Cisco offers a rich catalog of wireless networking solutions designed to increase employee output, simplify collaboration, and improve interactions among workers, partners, and clients. This technology supports real-time business-critical applications and establishes a safe, mobile, productive workplace so that organizations can exceed client expectations, stay ahead of their competitors, and realize a substantial payback on investment in information technology. Cisco wireless technologies familiar to Progent include wireless access points, wireless bridges, wireless LAN controllers, and wireless adapters.

Cisco's Unified Wireless Network infrastructure offers cost-effective wireless networks for strategic mobility. Cisco's products enables the identical level of security, expandability, and manageability for wireless LANs that organizations demand for their wired environments. This includes built-in enterprise-class protection that detects, prevents, and adapts to familiar and new security attacks. Cisco's wireless portfolio includes integrated mobility functions such as voice, location features, guest access, and expanded security. Cisco wireless technology has the flexibility and expandability to meet the demands of networks of all sizes, from small businesses to large-scale corporations, for WLAN campus installations or satellite offices. Cisco's Unified Wireless Network platform allows customers to exploit their RF environment to improve the way they do business and improve efficiency by means of a mobile workforce. Cisco's wireless product families reduce overall operational expenses and simplify network deployment, management, and maintenance.

Aironet Access Points (WAPs
Aironet access points) offer protected, easy-to-manage, and dependable network links with exceptional coverage and performance. Lightweight wireless access points operate together with Cisco's wireless network controllers and Wireless Control System (WCS). Cisco offers LAN access points with either single 802.11g wireless transceiver for as high as 54 Mbps of capacity or dual 802.11g wireless transceiver LAN access points handling both 802.11g and 802.11a to deliver as much as 108 Mbps of network capacity. The Aironet product family includes access points targeted for workplaces and similar facilities, for challenging RF environments such as manufacturing plants and warehouses, and for the outdoors. These wireless access points can be installed on desks, on walls, on or above ceilings, and on towers. Cisco Wireless Mesh devices allow economical, scalable installation of protected outdoor wireless networks utilizing Mesh networking.

All Cisco Aironet access points support the Cisco Structured Wireless-Aware Network (SWAN), an architecture for wired and wireless interfacing that provides high degrees of security, operational control, and important services.

Cisco Aironet 1000 or 1130AG family wireless access points are ideal for offices and other environments which have little environmental variability. These access points include integrated antennas that offer predictable omnidirectional range profiles. The 1130G Series device is designed for restricted locations that do not allow 5GHz transmission.

Aironet 1230AG/1240AG family access points are ideal for more difficult RF situations like manufacturing plants and warehouses or above ceiling structures which tend to call for adjustable external antennas and durable enclosures. The Aironet 1240G family product is intended for regulatory locations that do not permit 5GHz operation.

Cisco Aironet 1500 Series lightweight outdoor mesh access points provide a cost-effective, scalable, secure outdoor wireless network technology for outdoor campus areas and public connectivity for mobile devices in outside environments.

Cisco Wireless Bridges
Cisco wireless LAN bridges offer a high-throughput and feature-rich technology for connecting multiple LANs in a metropolitan situation or public access environment. Cisco Aironet bridges offer a flexible, manageable technology that satisfies the protection requirements of WAN specialists. They handle both point-to-point and PMP configurations with excellent coverage and support for data throughput as high as 54 Mbps.

Cisco Aironet wireless bridges offer data rates significantly faster than E1/T1 lines for much lower expense, erasing the necessity of expensive leased lines when connecting different buildings. Because wireless bridges require no recurring costs, savings on connection services rapidly pay for the startup hardware investment. Private lines and even leased lines using copper or optical cable often result in very expensive up-front expenses if they are impeded by obstacles such as freeways, train tracks, or lakes and rivers. Cisco wireless bridges can be deployed rapidly with a fast ROI.

Aironet 1300 Series outdoor wireless access points/bridges can be deployed as stand-alone access points, wireless bridges, or workgroup bridges. These devices have a durable enclosure and provide high-speed, economical wireless interfaces between multiple fixed or mobile environments and users.

Cisco 1400 wireless bridges offer high-speed, reliable outdoor wireless bridging for LOS environments. These devices are housed in a durable enclosure that can withstand severe outside conditions and function in extended temperature extremes.

Cisco Wireless LAN Client Cards
Cisco Wireless LAN Client cards connect a range of products to a wireless network either in ad hoc peer-to-peer mode or in infrastructure mode with access points. Aironet Wireless Client cards are compatible with Cisco Aironet network appliances to provide seamless wireless LAN solutions.

Offered in CardBus, PC Card and PCI formats, Cisco Aironet Wireless Client Adapters easily interface desktop and portable computing devices to the WLAN in 802.11a, 802.11b, or 802.11g-compatible environments. With Cisco Aironet Wireless Client Adapters, you can instantly add additional employees to a network, support temporary workgroups, or introduce web connectivity in conference rooms.

Capable of a hefty 100 milliwatts of transmit power and the best receive sensitivity in the industry, the Aironet 350 Wireless LAN Client Adapters provide the best range and highest dependability available for wireless clients. Sophisticated engineering in the Cisco 350 family LAN cards helps deal with the multipath propagation often found in office environments. Smart filtering overcomes ambient interference that can degrade network performance.

The Aironet 350 family wireless LAN Adapters offer outstanding throughput so workers can enjoy virtually the identical access they gain from wire-line interfaces. Designed with DSSS engineering and running in the 2.4-gigahertz spectrum, the Cisco 350 family Wireless LAN Client cards comply with the IEEE 802.11b specification, ensuring compatibility with all other compliant wireless products.

Wireless Network Controllers
Wireless LAN Controllers are responsible for centralized wireless LAN functions, including integrated IPS, fast RF control, zero touch configuration, and N+1 redundancy. Wireless LAN controllers work with lightweight access points and a management mechanism to offer enhanced performance and advanced management capabilities.

Wireless LAN Controllers provide the control, scalability, protection, and reliability that network managers require to build secure, large-scale wireless environments, from satellite offices, to small businesses, to main campuses. Cisco WLCs can be clustered to offer support for up to 2400 wireless access points for each roaming domain.

Cisco's WLCM or WLCM-E Controller Module for Integrated Services (IS) Routers offers small-to mid-size businesses and large corporations an economical solution to implement and control secure WLANs at branch locations. These products supervise up to twelve Aironet lightweight WAPs and are installable in Cisco 2800/3800 Series Integrated Services Routers and 3700 Series IS Routers.

The Cisco 2106 WLC works. operates in conjunction with Aironet lightweight access points and the Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS) to support systemwide wireless LAN services. The Cisco 2106 Wireless LAN Controller supports as many as six Cisco Aironet lightweight wireless access points, making it an economical alternative for multi-controller environments typical of large corporation satellite office deployments. The Cisco 2106 Series Wireless LAN Controller can also be used for single controller solutions for small and medium-sized business environments. The Cisco 2106 Series Wireless LAN Controller provides eight 10BASET Ethernet ports, two of which can deliver power directly to Cisco lightweight access points.

Cisco's 4400 Wireless LAN Controller provides systemwide WLAN services for mid-size to enterprise environments. The Cisco 4400 Wireless LAN Controller operates in conjunction with Cisco Aironet lightweight wireless access points, the Cisco's WCS platform, and the Cisco Wireless Location Appliance to support business-critical wireless data, voice, and video applications. The Cisco 4400 Wireless LAN Controller provides instant coordination between Aironet lightweight wireless access points and other wireless controllers to deliver integrated security policies, IPS capabilities, advanced RF management, quality of service, and mobility.

How Progent Can Assist Your Business with Cisco Wireless Solutions
Progent can provide a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) or Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) to assist you to develop a comprehensive wireless network design and implementation plan that integrates a wide range of wireless products and technologies and provides the identical protection, expandability, and manageability you demand from your wired network. Progent can help you to implement transparent interoperability between Cisco wireless technology and wireless devices and software from other vendors to offer your business the functionality you need plus the most protected, reliable, and economical wireless networking solution possible. Progent's CISM and CISSP security professionals can show you how to design protection into your WLAN and your business processes.

For a further discussion of Progent's wireless consulting capabilities, visit Progent's Wireless Network Expertise.

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