New Asymmetric Shaping Option Augments NetEqualizer-Lite

May 21, 2009 — netequalizer

We currently have a new release in beta testing that allows for equalizing on an asymmetric link. As is the case with all of our equalizing products, this release will allow users to more efficiently utilize their bandwidth, thus optimizing network performance. This will be especially ideal for users of our recently released NetEqualizer-Lite.

Many wireless access points have a limit on the total amount of bandwidth they can transmit in both directions. This is because only one direction can be talking at a time. Unlike wired networks, where a 10-meg link typically means you can have 10 megs UP and 10 megs going the other direction simultaneously, in  a wireless network you can only have 10 megabits total at any one time.  So, if you had 7 megabits coming in, you could only have 3 megabits going out. These limits are a hard saturation point.

In the past, it was necessary to create separate settings for both the up and down stream. With the new NetEqualizer release, you can simply tell the NetEqualizer that you have an asymmetric 10-megabit link, and congestion control will automatically kick in for both streams,  alleviating bottlenecks more efficiently and keeping your network running smoothly.

For more information on APconnections’ equalizing technology, click here.

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NetEqualizer-Lite Is Now Available!

May 11, 2009 — netequalizer

Last month, we introduced our newest release, a Power-over-Ethernet NetEqualizer. Since then, with your help, we’ve titled the new release the NetEqualizer-Lite and are already getting positive feedback from users. Here’s a little background about what led us to release the NetEqualizer-Lite…Over the years, we’d had several customers express interest in placing a NetEqualizer as close as possible to their towers in order to relieve congestion. However, in many cases, this would require both a weatherproof and low-power NetEqualizer unit – two features that were not available up to this point. However, in the midst of a growing demand for this type of technology, we spent the last few months working to meet this need and thus developed the NetEqualizer-Lite.

Here’s what you can expect from the NetEqualizer-Lite:

  • Power over Ethernet
  • Up to 10 megabits of shaping
  • Up to 200 users
  • Comes complete with all standard NetEqualizer features

And, early feedback on the new release has been positive. Here’s what one user recently posted on DSLReports.com:

We’ve ordered 4 of these and deployed 2 so far. They work exactly like the 1U rackmount NE2000 that we have in our NOC, only the form factor is much smaller (about 6x6x1) and they use POE or a DC power supply. I amp clamped one of the units, and it draws about 7 watts….The Netequalizer has resulted in dramatically improved service to our customers. Most of the time, our customers are seeing their full bandwidth. The only time they don’t see it now is when they’re downloading big files. And, when they don’t see full performance, its only for the brief period that the AP is approaching saturation. The available bandwidth is re-evaulated every 2 seconds, so the throttling periods are often brief. Bottom line to this is that we can deliver significantly more data through the same AP. The customers hitting web pages, checking e-mail, etc. virtually always see full bandwidth, and the hogs don’t impact these customers. Even the hogs see better performance (although that wasn’t one of my priorities). (DSLReports.com)

Pricing for the new model will be $1,200 for existing NetEqualizer users and $1,550 for non-customers purchasing their first unit. However, the price for subsequent units will be $1,200 for users and nonusers alike.

For more information about the new release, contact us at admin@apconnections.net or 1-800-918-2763.

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NetEqualizer Coming Attractions and Features

March 17, 2009 — netequalizer

You heard it here first. Here is some of what is eminent in our pipeline. Due out in April 2009!

High end system improvements — The NE3000 – 1 gig  is currently undergoing load testing to validate 20,000 subscribers. For tier-2 ISPs and larger institutions, this is a welcome addition. There is nothing out there with this performance level that touches us on price. We have recently taken orders for several small national ISPs  in the Caribbean that  arelooking to cut their costs without sacrificing quality.

Top speed of these new high-end systems is 900 megabits up and 900 megabits down at the same time for a total of 1.8 megabits sustained.

More intelligence to effectively reign in rogue applications and P2P — Working with a couple of our large university customers, we have come up with some improvements to our behavior-based techniques used to battle P2P (without compromising privacy).  We now have a connection-limit feature that allows you to set a fixed connection limit for all IP’s on a particular subnet. We also have a smart script that will seek out your highest connection customers and set more stringent rate limits on them.

Faster start up time — For those users implementing pools, you are likely aware that it takes a few minutes for the NetEqualizer to fully come in on line. In our next release, we have reduced this time from minutes to seconds.

For more details on these features, please feel free to contact us.

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NetEqualizer rolling out URL based traffic shaping.

February 10, 2009 — netequalizer

February 10th, 2009

Lafayette Colorado

APconnections makers of the of the popular NetEqualizer line of bandwidth control and traffic shaping hardware appliances today announced a major feature enhancement to their product line. URL based shaping.

In our recent newsletter we asked our customers if they were in need of URL based shaping and the feedback was a resounding YES.

Using our current release, administrators  have the ability to shape their network traffic by, IP address , Mac Address, VLAN or subnet. With addition of URL shaping, our product line will meet the demands of Co-location operators.

A distinction we need to make clear, is that URL based shaping is not related to DPI or content based shaping. URLs are public information as they travel across the Internet, and are basically  a mapping into human readable  form of an IP address; therefore URL based shaping does not require opening private data for inspection.

If you are interested in details regarding this feature please contact APconnections directly.

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NetEqualizer Network Access Control Module Helps Generate Revenue

December 6, 2008 — netequalizer

Background: The NetEqualizer network access control module (NAC), which was released this past September, allows users to re-direct “unknown” or “unauthorized” traffic to a web server hosted on the NetEqualizer.  Once redirected, you can have the NetEqualizer perform a variety of actions, including:

1) Authenticating a user via login
2) Allowing the unknown user to create a paid account (using a credit card, for example)
3) Allowing the user to pass through to the Internet without logging in

Did you know that the NetEqualizer network access control module offers several options to generate revenue? One of the dilemmas many of our customers have mentioned is that in order to be competitive they don’t want to charge for their Internet service (hotels, etc.). Well, the cool thing about the NAC module is that you can offer multiple logins with different rate limits. For example, one could be your standard free service and another could be a paid service with higher bandwidth rates.

An additional revenue generating feature of the NAC module is the ability to run advertisements on the login screens. For example, if you’re a hotel operator, even if you’re not charging for Internet service, you could have your guests login on a screen with the logo and name of a local merchant, or anybody that is interested in cross marketing with your hotel.

The NAC module also has customizable splash screens on its default login page that you can edit, thus welcoming your users with whatever content you choose.

For more information about the NetEqualizer network access control module, visit our Web page at www.netequalizer.com or contact us at 1-800-918-2763 or via email at sales@netequalizer.com.

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One Gigabit NetEqualizer Announced Today

November 7, 2008 — netequalizer

Editors Note: We expect to go higher than 1 gigabit and 12,000 users in the near future. This is just a start.

APconnections Announces Fully Equipped One-Gigabit NetEqualizer Traffic Shaper for $8500

LAFAYETTE, Colo., Nov. 7/PRNewswire/ — APconnections, a leading supplier of plug-and-play bandwidth shaping products, today announced a one-gigabit enhancement to their NetEqualizer brand traffic shapers. The initial release will handle 12,000 users and sustained line speeds of one gigabit.

“Prior to this release, our largest model, the NE-3000 was rated for 350 megabits,” said Eli Riles, APconnections vice president of sales. “Many of our current customers liked our technology, but just needed a higher end machine.The other good news is that our current NE-3000 platform will be able to run this new version with just a software upgrade, no forklift required.”

Future releases are in the works for even higher speeds and more users, thus solidifying APConnections as the price-performance leader in the WAN optimization market place.

In its initial release, the one-gigabit model will start at $8,500 USD. For more information, contact APconnections at 1-800-918-2763 or via email at sales@netequalizer.com.

The NetEqualizer is a plug-and-play bandwidth control and WAN/Internet optimization appliance that is flexible and scalable. When the network is congested, NetEqualizer’s unique “behavior shaping” technology
gives priority to latency-sensitive applications, such as VoIP and email. Behavior based shaping is the industry alternative to Deep Packet Inspection (DPI). It does it all dynamically and automatically, improving on other bandwidth shaping technology available.

APconnections is a privately held company founded in 2003 and is based in Lafayette, Colorado.

Contact: APconnections, 1-800-918-2763

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NetEqualizer Direct Sales and Restocking Fee

October 17, 2008 — netequalizer

A customer recently stated that the restocking fee we charge gave the appearance of a lack of confidence in our product. I can appreciate that perception, especially with all the failed products many IT professionals have been burned with over the years.

However, here is the official reasoning behind why we charge a restocking fee.  As taken from my response to this customer:

The restocking fee has its roots based on a couple of factors…

1) The restocking fee is designed to make sure we don’t get inundated with requests for free units from customers that are “just looking”. The other vendors  you mention charge much higher prices, sometimes four times as much,  and they typically use a channel that already purchases stock for the purposes of demo’s. All of this cost gets passed along to the customers that end up buying the product (basically covering the cost of dry wells).  We sell mostly direct and with  no local presence it is difficult to know a customer’s buying patterns.   You’d be surprised how many customers will trial something  without any intention to purchase.  But, many times it is not the immediate customers fault as the CIO might change the IT manager’s  budget, etc.

2) We are  not 100-percent certain that our unit will solve your issue. I’d  say we are closer to 80-percent certain based on what you described, but we will easily provide you with $200 of support helping you figure out what your issue is. You will have the chance to talk directly to our engineers who trouble shoot thousands of networks a year with similar problems. We do not want or pretend to be a consulting company, but we don’t want to consult without recouping some of our cost either — especially with our low margins which we are already passing along.

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Network Access Control Features Redirection for Delinquent Customers

October 6, 2008 — netequalizer

What should an Internet service provider do to customers who are late with their payment?   If you simply block the user completely  at your firewall, you will likely generate a costly call to  your support engineering. But, there are other options…

A better way to collect payment without creating support calls is to redirect the delinquent user to a splash screen  informing them they need to pay their bill.  Obviously a customer won’t call unless they are ready to pay, hence no costly call to support engineering. For the suggested redirection capability, you do not need a fully automated network access control system (requiring a login  and credit card payment), but you do need a way to redirect delinquent customers to a Web page telling them to pay their outstanding bill.

With our latest version that is available now, we can set up IP redirection to a custom web page for a nominal support charge.

Note:  We now host the redirection page right on your NetEqualizer, so there is no need for another third party server.

Call us if you are interested:  303-997-1300
www.netequalizer.com

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NetEqualizer Evaluation Policy

October 1, 2008 — netequalizer

Our official policy for customers requesting evaluation units is to require payment upfront.  However, we do honor a no-questions-asked  30-day return policy.

As you can imagine, we get a constant stream of requests for evaluation units. Obviously we’d love to provide everybody who asks with a demo unit. After all, the other brand name packet shapers will throw them at you. Especially if you are coming from an account they want to win over.

So, you may be wondering why we don’t do the same…

Some background:

APconnections  sells quite a few units under $3000 dollars. To put this in perspective, last year a CEO from a larger competitor selling similar equipment admitted that $4000 is their break-even point.

So, how do we offer units starting at $2000 and still turn a profit?

A big part of our model to is make sure that we do not drill dry wells. Dry well is industry speak for pursuing business that will never materialize. Yes, we love chatting with people, but in order to pay our engineers and stay in business, we must limit money spent supporting customers that are just “looking”.  The easiest way to do this is to enforce our evaluation policy.

Serious customers that are ready to buy something but need to see it work in their network usually have no problem with purchasing up front.  Some, but not all, customers that are not agreeable to purchasing up front may have cash flow problems of their own. In an economy where banks do not know how to qualify loans, we don’t want  to try to calculate this risk.

The result of our conservative policy translates to much lower prices , and to date nobody is arguing with that.

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NetEqualizer Network Access Control Rollout

September 14, 2008 — netequalizer


After several months in development, the NetEqualizer network access control module is now available for trial.

The basic features of the Module are what you would expect (think airport T Mobile daily access etc):

1) The ability to dynamically authenticate/restrict users through a login process.

2) Automated payment processing for users who do not have a login.

3) The ability to selectively exempt an IP range from authentication redirection server. For example well known IP addresses on your network will not be forced to login, while other open IP address ranges (guest network) will require a login to obtain access.

4) The ability to custom brand  login pages and redirection service

Plus a couple of new twists that go above and beyond normal Network Authentication products:

1) Class of Service Specification When Customers Sign Up

For example, you will be able to offer customers a free standard service at modem speed with an option to pay for an upgrade for a faster connection. We have been playing with this feature at the office with our test system and the option to upgrade is very compelling. This could be a great way to increase revenue for those who might otherwise not log on at all if asked to purchase up front. Of course, this is made possible because the network access control is hosted by our NetEqualizer platform with full access to rate limiting features.

2) Group Licenses

This was one of the main requests from Portola Plaza Hotel (our beta site). They wanted to know if we could offer a system that allowed them to sell a group license (limited by total simultaneous sessions) to conference attendees. The other part of the challenge was to maintain a pay as you go option for individual hotel guests at the same time. Well, we have all that in there and it really is pretty impressive!

3) Smooth Service

For those hotels and institutions that have not been able to pull the trigger on something to eliminate their busy hour congestion, they will get the full power of our automated bandwidth controller. Many hotels and institutions have too many irons in the fire to address this issue, and perhaps their management cannot quantify the cost of slow Internet service, so they just live with it. These same institutions love to implement pay for internet service because that feature is clear-cut revenue generating device. So, now they will get both — revenue and smoother service for their paying customers all in one swoop!

4) Reliable Engineering

As many of our customers already know, we are an engineering company that developed a product, not an investor with a business plan that hired an engineering company. What this means is that our roots are conservative and we are in no hurry to put a solution on the market that will cause customers headaches as a result of some greedy business plan and offshore engineering. We do the work here in the U.S. and pay our engineers salaries of U.S. quality. The end result is a smoother process from start to finish. In addition, we are very conservative with our roll out and will not sell more than we can support at one time.

Needless to say, we were very excited to see the control module in action. It’s been even better to see that the months of research and development have paid off. For more information about the NetEqualizer network access control module, please visit our Web site at www.netequalizer.com.

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New NE3000-300 Now Available

March 22, 2008 — netequalizer

APconnections today announced the release of the NetEqualizer NE2000-300. It has all the features of a standard NetEqualizer, CALEA probe, peer-to-peer throttling, priority for voice and optional priority for video.

This unit doubles the effective bandwidth pipe of the current NE2000-150.

For details, contact APconnections at admin@apconnections.net or 303-997-1300.

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What Can We Do To Improve NetEqualizer?

December 8, 2007 — netequalizer

We are always looking for feedback on how to improve Netequalizer products. What features do you want to see in 2008? Some ideas we have in the works are:

  • CALEA Probe for VOIP
  • Shaping by Domain Name (Input a URL
    Instead of an IP)
  • Quieter Fan (Already Shipping This!)

This is your chance to tell us what you’d like to see in the Netequalizer for 2008!

Please send all ideas to admin@apconnections.net or give us a call at 303-997-1300, extension 102.

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APconnections Offers 802.11 Hidden Node Solution in Most Recent AirEqualizer Release

July 9, 2007 — netequalizer

LAFAYETTE, Colo., July 9, 2007 /PRNewswire/ — APconnections, a leading supplier of plug-and-play bandwidth shaping products, today announced that the capabilities of its AirEqualizer power-over-Ethernet wireless access point (AP) are expanding. The AirEqualizer now not only effectively controls network congestion and eliminates AP brownouts and lockups, but also serves as a proven 802.11 network hidden node solution.

With the advent of this technology, AirEqualizer users worldwide have seen the near instantaneous drop in problems associated with hidden nodes, leading to significant improvements in QoS and customer satisfaction.

“As we began to grow our client base, we discovered hidden node collisions were causing customer slowdowns. The more customers we put on, the more complaints we received,” said Chris McKay, director of British Columbia’s Airspeed Wireless. “Once the AirEqualizer was setup and configured to run optimally on our busiest site, the complaints immediately dropped off. We now have over 20 AirEqualizers in place at all of our WIPOP’s and very rarely get calls from upset customers. We give the AirEqualizer three thumbs up. It has saved our business and our sanity!”

Through the equalizing technology found in APconnections’ NetEqualizer bandwidth shaping products, AirEqualizer allows organizations to control network congestion at the AP. This ensures high-quality connectivity for voice over IP (VoIP) and other priority users, thereby dramatically reducing help desk and service calls, without the need for any manual tuning.

“We run a VoIP service over our wireless data network in Gunnison, Colorado and can’t afford to have customers with lower powered radio signals get crowded out of the RF spectrum,” said Jason Swenson, president of Internet Colorado. “With the unique QoS provided by the AirEqualizer, we have been blessed with the ability to run our network using less expensive 802.11-based equipment while maintaining first rate QoS.”

In addition to the equalizing technology, AirEqualizer comes with standard commercial AP features, including authentication, billing, re-direction, routing, and firewall protection.

APconnections partners with Aibridges.ie and the University of Limerick Ireland on a European version of the AirEqualizer.

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Name-Based Shaping Is Now Available!

May 22, 2007 — netequalizer

APconnections is pleased to announce the availability of name-based shaping. Now you can set class of service for your users by domain (user) name. And regardless of where or how they login into your network, the NetEqualizer will enforce subscribed service-level service agreements (i.e., 3 meg, 1 meg etc…).

How does this service work?

It is designed to work with your DHCP server. Your DHCP server is the device on your network which hands out an IP address to clients when they login or become active. Since clients can receive a new and different IP address each time they login, it is normally difficult and perhaps impossible to assign a unique SLA for each customer. But, with NetEqualizer name- based shaping, you assign the SLA to the customer domain name (computer name) and the SLA sticks with them wherever and whenever they login.

I use MAC addresses for shaping, why would I use name-based shaping?

MAC address shaping works well with small networks and is sufficient if you plan to remain under about 300 customers. But, once you grow beyond the amount of MAC addresses a network segment can handle, MAC address shaping breaks down and becomes complex to manage. If you are currently using MAC shaping and plan to increase your number of customers, it’s a good time to think about making the architecture change to domain-based shaping or some other alternative.

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NetEqualizer Announces Low-Cost CALEA Probe for Mid-Level ISPs

May 18, 2007 — netequalizer

LAFAYETTE, Colo., May 18, 2007 — APconnections, a leading supplier of plug-and-play bandwidth shaping products and creator of the NetEqualizer, today announced an upgrade that will allow operators to perform the necessary data reporting measures mandated by the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, or CALEA.

“We already had a great bandwidth shaping tool dispersed in networks around the world. It was a natural extension to add CALEA functionality with our equipment already in place,” said Art Reisman, CEO of APconnections. “Rather than watch our customers purchase CALEA specific solutions at what seem to be inflated prices, we have produced a functional CALEA probe that meets the spirit of the law at no extra cost to our existing customers.”

The NetEqualizer CALEA probe will allow an ISP or other system operator to comply with a basic warrant for information about a user on their network by capturing and sending IP communications in real time to a third party. This communication can be captured either by headers alone, or by both headers and content. The NetEqualizer probe will provide basic descriptive tags identifying headers, data, and time stamps, along with HEX or ASCII representation of content data.

Customers with current NetEqualizer Software Subscriptions (NSS) can implement the upgrade at no charge. This will be done with the assurance that the NetEqualizer’s bandwidth-control capabilities will continue to operate effectively and unabated. All future NetEqualizer models will be shipped with the upgrade already installed.

The NetEqualizer is a plug-and-play bandwidth control and WAN/Internet optimization appliance that is flexible and scalable. When the network is congested, NetEqualizer’s unique “behavior shaping” technology gives priority to latency sensitive applications, such as VoIP and email. It does it all dynamically and automatically, improving on other bandwidth shaping technology out there. It controls network flow for the best WAN optimization.

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