Meru Networks

History

Meru Networks was founded in 2002 to address issues with legacy wireless networking architectures that support two separate access networks: a wired network for business-specific applications and a wireless network for casual use. This causes problems ranging from co-channel interference to the inability of micro-cellular systems to scale up. Meru Networks develops and markets a virtualized wireless LAN solution that enables enterprises to migrate applications from wired networks to wireless networks and become what Meru refers to as the "All-wireless enterprise." The company uses an approach to wireless networking that employs virtualization technology to create a self-monitoring wireless network that provides access to applications, improved application performance, and a greater ability to run converged applications, such as voice, video and data, over a wireless network.

The company’s current products address the IEEE 802.11ac and 802.11n wireless networking standards, The company focuses on a “Virtual Cell” approach to Wi-Fi. Under a single service assurance platform, it aggregates access points and the controller needed to manage them. This simplifies the management of access points, cuts the number of access points needed on a wireless network, and eliminates bandwidth contention issues.

In 2011, the company was awarded ITP Technology Best Wireless Solution and was listed as a Health Management Technology Coolest Products.

Timeline

February 2002: Meru Networks founded by Dr. Vaduvur Bharghavan, Srinath Sarang, Sung-Wook Han, Joe Epstein,

June 2005: Company receives $12 million in Series C funding

May 2006: Company receives $25M in Series D funding

January 2007: Company receives $27.6M in unattributed funding

January 2009: Company adds Ihab Abu-Hakima as President and CEO

Main Products and Services

Software

Meru System Director Operating SystemRuns on all Meru controllers and access points, implementing its virtualized wireless LAN technology. As an operating system, System Director runs other applications to deal with the specific requirements of the enterprise. Each application module is integrated with System Director, using its low-level control over the radio frequencies.

Meru Identity ManagerAllows businesses to provide access to thousands of Wi-Fi devices in the “bring your own device” (BYOD) workplace.

Meru Service Assurance ManagerProvides network-wide operations monitoring and diagnostics for wireless networks and the applications that run over them.

Meru E(z)RF Network ManagerManages multiple controllers and thousands of access points providing real-time location tracking and location firewall.

Acquisitions

On September 8, 2011, Meru announced that it had acquired access control specialist Identity Networks. Founded in 2006 and based in Manchester, UK, Identity Networks develops and markets tools that offer provisioning and notification services that give guests access credentials by way of email, or SMS, and also provide reporting, auditing, and policy customization.

Acquisition

On May 27, 2015, Fortinet agreed to acquire Meru Networks for $44M in cash. Fortinet will integrate the Meru Networks team and operations into their organization.