Aruba Networks Selected by U.S. Air Force for Worldwide Secure Runway and Flight Line Deployments at Over 100 Bases Worldwide
Wireless Network Powered by Aruba Quickly and Reliably Links Aircraft Technicians and
Logistics Personnel Using Department of Defense Compliant Encryption and
Wireless Intrusion Detection
SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 30, 2007 - Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN), a global leader
in secure mobility solutions, today announced that its wireless LANs and security solutions have
been selected by the U.S. Air Force for its Combat Information Transport Systems (CITS)
program. This aspect of the CITS program is designed to securely network aircraft with the
worldwide bases from which they operate and are serviced. The network allows technicians to
access aircraft and armament information from the runway, on the flight line, and from hangars,
and enables personnel to wirelessly link into any U.S. Air Force base worldwide. Following a
detailed technical and cost evaluation of multiple vendors, Aruba was selected for the project
based on security, ease of installation, and cost.
CITS is part of the U.S. Air Force's Net-Centric Solutions (NETCENTS), a broad ranging
program to provide state-of-the-art, interoperable networking information technology, telephony,
security, voice, video, and data communications using commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS)
products and services. The Air Force's legacy wireless network was expensive to install and
maintain, and the Air Force required that its new replacement wireless network be easier to
manage and leverage a common infrastructure worldwide to ensure the top performance of its
combat assets. Strong encryption, highly effective wireless intrusion detection, FIPS 140-2
security certification, and compliance with the Department of Defense (DoD) security Directive
8100.2 were mandatory requirements.
"It's hard not to be impressed by the Aruba solution," said Brett Workman, Senior Master
Sergeant, U.S. Air Force. "We recently redefined the need for speed, reliability and mobility in all
networks, including wireless communications. While examining our requirements for the CITS
deployment it was clear that older traditional 'Fat' APs simply wouldn't meet our needs. What
we needed was a more streamlined solution, with fewer potential points of failure, that was
easier to manage and more cost effective. The Aruba solution met those objectives."
Aruba's centralized networking architecture was selected because it is built to scale to
accommodate very large networks without compromising performance. Additionally, the
centralized design simplifies network management, reliably and uniformly enforces security
policies, and enhances mobility across bases and regions. All encryption, authentication, access
control, and wireless intrusion detection is performed by Aruba Mobility Controllers that meet
FIPS 140-2 and DoD Directive 8100.2 requirements. Security and access policies are assigned
to each user, a hallmark of Aruba's user-centric architecture, and these policies are enforced
regardless of how or from where the user accesses the network. This allows U.S. Air Force
technicians to roam between areas without losing access to secure information.
"We competed for this project against a much larger incumbent supplier, and we understand
that it was on the strength and value of our technology that we won," said Dan Brigati, Aruba's
Federal operations director. "The Air Force established very strict guidelines with respect to
security, reliability, performance, and ease-of-use. Aruba satisfies these requirements with a
robust wireless platform that meets or exceeds all applicable Department of Defense security
standards, incorporates Layer 2 encryption and a wireless intrusion detection system, supports
complex applications, and is simple to install and manage. We believe that these same
attributes are needed in a wide range of Federal applications."
About Aruba Networks, Inc.
Aruba's user-centric architecture provides access to enterprise data, voice and video
applications across wired and wireless LAN, WAN, and carrier networks without compromising
security or mobility. Follow-me security and access policies are centrally managed and
associated with users, not ports, and are enforced regardless of where users roam within or
outside of the enterprise. Aruba's solution suite encompasses ArubaOS software running on a
range of Mobility Controller hardware platforms, value-added application software modules
including an enterprise FMC option, network management software, wired and wireless access
points, and valued-added access point software modules including a secure enterprise mesh
option for wire-free networking. Listed on the NASDAQ, Aruba is a member of the Russell 2000®
and Russell 3000® Indexes. Based in Sunnyvale, California, Aruba has operations throughout
the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia Pacific region. To learn more, visit Aruba
at www.arubanetworks.com.
Media Contacts
Michael Tennefoss
Aruba Networks, Inc.
408-754-8034
mtennefoss@arubanetworks.com
Aruba Networks is a registered trademark, and Aruba The Mobile Edge Company and Mobile Edge Architecture are
trademarks of Aruba Networks, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective
holders. Portions © 2007 Aruba Networks, Inc. All rights reserved. Specifications are subject to change without
notice.
