HP ProCurve announces edge services module

16.05.2006
ProCurve Networking by Hewlett-Packard Co. Monday announced a wireless edge services module and related products that help network managers to centrally set up security access control and to configure wireless and wired devices for an entire network.

The products are in response to customer requests to lower complexity and costs with wireless networks, said Andre Kindness, product manager for ProCurve Americas.

William Souder, director of computing and network services at Berry College in Mount Berry, Ga., said he plans to deploy 10 of the new ProCurve 5300xl Wireless Edge Services Modules this week. The modules fit inside the ProCurve Switch 5300xl series. Pricing starts at US$6,249 each, HP officials said.

Souder said he will add two of the modules to each 5300 chassis. He has had five of the chassis for two years. The modules will help the college set a security policy once which will be automatically applied to the edge of the network, with its 36 wireless access points that serve all the student areas of the 28,000-student college.

"We are very security focused and have students who are smarter than the professors here," he said.

Souder said he has compared HP gear with products from Alcatel in Paris, Aruba Networks Inc. in Sunnyvale, Calif., and Enterasys Networks Inc. in Andover, Mass.