Fortinet launches Secure Wireless LAN Solution in Malaysia

• Secure Wireless LAN solution specifically designed for distributed enterprises
• New wired and wireless products now available as part of solution

NETWORK security firm Fortinet has unveiled its new Secure Wireless LAN (local area network) solution specifically designed for distributed enterprises.
 
Rohit Mehra, vice president, Network Infrastructure, IDC noted that the explosive growth of mobile devices and applications in the workplace has necessitated the re-architecture of networks for low latency, increased throughput and strong security.
 
“Solutions such as Fortinet’s new Secure WLAN solution address the major pain points that distributed enterprises face today – securely accommodating the exponential growth of BYOD (bring your own device) for both employee and guest access; identifying and mitigating security issues; and reducing costs and complexities associated with provisioning and managing overlay wireless networks,” he said..
 
The solution is touted to integrate wireless and wired access, security, authentication, switching and management in an easily managed system that allows system-wide policy enforcement.
 
With it, Fortinet claims administrators gain a broad unified solution that provides unmatched protection, superior Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and granular control through user authentication and device visibility across the entire network.
 
“No other vendor provides such a complete, highly secure end-to-end, wired and wireless solution for the distributed enterprise,” said George Chang, Fortinet’s regional vice president for South-East Asia and Hong Kong.
 
As part of the solution, the company unveiled new wired and wireless products: the FortiSwitch-28C and FortiSwitch-348B Ethernet switches and FortiAP-14C and FortiAP-28C wireless access points.
 
The FortiSwitches provide seamless integration of various Fortinet technologies, while power-over-Ethernet functionality eliminates the need to run additional wires to power wireless access points.
 
Furthermore, this enables power delivery to FortiVoice IP (Internet Protocol) phones, FortiCam IP surveillance cameras and other devices such as retail POS (point of sales) devices.

The new FortiAPs are small, plug-and-play 802.11n wireless access points that allow organisations to easily and securely extend wireless access to branch and home offices while retaining centralised management and policy control, the company said.
 
Switch and AP management, as well as user and device policy enforcement, is powered by Fortinet FortiGate security appliances, which integrate advanced firewall protection, VPN connectivity, endpoint and application control, Web filtering, antimalware and data loss prevention. Combined, these form a complete, highly secure, end-to-end integrated wired and wireless network solution that is tailor-made for today’s mobile, distributed enterprise environment, the company claimed.
 
Additionally, for enterprises that require two-factor authentication, the Fortinet Secure WLAN solution seamlessly supports FortiAuthenticator series of authentication appliances that deliver both hardware token and soft token-based two-factor authentication to any third-party device.
 
Key features of the solution include:

• Integrated security: Advanced and integrated threat protection coupled with fully featured wireless access. This gives administrators a streamlined, single-pane-of-glass to manage users and devices as well as unified policy enforcement across wired and wireless networks.

• Low Total Cost of Ownership: With Fortinet, there is no need to purchase separate WLAN controllers, and there are no per access point (AP) and cloud management licensing fees, which can quickly add up as wireless is deployed in multiple locations.

• Device Visibility: This allows organisations to define and enforce policies based on device types. Mobile device access (iPhone, Android, etc.) is configured by on-boarding the device via user and device authentication and applying a per device and user policy to ensure the right destinations are reached. This is the fundamental technology needed for BYOD initiatives in K-12 and offices.

• Authentication: The solution provides integrated authentication with single sign-on and policy enforcement across access points, security appliances and switched devices.

• Scalability: Fortinet supports centralized, mesh, and distributed controller-less access point deployments with a variety of indoor, outdoor and remote APs. These APs, when combined with FortiGate virtual or appliance-based wireless controllers, are ideal for education, healthcare, retail and distributed enterprise environments.

The FortiSwitch-28C and FortiSwitch-348B secure Ethernet switches and the FortiAP-14C and FortiAP-28C access points are now available from local authorised resellers.

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