The server acts as a central repository for access rights and logging information with each unit supporting up to 100 Vernier Access Managers (AMs) and up to 20,000 users.
Vernier's Control Server is created to integrate with authentication servers (LDAP, 802.1x, Radius, Windows XP/2000/NT, Kerberos) to grant or deny network logon requests that it detects from associated Networks AMs. By doing so, the server creates an enterprise-wide authentication system that can be used for wired and wireless users.
An integrated Rights Manager can determine network access and resource usage policies for users or groups accessing the wireless network. These policies can be created using a flexible mixture of attributes based on combinations of location, time and/or data. Given the enterprise focus of this product, we were surprised by its easy setup. We connected the power lead to the back of the system and plugged in a crossover serial cable from the Dell laptop we had designated as the administration console to the serial port on the front of the Control Server. We configured a terminal session on the laptop and started the server to access the logon prompt with the default username and password of "admin." We had to set a "shared secret" key to validate associated AM units to the Control Server. The 6500 Server requests an IP address via DHCP when it is first turned on, but the set-up screen gives the option to assign a static address, gateway and subnet. We connected the server to a 10/100 Ethernet switch on our LAN and from the management console we completed the setup by pointing our browser at the server's assigned IP to access advanced features.
