SINGAPORE, 15 JUNE 2009—US-based wireless LAN (WLAN) infrastructure solutions provider Meru Networks has announced the availability on the iPhone of what it claims to be the world's first WLAN management application for the smart phone, E(z)RF OnTheGo. In a statement released last week, the company said "network administrators for the first time can work untethered from their desktop consoles, gaining the power to view customised dashboards, receive high-priority alerts, and do anywhere/anytime management from an iPhone over a wi-fi or cellular network."
E(z)RF OnTheGo, Meru Networks executives would have us know, gives network administrators access to "customised views of management data" such as "network load, density, client counts and connection status" and "notifications of high-priority events (e.g., user connectivity problems)" so that they can better counter any network problems, performing "immediate context-aware network actions (e.g., notify the Network Operations Centre to restart a RADIUS server)" right on their smart phones. Also, because the application is browser-based, users do not need to download any software onto their iPhones.
This new application "gives new meaning to the phrase 'management by walking around'," said Meru Networks's director of product management, Sri Juvvadi, at the application launch. "This is more than just a convenience: now, even if the network manager is off site, he can take meaningful steps to address critical issue either from a wi-fi hotspot or using the cellular network."
