The Evolution of Nebula Continues: What’s New in Nebula 8.2 Release?
The Evolution of Nebula Continues: What’s New in Nebula 8.2 Release?
Nebula has officially completed its major redesign of Nebula Control Center (NCC) in the latest 8.2 release. The stylish new user interface (UI), offering both light and dark modes, are now ready to empower users with a customizable dashboard and easier, more intuitive navigation. In addition to the aesthetic and user-friendly enhancements, Nebula boosts additional support for usability, security, and device compatibility.
Next-Generation UI with Light & Dark Modes
The Beta version of UI2.0, which was released in the previous 8.1 version, gave a brand new look of Nebula with the pristine, ivory backdrop (light mode). Now, the evolutionary revamp has been officially completed.
Besides the existing light mode, the new UI further includes a dark-mode option. It will literally be a sight for sore eyes, providing a more comfortable user experience in environments where overly bright light from a monitor can cause undue strain on the eyes. Users will be able to switch between the bright and dark themes with a single click.
30-Day Free Trial License
Starting from this 8.2 release, Nebula users will have the opportunity to enjoy Nebula Professional Pack and Security Pack for free in the first month. Once a user creates an organization in NCC, he/she will be automatically granted a 30-day free access to Nebula Professional Pack and Security Pack. The first 10 organizations created with the same account are eligible to take advantage of this free trial, giving users a greater flexibility to help them explore a full-range of Nebula’s advanced features at no additional cost!
After the 30-day trial period, users may either continue to enjoy Nebula Professional and/or Security Pack with the device’s bundled license or paid license. For those without a license, they will be placed automatically on Nebula Basic (free) version without any hassle.
A number of other NCC enhancements are also being introduced in this release, such as:
- MSP Branding: It allows MSPs to promote their brand by customizing the Nebula Control Center dashboard for their customers, including a logo and support contact.
- Configuration Template: The scope of the configuration template has been enriched by adding switch profiles and site-wide settings, allowing simultaneous management of multiple devices.
Image 1: MSP feature allows MSPs to promote their brand by adding a logo and support contact.
Image 2: Configuration template now supports switch port settings (above) and side-wide settings.
A Growing AP Family & Wireless Security Enhancements
The range of Nebula-supported devices has expanded to include the powerful WAX650S, NWA110AX, and WAX510D access points. All feature WiFi 6 (802.11ax) as well as beefed-up security, including MAC filtering for each SSID, the latest WPA3 WiFi standard, and dynamic VLAN assignment. The latter is perfect for larger school or business networks as it can separate users into multiple VLANs, isolating them for stronger security and also allowing easier management.
Image 3: Nebula further expands to support Zyxel’s WiFi 6 APs for cloud-based management.
Image 4: Dynamic VLAN assignment separates users into multiple VLAN for stronger security and easier management.
In addition, Nebula Wireless health now supports WiFi 6 APs. Also, users can filter per AP or per client result from the dotted charts in order to have a closer view on the per device or per client level.
Image 5: Filter by per AP or per client is now available in Nebula Wireless health.
Other Major Enhancements - Switch
- Vendor ID based VLAN: It allows users to allocate network devices from different vendors into different VLANs for easy management and traffic priority.
- Layer 2 ACL: It provides granularity for access traffic control by adding Source and Destination MAC addresses.
- IPTV/IGMP enhancements:
- Unknown multicast drop supports VLAN settings for better control of IGMP networks.
- NCC allows to export and import the channel information in the IPTV report.
- Management control tools:
- Access management allows to define IP ranges to limit the access of services such as FTP, SSH, HTTPS, etc. on the switches.
- Management VLAN control allows to define the switch ports that can forward the management VLAN packets.
Image 6: Vendor ID based VLAN allows users to allocate network devices from different vendors into different VLANs for easy management and traffic priority.
Image 7: Layer 2 ACL provides granularity for access traffic control by adding Source and Destination MAC addresses.
Image 8: Access management and Management VLAN control provide secured device management control.
Other Major Enhancements - Gateway
- SIP ALG support: It enables SIP ALG with customizable advanced settings, allowing VoIP packets to go through network’s firewall.
- WAN port VLAN option: It provides advanced settings for VLAN configuration in WAN uplinks.
Image 9: SIP ALG support enables SIP ALG with customizable advanced settings, allowing VoIP packets to go through network’s firewall.
Summary
With a beautifully revamped interface and the addition of new members in the Nebula family including WiFi 6 APs and several intelligent features, Nebula continues to innovate by expanding its functionality and service, making it the most reliable and trusted partner of Cloud Networking Solution in today’s increasingly competitive market.
* For more information on Nebula 8.2 release and its new feature details, please refer to the release note on Nebula forum and online documents.
