SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN), a global leader in wireless LANs and secure unified mobility solutions, today announced that the University of Tennessee has selected and is deploying Aruba’s 802.11n adaptive wireless LAN and secure mobility solution at its Knoxville campus’ College of Business Administration. Originally founded in 1794 as Blount College, the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) today serves 26,400 students and 8,300 faculty and staff on a 550-acre, 220 building campus. The new 174,000 square foot, $40 million business administration building will offer state-of-the-art electronic learning facilities, and required wireless infrastructure that would complement the school’s culture of innovation and enhance its high level of educational distinction. Based on positive endorsements from other University of Tennessee campuses, and following a competitive bake-off including single channel and adaptive wireless LANs, Aruba’s 802.11n solution was selected for the project.

“This new facility is intended to propel the college of Business to the next level of academic excellence, and the facility’s wireless network is critical to the realization of that vision,” said Philippe Hanset, UTK’s Wireless LAN Manager. “Based on the experience we gained since launching our first campus-wide wireless network in 2000 under project Nomad, it was clear that Aruba’s systems approach to wireless networking really stood apart. RF design is only one element in a multi-dimensional problem that includes bandwidth management, client steering, guest access, encryption, access control, and network management, among others. Aruba’s 802.11n solution delivered the best performance, was the easiest to use and manage, and offered the highest available security. In my book, that lays a solid foundation on which we can build a world-class learning center.”

Aruba’s unified mobility solutions deliver networks to users by integrating adaptive WLANs, identity-based security, remote access, and cellular-to-Wi-Fi solutions into a cohesive, high-performance system. ARM technology delivers follow-me connectivity by automating network set-up, survey, and maintenance tasks, and continuously optimizing network performance to support data, toll-quality voice, and streaming video applications. In addition, ARM reliably supports Intel Centrino, Apple Macintosh, and the broad array of wireless PC clients commonly used by employees and contractors, a capability not found in single-channel technologies.

“Recent tests conducted by Aruba show that our standards-based 802.11n solutions extract the best performance from 802.11n enabled laptops, allowing faculty and students alike to make the most of this new technology,” said Robert Fenstermacher, Aruba Higher Education Marketing. “If you build a state-of-the-art facility you don’t want the learning experience sullied by poor Wi-Fi performance due to driver incompatibility or nearby interference. We have taken pains to enable our 802.1n networks to adapt to the environment in which they operate. The result is that IT staff can focus on learning initiatives without distraction.”

Aruba Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: ARUN)