ANTenna Blog -- Mobile

Wireless communications have become quite popular in small and medium businesses. As companies rely more heavily on these connections, it has become difficult to make sure that there is sufficient bandwidth to support important applications. To address that problem, Aerohive Networks enhanced its network monitoring tools.

As users run voice and video transmissions over wireless connections, they need to be sure that there is sufficient bandwidth to support these sensitive applications. Many corporations establish internal Service Level Agreements (SLA) that specify how much bandwidth applications should receive. The challenge then become making sure that these goals are met.

Aerohive added a couple of features to its product line to address that problem. Aerohive’s Performance Sentinel monitors how close company networks come to meeting their SLAs. Airtime Boost dynamically allocates more bandwidth to clients in need of it. Pricing for the company’s wireless LAN starts at about $3,000. The new features are available in HiveOS 3.4, the latest version of Aerohive’s HiveAP operating system, and HiveManager its network management system.

Founded in 2006, Aerohive was a latecomer to the wireless LAN market. The company has developed products with some interesting features but may find it difficult to wedge its way into the crowded marketplace. The WiFi market has been quickly maturing, and increasingly, the industry focus has been shifting to consolidating wired and wireless connections, an area that Aerohive has not shown much interest in. The company has had some products that could interest small and medium businesses but they should not be surprised if the vendor eventually ends up in the arms of a larger supplier.