Aerohive Networks is taking a different route -- by acquisition -- to a similar goal. The Wi-Fi vendor announced this week it has bought , a privately held Sunnyvale, Calif., company. Pareto released in June 2010 a subscription networking service (based on several pending patents) aimed at mid-sized companies, and branch offices. The service included an on-site router, with optional 3G or 4G interfaces for wireless backup, VPN, SSL, a proxy infrastructure, and a Web-based management application. There were no capital costs, just the all-inclusive monthly fee.

In fall 2009, Aerohive released its own Web-based wireless LAN offering, HiveManager Online, a cloud-based version of the WLAN management application to manage Wi-Fi networks in branch offices and small to medium businesses. eliminates separate controllers by in effect distributing control functions to the access points and the cloud-based management software.

Aerohive executives are saying they'll simply blend the relevant software code from both platforms into a new release of Aerohive's HiveOS systems software. The result will be local Wi-Fi access points linked, for example, to a branch office router with a WAN connection, offering office clients full routing and VPN capabilities, secure connections and a cloud-based Web management interface to administer, configure and provision the networks.

Aerohive will offer two routers based on the Pareto model: the BranchRouter (BR) 100, aimed at telecommuters, and the BR 200, intended as a branch office gateway. Also in the works: a cloud-based VPN concentrator that will run as an instance on a VMware virtual .

The new HiveOS software, with the integrated Pareto code, and the routers will be available during the second quarter, according to Aerohive executives.