Tempered Networks’ sweet spot for their identity-based networking products has always been the industrial IoT segment, but the new HIPswitch 250 strengthens their presence there.

Seattle-based Tempered Networks has announced the forthcoming launch of their new HIPswitch 250 platform. It’s an identity-based industrial IoT gateway, that creates simple and secure end-to-end private network that cuts the cost and complexity of networking and security in half by removing the need for APNs, Ethernet switches, internal firewalls, VPNs and separate cellular modems.

Tempered Networks has branded itself as the creator of identity-based networking, and has always focused on secure networking gear for customers like Boeing. It actually has its genesis in Boeing, and its use of the HIP open standard. Some of the Boeing engineers received permission to commercialize it and left the company in 2012 to found Asguard Networks. Former F5 founder and CEO Jeff Hussey joined the company as CEO in 2014, with original CEO David Mattes moving to CTO, and the company was renamed when Hussey took over.

“The fundamental problem we are solving is around networking complexity and fragility,” said Erik Giesa, vice president of product management at Tempered Networks. “We address the root cause problem, which is IP addresses being used for identity. Everything, like firewall rules and VLANs, are defined by IP addresses, which are spoofable. IP addresses were never intended to be used for both identity and location.”

Tempered Networks’ alternative is its Identity-Defined Networking (IDN) architecture.

“Our Host Identity Namespace is a native network stack that authorizes the machines –  not the users – before transport,” Giesa said. “We create a cryptographic identity with an instant overlay network that has two dimensions. First, it orchestrates policy, and then it enforces it adjacent to the host itself. It moves the networking perimeter from the network edge to the host. HIPrelay, which does this, is the secret sauce. It is the world’s first identity-based router. It lets you securely connect without having to change the underlying network, and eliminates the need for VPNs. That means you instantly secure IoT overlay networks at half the cost.”

The industrial IoT segment was already Tempered Networks’ sweet spot, but the new HIPswitch 250 gateway extends their reach there.

“This announcement extends the instant overlay network to industrial IoT, and now also private workgroup networks and dev/ops cloud teams – so we have a unified architecture that spans all sorts of environments,” Giesa stated.

“The HIPswitch 250, together with the HIPrelay, eliminates networking and carrier constraints, and  removes APN, CGNAT and VPN barriers, along with half of the customer’s cost,” Giesa said. “It reduces attack vectors by over 90 per cent because you are invisible. It’s also plug-and-play simple, and you can set this up in 20 minutes. It provisions industrial IoT networks 97 per cent faster.”

The HIPswitch’s Fast Ethernet and Dual Cell Modems provide the flexibility to swap carriers on demand, and set and change link priority. A Smart Link Manager enables customized network and application-level link monitoring, provides for fast failover, and gives the ability to prioritize links across multiple cellular and wired links.   Port Density with PoE makes edge Ethernet switches redundant, and additional power lets customers deploy anywhere with 8 x 1 Gbps, 4 x SFP Fiber or Copper.

The Internet of Things incorporates OT [operational technology] as well as IT, and Tempered Networks works with both kinds of partners.

“This is extremely interesting to channel partners, who have to offer prescriptions to industrial enterprises,” Giesa said. “instead of having to set up private access point networks on cellular, which are   costly and complex, now they can network more securely in 20 minutes or less. They save the customer money by reducing things they no longer need to buy, and they make things so easy the customer doesn’t have to hire new head count to manage it all.”

Tempered Networks’ IP partners should see their addressable markets grow with the HIPswitch 250, Giesa added.

“It gives our IP partners another avenue into HVAC systems, IP camera networks, and physical security,” he said.

The HIPswitch 250, along with a new release of Tempered Networks’ IDN software, will be available in November 2017.