Fortinet, a network security provider, has introduced a secure wireless LAN strategy with a new FortiAP thin access point (AP) product line.
According to Fortinet, the FortiAP-210 and FortiAP-220, which support IEEE 802.11n standards, are designed to provide wireless networking capabilities for mid-enterprise and service-provider customers with a total user-base or distributed networks of 250-5,000 users.
The FortiAP line will work in conjunction with Fortinet’s FortiGate multi-threat security appliances, acting as the thin access-point controller, to provide a single platform that combines wireless networking with the integrated network protection, the company said.
The company said that the FortiAP/FortiGate architecture will tunnel all the wireless traffic back to the UTM engine to undergo intrusion prevention and cleansing, identity-aware policy, and Layer 7 application prioritisation.
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According to Fortinet, the key benefits of the FortiAP line are high throughput with dual concurrent radio, 300 Mbps-600Mbps, rich set of AP capability; suitable for dense office, campus, branch office and retail; dedicated radio for air monitor to protect against rogue APs for PCI compliance; and internal design that conceals antenna to reduce chance of vandalism.
FortiGate appliances from the FortiGate-60 Series will also be able to act as a single point of management for both wired and wireless LANs. In addition to the existing broad security feature set offered on FortiGate devices, the FortiGate access point controllers will also include WLAN management and wireless IPS.
Michael Xie, CTO and founder of Fortinet, said: Fortinet’s entry into the wireless LAN market gives current customers a way to create converged wired and wireless networks with the same powerful protection under a familiar, simplified and cost-effective management platform with no additional controller investment.
New customers will be able to experience a high-performance, secure wireless LAN environment that offers the broadest protection of any consolidated security offering on the market. Overall, today’s FortiAP introduction is a key step in Fortinet’s growth strategy to extend our security reach into broader and deeper parts of the network.
