AirDefense Adds Real-Time Troubleshooting Functionality to its Wireless Intrusion Prevention System

AirDefense recently launched Live View, an enhanced feature to AirDefense Enterprise, the company's award-winning wireless intrusion prevention system. Live View gives enterprise IT network administrators a realtime view of all current wireless network activity enabling timely and cost-efficient troubleshooting to a myriad of connectivity or bandwidth issues that occur on wireless networks. Live View also reduces costly visits by wireless IT experts to remote office locations, offering a tremendous return on investment (ROI) to AirDefense's customers.

In addition, Live View enables IT administrators to visualize why devices such as laptops, Voice-over-WiFi phones or any Wi-Fi enabled device might be bouncing between Access Points (APs). For example, in a case where a user is having connectivity issues due to a malfunctioning AP, a support technician can use Live View to remotely diagnose the problem and determine the appropriate corrective action. After changes are made to correct the issue, Live View can be used to verify that the problem is in fact resolved. With powerful functions such as a configurable dashboard, device connectivity mapping and frame capture/analysis, Live View can be used to diagnose a wide variety of performance and connectivity issues.

"It is essential to business productivity that IT administrators immediately fix wireless connectivity and throughput issues. Live View provides a realtime assessment of the problem and limits the steep costs typically associated with sending someone to a remote location," said David Thomas, vice president, product strategy, AirDefense. "AirDefense will continue to regularly add important functionality such as Live View to the AirDefense Enterprise platform to ensure our customers have access to world-class troubleshooting tools even when they cannot be on-location."

ROI is often times difficult to quantify for network administrators. However, reducing the travel costs associated with remote site visits can save tens of thousands of dollars per visit. For instance, one major grocer needs to sell nearly $80,000 in groceries to cover the costs associated with a single AirDefense site visit that AirDefense could automate and eliminate the need for remote dispatch. Companies like this grocer average more than fifty remote site visits each year costing hundreds of thousands or in some cases more than one million dollars annually in remote troubleshooting expenses alone. Live View is available free to all AirDefense Enterprise customers currently participating in AirDefense's maintenance plan.

Earlier this year, AirDefense was named the 2008 Frost & Sullivan 'Market Leader' for global wireless intrusion detection and prevention (WIDPS) systems for the second consecutive year. AirDefense Enterprise 7.2 recently received Common Criteria Certification to Evaluation Assurance Level 2 (EAL2) from the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP). In February 2008, AirDefense received the only 'Best Buy' rating from SC Magazine amongst wireless intrusion prevention software companies in an independent product review. Also, the Technology Association of Georgia named AirDefense one of the Top 40 Most Innovative Technology companies for 2008. AirDefense also received the only 'Readers Choice Award' amongst wireless intrusion prevention companies in 2007 from Information Security magazine. In addition, AirDefense owns all dominant patents in the area of wireless intrusion prevention and wireless troubleshooting.