According to Cisco research, by 2016, network demands will dramatically expand to manage nearly 19 billion new connected devices and handle 18 times the amount of today's global mobile data traffic.
To help organizations quickly respond to new business opportunities while managing these rapidly changing network demands, Cisco is introducing its Unified Access solution, a highly secure network infrastructure based on one policy source and one management solution for the entire network.
Cisco Unified Access provides a consistent set of network capabilities across wired, wireless and virtual private network (VPN) networks, allowing them to behave as a single entity.
Cisco Unified Access is designed to help IT organizations become a competitive differentiation to the business by shifting the focus from time-consuming operational activities to developing innovative business offerings, such as new connected consumer experiences or personalized connected banking services.
Cisco is also unveiling an expanded mobility portfolio that extends enterprise features to midmarket customers at an attractive price without sacrificing wireless network quality.
Cisco Unified Access also includes new innovations in Cisco policy and management solutions to further simplify IT operations and improve user experience.
Cisco Unified Access provides one policy to manage a unified network policy across wired, wireless and VPN access, including:
- New Cisco Identity Service Engine (ISE) 1.1.1, with Secure Group Access (SGA), which substantially simplifies the support for automated, role-based access control enforcement across wired and wireless networks, based on context such as user, device and location.
- Cisco ISE 1.1.1 self-provisioning portal ("My Devices") allows users to complete onboarding and ongoing management of their devices through a simplified self-registration workflow.
One management to deliver a converged platform for visibility of applications and services across the entire network, featuring:
- New Cisco Prime Infrastructure 1.2 to unify wireless, wired, campus and branch network infrastructure into a single system, allowing network operators to design, deploy, operate, report and administer network operations with one integrated workflow, also simplifying management of third-party networking devices.
- Enhanced Application Visibility and Control (AVC) for visualization of application flow data collected using performance features such as Flexible NetFlow, NBAR, MediaNet, Performance Agent, and SNMP, allowing network managers to proactively monitor, analyze, and troubleshoot application health and quantify end-to-end user experience.
One network, with a smarter, faster access layer to handle the onslaught of new devices and applications, introducing:
- The new Cisco Aironet 2600 and 1600 Series Access Points, complementing the 3600 series and completing the second generation of Cisco 802.11n access points, now extending enterprise features for midmarket customers. The Cisco Aironet 2600 and 1600 Series deliver higher performance for more users and devices, with differentiating capabilities such as Cisco CleanAir spectrum intelligence, ClientLink 2.0 to improve performance of clients and improved battery savings for mobile devices.
- The industry's first enterprise-class 802.11ac Access Point - Cisco Aironet 3600 Series can now be field-upgraded with an 802.11ac module, delivering unprecedented investment protection and wireless network leadership.
- The new Cisco Wireless 8500 Series Controller for service providers (SPs) and large enterprises features the industry's highest scalability in a one rack unit (1RU) form with the ability to manage up to 6,000 access points and 64,000 clients.
- For small and medium-sized deployments, four new virtualized products with standard VMware virtualization management tools build on the industry's most comprehensive virtualized services portfolio with a new virtualized controller, virtualized Cisco Mobility Services Engine, virtualized Cisco Prime Infrastructure and virtualized Cisco Identity Services Engine.
- The Cisco Unified Wireless Release 7.3 features a new Sub-second State-full Switchover (SSO) feature for wireless controllers to maximize network availability, bringing the resiliency and reliability of the Cisco Catalyst switch line to the Cisco wireless portfolio.
- To address BYOD (bring your own device) network challenges, Cisco introduces context-aware access security features including TrustSec (SGT/SGA) for the Cisco Catalyst 3560-X and 3750-X Switch Series, complementing existing device sensor functionality. SGT/SGA features will also be available on the Cisco Catalyst 4500E Switch Series in mid-2013.
All products are currently available with the exception of the 1600 series access points, which will be available in December. The 802.11ac module for the Cisco Aironet 3600 Series Access Point will be available in Q2 of CY13.
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