) today announced Aruba Instant Enterprise, a major new software release that delivers the first controller-less Wi-Fi solution for best-in-class security, resiliency and scale for distributed enterprises. No physical or virtual controllers are required. Also as part of Aruba Instant Enterprise, Aruba has unveiled Aruba Activate, a cloud-based, zero-touch provisioning service that enables enterprise IT, managed service providers and resellers to dramatically reduce the operational expenses associated with large scale, distributed Wi-Fi deployments. Together, the new Instant software release and Aruba Activate combine to lower branch Wi-Fi total cost of ownership (TCO) by up to 42 percent as compared to a Cisco Wi-Fi architecture.

Instant Enterprise delivers a full set of enterprise-class Wi-Fi features including voice and video optimization, integrated spectrum analysis, advanced security, layer 3 roaming for unprecedented controller-less scale, and support for Apple AirPlay and AirPrint. These innovations, pioneered by Aruba for building larger, highly resilient campus networks, are critical for all enterprise locations including branches, remote offices and smaller sites, but at an affordable cost. With this release, Aruba brings these advantages to distributed enterprise and branch environments at a significantly lower TCO.

In addition to Wi-Fi performance, deployment complexity and costs are critical concerns for enterprises. To solve this significant IT challenge, Aruba is introducing Aruba Activate, a zero-touch provisioning service. With Aruba Activate, IT departments no longer need to touch every access point deployed. Aruba Instant APs can be factory-shipped to any office worldwide; subsequently, once the AP is plugged in, it automatically downloads the appropriate configuration, eliminating the need for onsite technical assistance and cutting deployment time by up to 65%.

Aruba Activate can be leveraged by IT departments, as well as Value Added Resellers and system integrators, who can build service offerings for automated device provisioning, inventory management and highly scalable, automated firmware upgrades.

The new Aruba Instant Enterprise includes new products and features that are critical for application optimization and improved security including the following:

• Application Fingerprinting: Aruba’s built-in Policy Enforcement Firewall (PEF) identifies voice and video traffic to ensure uninterrupted real-time communications, even for encrypted applications like Microsoft Lync and Apple FaceTime.
• Support for Apple Bonjour services like AirPlay and AirPrint: Only the necessary set of Bonjour services are made visible to mobile devices based on the user identity and location.
• Multicast video optimization: Multicast traffic can be transmitted as unicast over the air so that video is only sent to the clients subscribed to the video feed.
• Integrated Spectrum Analysis: Automatically identifies and avoids RF interference without any performance impact while serving clients to provide a seamless user experience.
• Layer 3 Roaming: Allows mobile devices to roam across subnet boundaries without any impact to Wi-Fi performance, enabling cost-effective scalability for a wide range of deployment scenarios.
• Authentication Survivability: In conjunction with Aruba ClearPass Policy Manager, ensures that known users can still securely join the network if centralized authentication resources become unavailable.
• IPSec Tunneling: Securely extends data center resources and applications to remote branch offices over the Internet.

Mimeo, the leader in digital printing services including business document printing, color printing, poster printing and more, has deployed Aruba’s Instant AP solutions at multiple facilities and is currently using the new Aruba Instant Enterprise at its headquarters in New York.

“Aruba’s Instant APs are an ideal, low-cost, high-performance solution for our production and office environments,” said Shawn Winters, director of IT operations, Mimeo. “Our enterprise-class Instant AP deployment provides reliable and secure Wi-Fi coverage in over 200,000 square feet, and supports our employees who rely on applications such as Apple FaceTime to do their jobs.”

Carousel Industries is a premier technology solutions consultant and provider of designing, implementing and maintaining powerful converged communication networks for enterprise customers nationwide. As a key Aruba Networks channel partner, Carousel is experiencing increasing success with Aruba’s Instant portfolio for enterprise customers and is excited about the new market growth opportunities that Aruba Instant Enterprise brings.

“Aruba Networks’ Instant APs provide a fast and efficient way for our customers to deploy controller-less, enterprise-class Wi-Fi across multiple sites,” said Bill Annino, vice president of the Data Technology Group, Carousel Industries. “With the new Aruba OS release that is part of Aruba Instant Enterprise, and particularly, the Aruba Activate service, the Instant APs require very little, if any, technical resources, resulting in simple, more cost-effective deployments for clients.”

“Aruba recognizes that an enterprise’s entire user population requires high performance, easy access to important applications and resources, and minimal configuration and management headaches,” said Ben Gibson, chief marketing officer for Aruba Networks. “With Aruba Instant Enterprise, we are taking a decade’s worth of innovation designed for large, mission-critical campus environments and delivering this value very cost effectively, across any distributed enterprise environment. With Aruba Instant Enterprise, we’re addressing the entire enterprise, providing a consistent user and management experience whether the enterprise is using mobility controllers, a controller-less model, or a combination of the two. In any of these scenarios, the result for customers is improved performance and lower deployment costs.”

Aruba Instant Enterprise including the new software release and Aruba Activate, is available now, free of charge for existing Aruba Instant customers.