Phoenix, AZ - February 11, 2002 - Newbury Networks, Inc., the leader in the market for developing location-enabled networks (LENs), today announced the availability of LocaleManager™ and LocaleServer™ - the industry?s first and only software solutions for managing and deploying location-enabled networks and applications that leverage mobile users, locations and the services running on wireless local area networks (WLANs) supporting the 802.11 standard. Newbury Networks is demonstrating its LENs solutions at the exclusive, invite-only DEMO 2002 conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
The core component to these unique LENs is a locale - contextually defined locations or spaces within the WLAN i.e. conference rooms, offices, classrooms, galleries, hotel rooms or convention centers. Defining spaces as discrete locations and taking advantage of the information or content that might be used within those locations is the essence of the LEN value proposition. LocaleManager and LocaleServer provide the network security, management, usage tracking/analysis and application deployment that ultimately run on the LENs.
"Enterprises today still view WLANs as merely an extension to a traditional local area network. The management of wireless access points as part of a traditional wired network does not completely solve the problems of security risks, signal provisioning problems and a complete lack of knowledge as to where the users are within that network," said Michael Maggio, president and CEO, Newbury Networks, Inc. "By delivering location-enabled networks to the WLAN with LocaleManager and LocaleServer, our customers can perform tasks never imagined or realized on a wired network - detecting where security breaches might happen before they occur, provisioning network access based on where that user resides, and tracking usage as well as valuable equipment on that network."
"First to market, innovation and fulfilling a critical business need are just some of the key attributes we look for when choosing a company for participation at DEMO," said Chris Shipley, executive producer, DEMO 2002. "Newbury's delivery of location-enabled networks could very well transform the deployment and management of WLANs in the enterprise for years to come."
LocaleManager is the first and only network management software solution on the market today that delivers a higher degree of functionality to an 802.11b-based WLAN. LocaleManager key features include:
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Security - LocaleManager enables "3 Factor Authentication" by determining what you have (a MAC address or smartcard), what you know (password or PIN) and where you are (location). Unlike traditional WLAN management tools, LocaleManger with the location-enabled network can detect all 802.11 traffic within range of the network, not just on the network.
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Provisioning - LocaleManager gives the network manager or system administrator the ability to manage network access and usage based on location. For example, a corporation could provide general Internet access to their visitors in the common areas of the office (reception area, lobby, meeting rooms. In addition, the LocaleManager has usage management capabilities for "turning off" specific locations, performing troubleshooting, etc. It also allows the IT professional to deliver proximity access to the closest peripherals such as a printer, fax machine, projector, etc.
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Data Mining - LocaleManager delivers valuable logging information such as property usage, network traffic and usage patterns and network activity. This information becomes critical for determining optimal placement of access points and identifying patterns that ultimately help the network run with greater efficiency and performance.
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Asset Management - LocaleManager tracks all 802.11-enabled devices or equipment. This becomes a "must have" for managing large numbers of users and safeguarding against the loss of valuable equipment and peripherals.
LocaleServer is the first of its kind software platform for enabling a new breed of applications that leverage mobile users, locations and services available to those running on location-enabled networks. LocaleServer takes advantage of these location-enabled networks by "pushing" specific content relevant to the mobile user when they are present in a defined space or locale. LocaleServer provides the following unique functionality and benefits:
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Software Development Kit (SDK) - LocaleServer includes an easy-to-use, graphical builder or SDK to define the locales within the location-enabled network. IT professionals can quickly "train" the defined spaces in within range of the APs and the type of data (messages, content, access, etc.) pushed to or servicing that location.
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Back-end integration - LocaleServer is an open, robust software platform that integrates with virtually any back-end enterprise application - so organizations can leverage the investment in critical back-end data that drives their transactions and business processes. LocaleServer integrates with enterprise data through an Enterprise Java Bean (EJB) interface to ensure a seamless integration path from enterprise data to the mobile client.
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Client-side user interface - The LocaleServer client layer provides for the development of thin-client HTML based web content or a Java-based application that runs on industry-leading PDAs such as Microsoft's (MSFT) PocketPC™ or Palm's (PALM) PalmOS™ computing platforms or on any 802.11b-enabled device like a laptop. LocaleServer also supports any client platforms running Sun?s (SUNW) Personal Java™ 1.2. Simultaneous creation of client screens and custom applications is achieved with LocaleServer's intuitive development-side tools.
LocaleManager and LocaleServer are immediately available for implementation. Both solutions support Windows NT, UNIX and Linux-based platforms.
Newbury Networks is the first and only company to introduce a new breed of network technologies and services known as Location-Enabled Networks™ (LENs) for 802.11-based WLANs. Helping organizations maximize and extend the functionality of their WLAN deployments by managing the locations within the wireless network - wherever it is deployed - is a breakthrough approach that only Newbury Networks is addressing. Newbury's solutions are bringing new levels of security, network management and efficiencies to corporate campuses, universities, hotels, convention centers, museums, and other locations. Newbury's management team is comprised of executives from companies such as NetGenesis, NetMorf and Virtual Ink. For more information on Newbury Networks and its solutions for enabling locations for the mobile enterprise, visit www.newburynetworks.com.
Newbury Networks, Location-Enabled Networks, LocaleManager and LocaleServer are trademarks of Newbury Networks, Inc. All other company and product names are property of their respective companies.
