SpectraGuard

AirTight Network's SpectraGuard product family provides RF coverage, monitoring, and intrusion detection/prevention capabilities for wireless LANs.

The core entry in the product family is SpectraGuard Enterprise, which itself consists of two primary components: The SpectraGuard Sensors, several of which are deployed throughout the WLAN infrastructure and which provide the RF monitoring, data collection, and policy enforcement capabilities (such as detecting/blocking unauthorized access to rogue APs or DoS attacks including authentication floods, association floods, etc.); and the central SpectraGuard Server appliance, which provides the management and policy definition capabilities for multiple SpectraGuard Sensors. Both the Sensors and the Servers are delivered as pre-loaded hardware appliances. The vendor states that the platform architecture is such that each Server can handle "tens of thousands" of SAFE clients (see below), with the platform supporting thousands of sensors and millions of WLAN devices.

Beyond its ability to detect and classify APs (automatic classifications include authorized, rogue, external, misconfigured, and soft APs), block traffic based on those classifications, and block potential DoS attacks, SpectraGuard Enterprise additionally supports real-time RF coverage mapping and location tracking, which enables administrators to physically locate detected APs (optionally integrates with floor plans from SpectraGuard Planner); integration with existing SNMP management systems; a "Network Detector" feature that enables visibility of the wired network without requiring a Sensor on each subnet; and drillable reporting features including pre-defined compliance reports and support for customizable reporting and delivery frequency.

Additional products in the SpectraGuard family include:

- SpectraGuard MNC, or Managed Network Console. The MNC provides the ability to centrally manage multiple SpectraGuard Enterprise Servers, even those that are distributed to remote locations.

- SpectraGuard SAFE: Actually a software client (Windows XP/Vista) for end points. SAFE (Security Agent For Endpoints) provides policy-based access controls that are centrally managed via a SpectraGuard Enterprise Server and enforced on the endpoint even when the endpoint is disconnected from the corporate network.

- SpectraGuard Planner: A WLAN planning tool that allows admins to input their floor plans and model potential RF coverages via the drag and drop placement of APs or Sensor devices on the map. The Planner supports the inputting of floor plans via TIF, JPEG and BMP images, and can model 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11b/g, and soon 802.11n protocols with available views including indoor RF coverage, outdoor RF coverage, link speed, channel allocation, AP placement, sensor placement, sensor coverage, and spillage. A site calibration tool is included that can be used to take real-time RF measurements to calibrate the floor plan.

A hosted version of the product (SpectraGuard Online) is also available, where the sensors are deployed on site but transmit their data to central servers hosted by the vendor.

New to the SpectraGuard platform is support for 802.11n networks; including an 802.11n MIMO Sensor, and 802.11n support in SpectraGuard Planner. The 802.11n support is expected to be available in mid-September, 2008.

SpectraGuard Enterprise is available now; a starter kit with a Server and two Sensors is priced at $9,995. Visit the AirTight Networks Web site for further information.

product submission by EITPlanet Staff

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