Aruba 9000 Series Gateways

Aruba 9000 Series Gateways and Controllers often get mentioned in the same breath. It’s like they’re almost the same thing, but they’re not exactly. So what are they? The Aruba 9000 Series Gateways provide high-performance networking, SD-WAN and security functionality, in Aruba’s words.

The Aruba 9000 Series can be easily set up and run using Aruba Central. That’s Aruba’s cloud-based operations, assurance and security platform. Onsite deployment is a snap with a simple mobile installer.

The 9000 series consists of the 9004, 9004-LTE, and 9012.

So what is a Gateway?

Devices like the Aruba 9000 Series Gateways connect two networks together. A gateway has two major functions: To connect different devices to each other, and to connect devices to networks. The gateway allows users to communicate across several networks, regulating network traffic between two disparate networks. A router is a gateway of sorts; it receives signal from the WAN and directs it across the LAN (Local Area Network).

Importantly, a device like the Aruba 9000 Series Gateways makes communication possible between separate networks with different architectures and protocols. They are essential for connection between networks with different characteristics. Perhaps the most common gateways are computer and router connecting a company to a network. Gateways are very crucial when a company makes changes from one configuration to another. They help the old and new systems to work simultaneously.

On the other hand, a mobility controller basically soups up the performance of a Wide Local Area Network. It does this by centralizing all control of individual access points. So it acts as the mothership of a fleet of (what could be) widely dispersed access points.

The Aruba 9000 Series Gateways

The 9000 series is great for growing networks, and for SD-WAN requirements. For managing multiple WAN connections, you can connect the 9000 Series to Aruba’s SD-WAN fabric right out of the box. SD-WAN technology simplifies management of traffic entering and exiting branch sites. Role-based intrusion detection and prevention Dynamic Segmentation, and stateful firewall like that found in the Aruba Mobility Controllers deliver integrated security requirements.

Interestingly, The 9000 series can be re-purposed as Mobility Controllers. In this way, they provide WLAN and LAN services like Dynamic Segmentation, stateful firewall and Live Upgrades. However, in this mode, it can’t simultaneously be used for SD-WAN.

Features of the Aruba 9000 series

These gateways include a layer 4-7 stateful firewall with PEF like the Aruba controllers. And, to improve security further, gateways deployed in SD-WAN mode add role and identity-based intrusion detection and prevention capabilities (IDS/IPS) on top of existing security features.

Deep Packet Inspection, a component of PEF, evaluates and optimizes performance and usage policies for over 3,000 applications. This ensures the highest possible Quality of Service, even for encrypted traffic.

Differences between the 9004, 9004-LTE, and 9012

All support up to 2,048 clients and concurrent users/devices, 4,096 VLANs, and 2,048 IPsec sessions. The 9004/9004-LTE push 4 Gbps of firewall throughput, wired bridge throughput, and encrypted throughput 3DES. On the other hand, the 9012 pushes 6 Gbps of firewall throughput, and wired bridge throughput, and 4 Gbps of encrypted throughput 3DES.

The 9004 supports 32 access points and the 9012 supports 32. The 9004-LTE doesn’t support access points, of course. Doesn’t need to. The 9004 has 4x GbE interfaces, the 9004-LTE does too, plus a 4G cellular. The 9012 has 12x GbE interfaces. It also runs 120W PoE.

There’s a lot more specs and features, but that’s what the datasheet is for. Just remember, you can call Corporate Armor at 877-449-0458, or email us with any and all questions. We’ll give you uninterrupted 5-star service and years of specialization in Aruba’s whole family of products. Thanks for reading!