Wireless Consulting Expertise

Overview of Cisco's Aironet Line of Wi-Fi Access Points
Cisco's top-selling Aironet family of wireless APs has evolved in step with Wi-Fi technology and has steadily offered enhancements in performance, capacity, coverage, data protection, manageability and reliability. Modern Aironet Wave 2 wireless APs can handle as many as 400 clients each and can handle transfer rates in excess of 5 Gbps. Networks of Aironet APs integrated with Cisco's Prime Infrastructure design model allow you to build multi-location wireless networks with 18,000 APs serving as many as 64,000 clients, all under unified management. Progent's Cisco CCIE-certified Wi-Fi consultants offer remote or onsite consulting and debugging services to help your organization to plan, deploy, update, optimize, monitor and debug Aironet Wi-Fi environments of any size, indoors or outside.

Progent's Cisco CCIE-certified wireless network infrastructure consultants offer remote or on-premises integration and troubleshooting services to assist your organization to design, implement, update, tune, administer and debug Aironet wireless access point environments of any size or topology. Progent's Cisco wireless controller experts can also help you to integrate your Wi-Fi environment with your wired network infrastructure and cloud-based resources to build an enterprise-wide connectivity solution that is simple to manage and scale. Progent also offers affordable wireless site surveys to assist you to decide the most efficient selection, location and configuration of Aironet Wi-Fi access points to accommodate your unique workplace layout, construction, and anticipated network traffic.

Cisco Aironet Wave 2 Indoor Wireless Access Points
Cisco's Aironet Wave 2 Wi-Fi APs feature significant improvements compared to the initial releases of 802.11ac devices, called Wave 1. Enhancements include up to 2.34 Gbps rather than 1.3 Gbps in the 5 GHz band, multi-user MIMO for transmitting data to multiple clients , better signal coverage and scale, and the ability to use 160-MHz-wide channels and/or a fourth spatial stream to improve performance and support more features. For concentrated Wi-Fi environments, almost all Aironet Wave 2 Wi-Fi access points support the Cisco Mobility Express solution, which permits 50 to 100 access points to be deployed rapidly without requiring a Cisco Wi-Fi controller. Progent can assist your organization to evaluate the business benefits of upgrading your Wave 1 or older Aironet Wi-Fi APs and can also help you to design, deploy and administer a Wave 2 Aironet wireless AP solution that adds maximum business value.

Cisco's Aironet 1810W Series Wi-Fi access points are low-profile Wave 2 wall-plate-mountable access points designed for use in hospitality venues such as hotels and cruise ships. The Aironet 1810W includes Dual 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radios and a Bluetooth radio, incorporates 2x2 multi-user MIMO technology with two spatial streams, and delivers a combined transfer rate of 867-Mbps and a max user count of 400. The Aironet 1810W includes three local Gigabit Ethernet ports including one with PoE Out for supporting a device like an IP phone, printer or surveillance camera. The Aironet 1818 also includes a 10/100/1000BASE-T Power over Ethernet uplink port and a pass-through RJ-45 connection. Cisco's Aironet 1810 OfficeExtend Series access point is a Wave 2 802.11ac unit that includes a mounting cradle and is engineered to deliver safe Wi-Fi connectivity for telecommuters and branch office employees. The Cisco Aironet 1810W Series OfficeExtend Access Point needs to be attached to a remote wireless network controller, which simplifies centralization of policies and eliminates the need for overseeing home or branch-office firewalls. Cisco's Aironet 1810 OfficeExtend Series features the same performance and interfaces as the Aironet 1810W Wi-Fi access point.

Cisco's Aironet 1815 Series wireless APs are value-priced, low-profile Wave 2 appliances designed for small and mid-size businesses. The series includes four versions which address different usage scenarios. The 1815i Wi-Fi AP has flexible options for wall or ceiling mount. The Cisco 1815w Wi-Fi access point is a desktop unit. The 1815t Wi-Fi access point includes three GE ports to support telecommuters or workers in a micro branch office; and Cisco's 1815m Wi-Fi access point offers extra transmission energy for greater signal coverage. All products in the 1815 Wireless Access Point series feature two radios (2.4/5 GHz) and 2x2 multi-user MIMO supporting two spatial streams. All but the 1815t wireless AP can be managed with Cisco Mobility Express. Only the 1815t wireless AP works with OfficeExtend. Each 1815 Series wireless AP offers a combined data rate of 1 Gbps and can handle a maximum of 400 users. All versions except the 1815t include a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio, and only the 1815t has a USB port and has the option of PoE or AC/DC power.

Cisco's Aironet 1830 Series wireless access point is designed for small and medium-size wireless networks and includes 2.4/5 GHz radios, features 3x3 multi-user MIMO technology with two spatial streams, includes a 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ-4 Ethernet interface with Power over Ethernet (PoE), supports a combined transfer rate of up to 867-Mbps on the 5-Ghz radio, and can support up to 400 clients. Cisco's 1830 Series Wi-Fi access point also supports a Bluetooth Low Energy radio via a USB dongle. The BLE radio can be used for navigation, proximity marketing, and inventory.

The Cisco Aironet 1850i Wi-Fi AP is intended for small and mid-sized businesses and features 4x4 MU-MIMO with up to four spatial streams (when in single-user MIMO mode, three spatial streams when in multiuser mode), incorporates a Gigabit Ethernet Power over Ethernet (PoE) interface, a Gigabit Ethernet interface for link aggregation, and an RJ-45 management console port. Cisco's Aironet 1850i Wi-Fi access point supports a total aggregate dual-radio data rate of 2 gigabits/sec and a max user count of 400. A BLE radio can be added to the 1850i Series Wi-Fi access point via a USB dongle.

The Cisco Aironet 2800 Series Wi-Fi AP is intended for large enterprises and can maximize throughput by dynamically designating its dual radios as one 2.4 and one 5 GHz radio or as two 5 GHz radios, delivering combined throughput up to 5 Gbps. Cisco's Aironet 2800 wireless access point features 4x4 MU-MIMO with three spatial streams and can serve up to 400 Wi-Fi users. A second antenna interface accommodates challenging environments such as high-ceiling auditoriums, libraries and cafeterias. Cisco's 2800 wireless access point features two GE ports and an RJ-45 management console interface. A Bluetooth radio can be connected by using a USB dongle.

The Aironet 3800 Wave 2 wireless access points are intended for high-density environments such as large offices or warehouses. The Aironet 3800 has three different antenna options. The Aironet 3800i has internal antennas, the 3800e has external antennas, and the 3800p offers high-power external antennas to handle crowded indoor scenarios like arenas and convention centers. All 3800 series wireless access points support 4x4 MU-MIMO technology with three spatial streams, and their dual radios can operate in 2.4-GHz/5-GHz mode or in Dual 5-GHz 802.11ac mode. Total throughput can be as high as 5.2 gigabits/sec in Dual 5-GHz 802.11ac mode. The Aironet 3800 Wi-Fi access point can serve up to 400 Wi-Fi users and has two 100/1000/2500/5000 Multigigabit Ethernet ports, one 100/1000BASE-T RJ-45 auxiliary port, and an RJ-45 management console interface.

The Cisco Aironet 4800 wireless AP, designed for large organizations in need of high performance and advanced security, is the top of the line of the Aironet family, incorporating dual 2.4/5 GHz or dual 5 GHz radios and 4x4 multi-user MIMO supporting three spatial streams. Cisco's 4800 Wi-Fi AP can support as many as 400 Wi-Fi users. The device comes with two Multigigabit Ethernet ports, an RJ-45 management console interface, and a BLE radio. By having a fourth radio, The Cisco 4800 wireless access point can assign key Aironet operations to more radios so they can execute simultaneously. These core functions include built-in Flexible Radio Assignment, Hyperlocation, and Bluetooth Low Energy. Cisco's 4800 wireless access point's fourth internal radio adds advanced security and deep analytics for performance and location. Using four radios also allows the two Wi-Fi radios outfitted with Flexible Radio Assignment to run in 5 GHz client serving mode, supporting 5.2 Gbps (2 x 2.6 Gbps) wireless data rates and expanding user capacity.

Cisco Aironet Wave 1 802.11ac Indoor Wireless Access Points
The Wi-Fi 802.11ac standard operates in the 5-GHz band, uses 80-MHz channels for higher throughput, and allows wireless radios to use spectrum more efficiently, transmit data faster, and relinquish spectrum more rapidly than earlier Wi-Fi standards. This optimizes performance, mitigation, scalability, and roaming for high-density Wi-Fi networks. Even though the 802.11ac specification was approved at the start of 2014, Cisco developed transitional Aironet 802.11ac access points before then. These transitional products deliver many of the key benefits of 802.11ac technology and Cisco refers to them as Wave 1 APs. Cisco's Wave 1 dual-band Aironet access points include 2.4 GHz radios to accommodate earlier generation Wi-Fi clients.

Cisco's entry-level Aironet 1700 Series is an economical wireless access point that supports 802.11ac Wave 1 technology, features 3x3 MIMO with two spatial streams, delivers a rate of 867 Mbps, and can serve 200 client devices. The Cisco Aironet 2700 Series is a wall-mountable wireless AP designed for midsize or large enterprises and features four internal or external antennas. The 2700 Series wireless AP has a 3x4 MIMO radio with three spatial streams, has a maximum connection speed of 1.3 Gbps, and supports 200 802.11ac client devices and 128 802.11n users. Cisco's Aironet 3700 Series wireless access points are wall-mountable devices offered with an internal antenna, an external antenna, or in the Aironet 3700p version with a narrow-beam, high-gain antenna. The 3700 Series Wi-Fi access point features a 4x4 MIMO design with three spatial streams and delivers a maximum connection speed of 1.3 Gbps. The modular construction of the 3700 Series wireless access point supports Cisco's Wireless Security module as well as the 3G Small Cells module.

Aironet 802.11n Indoor wireless Access Point
The 802.11n standard made it realistic for people to use Wi-Fi as their main LAN connection, delivering 390 Mbps throughput and single-user MIMO (multiple input multiple output) in the 2.4/5 GHz bands. Cisco continues to offer a portfolio of wireless APs powered by this widely used Wi-Fi technology. Progent can provide remote and on-premises consulting and troubleshooting support for Cisco's current 802.11n wireless APs and for discontinued Aironet devices, and Progent's consultants can assist your organization to determine the benefit to your business of moving from your vintage AP infrastructure to Cisco's current line of 802.11ac Wi-Fi access points.

The Aironet 700W Series Wi-Fi AP is an 802.11n unit designed for multi-dwelling sites such as hotels and can be installed on a wall junction box. The dual-radio Aironet 700W features 2x2 MIMO and two spatial streams, supports 100 Wi-Fi clients, comes with four 10/100/1000BASE-T ports (one with PoE), and offers performance as high as 300 Mbps. The Cisco Aironet 1600 Series is an entry-level Wi-Fi access point intended for small organizations and offers 802.11n 3x3 MIMO with two spatial streams, can handle 128 wireless clients, and delivers performance as high as 300 Mbps. Cisco's Aironet 2600 Series Wi-Fi access point is intended for dense sites and includes 802.11n-based 3x4 MIMO with three spatial streams, serves 200 wireless clients, and can handle data rates as high as 450 Mbps.

Aironet Outdoor and Industrial Wireless APs
Cisco's Aironet family of wireless APs includes Wave 2, Wave 1, and 802.11a/b/g/n APs intended to be installed in outdoor environments that can range from campuses and municipalities to severe industrial environments like transportation, mining, or oil and gas. Progent's Wi-Fi consultants can help your organization to select, deploy and administer Aironet outdoor and ruggedized wireless APs to fit your functional needs and IT budget. Progent's cybersecurity experts can also assist your organization to define and enforce security policies for your outside wireless infrastructure or test the security profile of your Aironet Wi-Fi APs.

Cisco's Aironet 1530 Series outdoor 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi APs are Wave 1 dual-radio, carrier-grade devices available in an IP67-rated body to withstand dust particles, humidity, vibration and temperature extremes. The Wi-Fi access points have a GbE port and a GE uplink port and support data rates as high as 300 Mbps. The Aironet 1530I incorporates built-in antennas and supports 3x3:2 MIMO technology with three spatial streams on the 2.4 GHz radio and 2x3 MIMO with two spatial streams on the 5GHz radio. The Cisco Aironet 1530E outdoor wireless access point supports 2x2 MIMO and two spatial streams on both radios and includes software-configurable dual-band or single-band external antennas.

The Aironet 1540 Series outdoor Wi-Fi AP is a Wave 2 device that provides data rates of up to 867-Mbps on the 5 GHz radio. This enables a total dual-radio data rate of 1.1 Gbps. The 1540 wireless AP features 2x2 MU-MIMO and allows up to two spatial streams. For networks with up to 50 Wi-Fi APs, you can use Cisco Mobility Express Solution for rapid and simple configuration without requiring a Cisco wireless Wi-Fi controller appliance. One of the smallest outdoor Wi-Fi APs with built-in antennas, the 1540 is available with either a directional or a semi-omni directional antenna, giving you versatility in choosing antenna patterns to fit different RF conditions.

Cisco's Aironet 1552S outdoor/industrial Wi-Fi AP is intended for hazardous sites like chemical plants and has a built-in ISA100-standard backbone router to interface with wireless sensor networks, providing an all-in-one package for wireless client support and access to sensor devices. Cisco's Aironet 1552WU is packaged in a Class 1 Div 2/Zone 2 hazardous location-certified body, supports 2:3 MIMO and two spatial streams, delivers performance of up to 300 Mbps, and provides a Gigabit Ethernet port, a 10/100/1000 BaseT port, and a fiber SP uplink interface. The Aironet 1552WU Wi-Fi AP is engineered for hazardous environments and has an integrated WirelessHART gateway for communicating wirelessly with industrial sensor devices. Cisco's Aironet 1552WU Wi-Fi AP comes in a hazardous location-certified enclosure, supports 2:3 MIMO and two spatial streams, delivers data rates of up to 300 Mbps, and provides GE and 10/100/1000 BaseT uplink choices.

Aironet 1562 model outdoor Wi-Fi access points are available with three antenna options to match different RF scenarios. The high-throughput 1562I Wi-Fi access point has integrated omnidirectional antennas for general-purpose venues such as a college campus. The 1562E includes powerful external omni antennas for environments such as outdoor warehouses or malls where customers can select the needed signal coverage. The Aironet 1562D wireless access point has an internal directional antenna suitable for high-density sites or for locations that need wireless point-to-point bridging such as parks or or concert halls. All three 1562 models can handle up to 400 clients, support 48 VDC and Power-over-Ethernet power, and feature fiber Small-Form-Factor Pluggable (SP) optics and cable modem backhaul. The 1562E and 1562D units incorporate 2x2 MU-MIMO technology with 2 spatial streams and support performance of up to 867 Mbps. The 1562I has 3x3 MU-MIMO technology with 3 spatial streams and delivers data rates of up to 1,300 Mbps.

The Cisco Aironet 1570 Series is a carrier-class wireless AP that was at one time the fastest outdoor Wi-Fi AP on the market. The Aironet 1570 comes with internal or external antennas, incorporates 4x4 MIMO with three spatial streams, delivers data rates of up to 1.3 Gbps, and has Fiber/SFP, Gigabit Ethernet, and Cable Modem uplink interfaces. Models include the Aironet 1572EAC that has an external antenna with AC-power, the Aironet 1572IC with integrated antennas with cable modem, and the Aironet 1572EC which includes an external antenna with cable modem.

Cisco's Aironet Industrial Wireless 3700 (IW3700) Series is the first industrial/outdoor Wi-Fi access point to offer 4x4 MIMO technology with three spatial streams plus beamforming. The Wave 1 IW3700 Wi-Fi access point has a rugged IP67-rated enclosure, includes a dual-band radio compatible with 802.11ac (5 GHz) and 802.11n (2.4 GHz) standards, provides over-the-air data rates as high as 1.3 Gbps, and supports a maximum of 200 users.

Legacy Cisco Aironet Wireless Access Points Supported by Progent
The dramatic enhancements in Wi-Fi throughput and density driven by 802.11ac technology, coupled with the increase in BYOD clients running high-bandwidth apps with streaming video, has rendered earlier generations of wireless infrastructure products out of date. Even though many companies run Wi-Fi workloads that are reasonably supported by existing 802.11n environments, the fact that discontinued wireless networking appliances like access points have reached, or are about to reach, end-of-life status can have important implications for security and compliance, the continued access to technical support, and the difficulty of future expansion.

Progent's Cisco-certified Wi-Fi solutions experts can provide a full range of consulting support services to assist organizations of any size maintain and troubleshoot their legacy Aironet environment, evaluate the potential benefits for moving to the newest family of Aironet APs, and design an affordable strategy to migrate smoothly to a cohesive wireless environment that delivers the speed. performance, protection, manageability and availability required of a modern Wi-Fi ecosystem. Examples of legacy Aironet access points for which Progent continues to offer online and onsite expertise include:

Cisco Aironet 1000/1130AG Series wireless access points are designed for conventional workplaces and similar venues which have minimal environmental instability. These access points include integrated antennas that offer dependable omnidirectional coverage patterns. The Aironet 1130G family WAP is designed for controlled domains that do not allow 802.11a/5GHz operation.

Aironet 1230AG or 1240AG Series wireless access points are intended for more problematic RF environments such as factories or above ceiling structures which often require flexible external antennas and ruggedized enclosures. The Aironet 1240G family access point is designed for controlled locations that do not allow 5GHz operation.

Cisco Aironet 1500 Series lightweight outside wireless mesh APs provide a cost-effective, expandable, protected outdoor wireless mechanism for campus areas and for public venues that need connectivity for portable devices.

The Cisco Aironet 600 OfficeExtend Series wireless AP is an 802.11n unit intended for home workers. The Aironet 600 wireless access point features a dual 2.4/5 GHz radio, uses 2x3 MIMO with two spatial streams, supports a maximum of 15 Wi-Fi users, and delivers performance as high as 300 Mbps.

How Progent Can Assist You with Cisco Aironet Wireless APs
Progent offers cost-effective remote or onsite support from a Cisco-certified CCIE network infrastructure consultant to assist your organization to plan, deploy, administer, optimize, update or troubleshoot a wireless environment that incorporates Cisco's Aironet wireless access points. Progent can help you manage and debug legacy Aironet devices or migrate smoothly to Cisco's current lineup of Wave 2 wireless access points based on the 802.11ac specification. Progent's Cisco Wi-Fi controller consultants can assist you to determine whether your wireless network calls for Cisco Wi-Fi controller appliances or can be configured and maintained with software-based tools like Cisco Mobility Express.

Progent's remote and onsite wireless site surveys can assist you to determine the most appropriate selection and location of Aironet Wi-Fi access points to support your user density, provide the RF coverage you need, and deal with your most demanding workloads. Progent's cybersecurity experts can help you to design, deploy and test a security and compliance strategy that includes network policies, remote network and endpoint monitoring, and unified management. Progent's disaster preparedness consultants and business continuity planning experts can help your organization to incorporate fault-tolerance and recoverability into your Cisco product implementations to maximize the uptime of your seamless wired/wireless network infrastructure.

To learn about Progent's other consulting and technical support services for Cisco technology, select a topic:

• Introduction to Progent's Cisco Consulting Services
• Fast and Affordable Remote Support from a CCIE Engineer
• Cisco Firepower Firewalls: Integration and Troubleshooting Support
• Cisco ASA 5500-X Series Firewall with Firepower Services: Configuration and Troubleshooting Support
• Cisco ASA 5500 Firewalls Engineering Assistance
• Cisco PIX Firewall Upgrade. Migration Services
• Cisco Routers Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Consulting Help
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 Wireless APs System Design Help
• Cisco Catalyst 802.11ax Wireless APs Solution Design, Deployment and Debugging Services
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Experts
• Cisco Meraki Wireless APs Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Consulting and Troubleshooting
• Cisco Voice over IP (VoIP) Phones and IP Video Phones Expertise and Wireless VoIP Phone Configuration
• Cisco Jabber Integration Expertise
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Deployment Services
• Cisco Nexus Switches Deployment Services
• Meraki Switches Support and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Security and VPN Engineering Help
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP Trunks and CUBE Integration Consulting
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for Telecommuters
• Design Solutions for Cisco-powered Datacenters
• Infrastructure Optimization Services for ISPs
• Centralized Cloud-based and Hybrid Network Management Technologies for Cisco Infrastructure
• NetApp and Cisco FlexPod Private Cloud Architecture Consulting Services