Sharp HealthCare Makes System-Wide Migration to Centralized Wireless
 Architecture to Lower Operational Costs, Simplify Administration and Improve
                               Patient Security

    SAN JOSE, Calif., July 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aruba Wireless
Networks(TM) (Aruba) today announced that Sharp HealthCare (Sharp(R)), a
leading health care system in California, has deployed its wireless LAN (WLAN)
switching system to provide centrally managed, enterprise-wide mobility
services to some 11,000 employees as well as innovative new mobile devices
such as Wi-Fi equipped intravenous (IV) pumps.
    In addition to implementing a centralized security architecture for their
wireless infrastructure, Sharp is leveraging the Aruba system to secure open
wired network connections.
    Sharp, an early adopter and veteran user of wireless LAN technology, is
undertaking a system-wide migration to a centralized wireless architecture
from Aruba to streamline the deployment and ongoing management of its entire
wireless environment. Sharp estimates that the move to centralized wireless
will lower operational costs, currently associated with its existing
distributed wireless LAN, by up to 80 percent.
    "Beyond operational improvements, wireless is having profound impact on
improving the patient experience," said Mark Wiesenberg, director of Strategic
Architectures at Sharp HealthCare.  "It's truly moving us into a new era of
health care."
    "We have wireless-enabled intravenous (IV) pumps that automatically gather
essential medication information from a central database to ensure the safety
of our patients. This allows us to focus more on patient care, rather than
administration," said Wiesenberg. Each smart IV medication system is equipped
with an 802.11b PCMCIA card that communicates with a central server that
stores medication profiles. These profiles are continuously downloaded to each
IV pump to ensure no errors in the distribution of medication to patients.
    Sharp is also using the wireless environment for bedside charting,
electronic medical records, custom pharmacy applications, emergency room
admission and ordering, and traditional data center applications.

    Securing Open Wired Ports
    In addition to securing the wireless network, Sharp is using the Aruba
WLAN system to secure open wired ports in conference rooms, lobbies and other
open areas.
    To protect against viruses and potential misuse of the network, guests
connected to open wired ports are challenged to authenticate before receiving
network access via a captive portal on the Aruba system. Authenticated users
are then provided access to certain resources based on their access policy
while non-authenticated users are limited to Internet-only access.

    Deployment Details
    Sharp currently has 200 third-party "fat" access points installed across
its healthcare system to support hundreds of wireless users and devices.  As
it moves to a centralized wireless architecture, Sharp is doubling the number
of APs, adding dedicated RF monitors and introducing 802.11a services in key
areas such as emergency rooms and intensive care units.
    Sharp has deployed the Aruba 5000 modular wireless LAN switching system in
its data center and dual-purpose Aruba AP 52 access points scattered
throughout its hospitals -- creating a seamless WLAN overlay that uses the
Cisco L2/L3 IP network as transport. Dedicated gigabit links connect each
hospital to Sharp's data center.  Sharp plans to deploy Aruba 2400 switches in
each hospital for resilience, direct power and serial over Ethernet
connectivity and 802.1X support for wired users.
    Aruba AP 52s provide Wi-Fi users and devices 802.11a+b/g network access as
well as performing RF monitoring functions.  This gives Sharp administrators
the power to manage the entire RF environment in each hospital from its data
center operations.  The new Aruba WLAN system lets Sharp more easily manage
and better secure its wireless environment from the data center. Sharp
administrators now have a full view of and complete control over authenticated
users and guests, security and access policies, access point parameters and
wireless traffic statistics and packet anomalies.
    "Before Aruba we were RF blind, now we can see," said Gary Jenkins, senior
network engineer at Sharp HealthCare. "From my desk I can easily capture
traffic at any hospital and import it into my traffic analysis application to
troubleshoot problems or optimize the wireless network."
    Jenkins continued:  "Distributed architectures are neither efficient nor
economical.  In the past, we were forced to manage and troubleshoot our
wireless network manually. When wireless problems occurred at a hospital, we
literally had to drive to the location, troubleshoot the problem in the
hospital, capture wireless traffic, then come back to perform analysis.  With
the Aruba system, I can now do in minutes what took me at least two hours to
do before -- without the traveling or hospital disruption."
    From a security perspective, Aruba gives Sharp multiple layers of
protection for confidential patient information in compliance with the federal
government's Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA).
With the Aruba system, Sharp provides guests with restricted network access to
the Web while staff receives full network access upon authentication to the
network.
    With Aruba's integrated user-aware firewall, a single SSID can be used to
support different users groups, each with different authentication
requirements as well as access controls. To simplify management, configuration
and administration, multiple VLANs can be mapped to a single SSID.
    Moving forward, Sharp is migrating to an 802.1X security model for both
its wireless and wired network and plans to leverage Aruba's new RF location
and triangulation capabilities to track users and devices in real time.

    About Aruba Wireless Networks
    Aruba Wireless Networks develops and markets centralized systems that
enable corporations to secure their networks from the dual threats of Wi-Fi
and mobility.  Aruba's solution consists of a full range of programmable
security platforms designed to securely connect mobile users and mobile
devices to corporate applications.  Aruba is privately-held and has operations
in the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific and India and employs staff around
the world.  Aruba has received over $30 million in two rounds of venture
funding from top-tier venture firms -- Matrix Partners, Sequoia Capital, and
Trinity Ventures. http://www.arubanetworks.com .

    About Sharp HealthCare
    Sharp HealthCare is an integrated, regional health care delivery system
based in San Diego, California. Sharp includes four acute-care hospitals,
three specialty hospitals and three medical groups plus a full spectrum of
other facilities and services. Serving a population of approximately 3 million
in San Diego County, Sharp operates 1,847 beds, has approximately 2,541
physicians on medical staffs, 1,587 physicians in medical groups and more than
11,000 employees. The Sharp system represents $852 million in assets and $1.1
billion in income. http://www.sharp.com .

    NOTE:  Aruba Wireless Networks is a trademark of Aruba Wireless Networks.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.