Vernier Offers More Control

Enterprise wireless LAN gateway startup Vernier Networks Inc. has launched its fourth-generation software, claiming the code will allow administrators more control over what individual users can -- and cannot -- access over 802.11 networks.

The firm says it has reworked its software so that administrators can now control security policies for individual users and designated groups from a central management console, rather than from the edge of the network. This enables the system to support tens of thousands of users, according to Vernier.

"This is the first major re-architecture of the product since we started shipping over two years ago," says Dominic Wilde, director of product marketing at Vernier.

The Vernier software can control how much bandwidth and/or what applications users on the network can access by applying different service levels to individual clients on a single access point. The software works by associating a user or group ID with a user's IP and MAC address, while setting a predetermined access control level for them.

The release also includes the virus quarantine software that Vernier first introduced as a standalone product last September (see War on Wireless Worms).

The firm's increased emphasis on software leads Unstrung to wonder if Vernier will follow the lead of its rival Roving Planet Inc. and try to concentrate solely on coding (see Roving Planet Rakes In $9.5M).

Wilde says that the firm's customers still prefer to buy a complete package of software and hardware. "We could just take our software and say: 'You can run this on a Dell server,' " says Wilde. "But our customers are definitely saying: 'No, we want an appliance, a preconfigured appliance.' " — Dan Jones, Site Editor, Unstrung