Aerohive Enables Every Enterprise to Support Apple AirPrint and AirPlay with Free Bonjour Gateway Software

Innovation that Changed the BYOD Market is Now Free

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aerohive Networks™, the pioneer in cloud-enabled enterprise networking infrastructure, today announced they are giving away a free, downloadable version of Aerohive’s Bonjour Gateway solution. Bonjour®, (or Zero-Configuration Networking,) is used to configure services like AirPrint™, AirPlay®, and file sharing. Aerohive’s Bonjour Gateway was released in July as a standard feature in Aerohive APs, but with today’s announcement the Bonjour Gateway is now available as a free VMware virtual appliance. This enables Bonjour services across large enterprise wired and wireless networks even in networks without any other Aerohive equipment.

“Aerohive’s Bonjour Gateway enables organizations to securely access other iDevices across all network segments seamlessly from the palm of their hand. Bringing this core functionality to the world for free enables everyone to take advantage of this innovative technology.”

News Facts

• In today’s world, BYOD has quickly moved from an idea to an expectation in corporate and education environments. Aerohive’s Bonjour Gateway is the only solution in the market that enables Bonjour across enterprise networks without requiring an end-to-end, single-vendor infrastructure. Previously only available with the purchase of Aerohive hardware, Aerohive has now made this technology simple for enterprises to adopt by providing it as a free software download. The move is key to accelerating the adoption of iPhones®, iPads®, and Apple TVs® in businesses and schools as it runs on standard, customer-owned VMware infrastructure.
• Each instance of the free Bonjour Gateway is provisioned and managed by HiveManager Online, Aerohive’s cloud-based Network Management System. Every Bonjour Gateway user is provided a free HiveManager Online account to instantly provision and configure their Bonjour services anywhere, anytime with just an Internet connection.
• The Bonjour protocol is built on multicast DNS, a Layer 2 non-routable protocol. Services send advertisements to a link-local IP address. This means that AirPrint and AirPlay enabled devices can ONLY see each other if they are on the same subnet. On a network that has multiple segments, however, the multicast DNS advertisements no longer reach all devices on the network.
• Key features of Aerohive’s Bonjour Gateway solution include:
  • Multi-vendor capability – it works in both Aerohive and non-Aerohive networks
  • Compatible with any wired and wireless network regardless of equipment vendor
  • Manage, Filter, and Control – Bonjour services become fully managed, allowing services to be configurable across the entire network while filtering out broadcast traffic.
  • Plug and Play – no requirement for VLAN and multicast gymnastics, making it easy for everyone
  • Flexibility – supports bi-directional service advertisements, without the fear of multicast loops and flooding
  • Efficiency – gateway functionality enables – granular control with an ability to respond to service queries and limits communication to changes in service availability
  • Secure and scalable – preserves enterprise security policy and data forwarding methodology

• Unlike competitor offerings, Aerohive’s Bonjour Gateway solution is compatible with any wired and wireless network, regardless of existing equipment vendor. Competitors often require additional equipment and licenses to get up and running or end-to-end single vendor infrastructure. This feature gives Aerohive’s Bonjour Gateway true plug and play functionality.
• For a demo of how Aerohive’s Free Bonjour Gateway works, please visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8vNlqV67uA&feature=g-all-u
• Try Aerohive’s Free Bonjour Gateway today: www.aerohive.com/bonjour

Comments

“The proliferation of BYOD and the consumerization of IT in corporate environments and schools have become trends that are forcing organizations to re-evaluate their current network infrastructures,” said Adam Conway, vice president of product management at Aerohive. “Every business should have Bonjour as an inherent network service and now finally they can. While Aerohive customers have Bonjour Gateway capabilities inherent in their networks already, other organizations are still waiting for a solution as competing vendors have yet to ship any usable solution. Now the wait is over as this FREE software download doesn’t require any other Aerohive equipment and works on any standard wired and wireless network. Aerohive looks forward to continuing to develop next generation solutions that Simpli-Fi complex enterprise network problems for our customers.”

“Here at Penn, we try to stay ahead of the technology curve and have had requests to integrate Apple TVs using AirPlay into some key areas and classrooms at the University,” said Colleen Szymanik, network engineer, University of Pennsylvania. “With Aerohive’s Bonjour Gateway, there is now a seamless solution to connect across subnets and present lesson plans and presentations on Apple TVs via AirPlay. We are extremely happy with this innovative technology and look forward to continuing to work with Aerohive in the future.”

“As we head full steam ahead into the BYOD era, corporate and education environments need the proper technology in place to support this new initiative,” said Zeus Kerravala, founder and principal analyst at ZK Research. “Aerohive’s Bonjour Gateway enables organizations to securely access other iDevices across all network segments seamlessly from the palm of their hand. Bringing this core functionality to the world for free enables everyone to take advantage of this innovative technology.”

About Aerohive Networks

People want to work anywhere; on any device, and IT needs to enable them -- without drowning in complexity or compromising on security, performance, reliability or cost. Aerohive's mission is to Simpli-Fi these enterprise access networks with a cloud-enabled, self-organizing, service-aware, identity-based infrastructure that includes innovative Wi-Fi, VPN, branch routing and switching solutions.

Aerohive was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. The company's investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Northern Light Venture Capital, New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) and Institutional Venture Partners (IVP). For more information, please visit www.aerohive.com, call us at 408-510-6100, follow us on Twitter @Aerohive, subscribe to our blog or become a fan on our Facebook page.