Wireless Consulting Services

Cisco Catalyst Wi-Fi controllers simplify the management of Wi-Fi networks by unifying the configuration and control of wireless access points, tuning Wi-Fi throughput by mitigating the impact of RF interference, enhancing Wi-Fi availability with fast and automatic failover, and improving security by detecting attacks and filtering content according to user class and location.

Cisco Catalyst wireless controllers work with Cisco's Prime Infrastructure architecture, which can support as many as Wi-Fi 18,000 Wi-Fi access points and 64,000 clients. Cisco Catalyst wireless controllers are offered at prices and with feature sets for environments ranging from small offices to large enterprises and school campuses. Catalyst Wave 2 Wi-Fi controllers and access points are engineered to deliver the same degree of security, throughput and management ease that organizations demand in their wired networks. Cisco Wi-Fi controller technology includes built-in mobility functions such as VoIP, high-definition video, and safe access for guest clients. Cisco's Prime Infrastructure architecture allows organizations to create environments that combine wired and Wi-Fi resources into a unified connectivity solution that delivers maximum business value.

Progent's Cisco-certified Wi-Fi consultants can assist you to evaluate the benefits of adopting Catalyst wireless controllers to manage wireless networks of any size. Progent can assist you to support and troubleshoot your existing Wi-Fi environment or help you design and implement an efficient migration from earlier generation wireless controllers to current models.

Progent's Cisco-certified wireless network experts offer cost-effective online consulting and troubleshooting throughout the U.S. and Canada to assist you to create and manage Wi-Fi solutions. Progent also offers on-premises consulting in major metro areas in the U.S. and in Toronto, Canada. In addition, Progent can provide low-cost online and on-premises wireless site surveys to help your company to design and implement a wireless network with optimal access point clustering to align with your specific workplace environment, building structure, client concentration, and application workloads.

Cisco Wave 2 WiFi Network Controllers
Cisco Wave 2 wireless controllers enable fast data exchange, configuration, management, analysis and troubleshooting for Cisco Wi-Fi devices and software services. Cisco has developed both hardware and software-based Wi-Fi controllers for unified administration of wireless environments, but WLANs with a large number of Wi-Fi access points are better served by physical Wi-Fi controllers. New Wi-Fi controller appliances from Cisco deliver significant advantages in comparison to Wave 1 and older models including higher performance, concurrent support for 1G and 10G Ethernet, improved application visibility and control, and advanced, integrated protection.

Cisco's 3504 Wireless Controller is an entry-level device with a desktop enclosure and designed for small and medium-sized organizations. You can use the 3504 in a centralized network environment such as in lean branch and home-based offices managed across the wide-area network via FlexConnect, or in mesh deployments where wiring is sparse. The 3504 wireless controller can handle as many as 150 WiFi access points and 3,000 users, delivers 4 Gbps throughput, and supports 4,096 VLANs. Cisco's 3504 WiFi controller includes a multi-gigabit Ethernet interface (up to 5 Gigabit Ethernet) and four 1-Gigabit Ethernet ports. Access points can be connected to the controller through two Power over Ethernet (PoE) ports. The 3504 wireless controller features subsecond failover for APs and clients, which provides high availability for applications. As with other current Wave 2 Wi-Fi controllers from Cisco, the 3504 model has the integrated ability to communicate with Cisco Prime Infrastructure, Cisco Mobility Services, and Cisco 5520 and 8540 wireless controllers.

The Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller, available in a 1 rack unit (RU) form factor, is designed to support larger organizations and campus networks and can be run in centralized, distributed, and mesh deployments. The 5520 wireless controller supports up to 1,500 APs and 20,000 clients, offers 20 Gbps throughput, and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 5520 wireless controller includes two 10 GE ports and features solid-state storage, redundant fans, optional dual power supplies, and subsecond failover for nonstop availability.

Cisco's 8540 Wireless Controller, available in a 2 rack unit (RU) form factor, is a top-of-the-line WiFi controller intended to support large enterprises, service providers, and large campus environments. The 8540 WiFi controller can be run in centralized, distributed, and mesh architectures and can handle as many as 6,000 wireless APs and 64,000 users. The 8540 WiFi controller offers data rates up to 40 Gbps and supports 4,096 VLANs. The 8540 controller comes with four 1-GB or 10GE interfaces and features solid-state storage, dual power supplies, backup fans, and rapid failover.

Wave 1 Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco wireless LAN controllers reduce the time and cost needed to deploy, monitor, and operate Wi-Fi networks by offering single-point control of critical functions like provisioning access points, applying single-point policies across wired/wireless LANs, supporting enterprise-wide Quality of Service for voice and HD video, tracking and troubleshooting system health, implementing intrusion prevention tools to defend against unauthorized access and Distributed Denial of Service threats, and handling IPv6 and dual-stack clients. Cisco has developed wireless network controllers for businesses of any size and can provide standalone desktop appliances, modular add-on controllers for Cisco ISR routers and switches, and Catalyst switches with integrated wireless network controllers.

Cisco's Wave 1 wireless controllers include Cisco CleanAir technology to avoid RF interference and create self-optimizing wireless networks for top 802.11n and 802.11ac throughput and protection. Built-in Bonjour Gateways enable discovery, advertisement and policy across the enterprise for Apple-based applications. For fault tolerance, Cisco wireless LAN controllers allow AP and client stateful switchover by permitting a backup HA wireless controller to synch with a main wireless controller for AP license tabulation, CAPWAP state and roaming keys, and access point CAPWAP state. In case the primary controller stops working, thousands of wireless access points and clients can failover immediately to the backup wireless LAN controller.

Cisco's Wireless Module for ISR Routers with UCS-E provides basic 802.11n and 802.11ac support for 2900 and 3900 Series routers used by small to medium-sized organizations and branch offices. This affordable and scalable module can support from five to 200 access points and up to 6000 wireless clients. (To learn concerning Progent's online and onsite consulting and troubleshooting services for Cisco routers, refer to Cisco router deployment and troubleshooting support.)

Cisco Catalyst 3650 Series are 1RU form-factor switches intended for SMBs and branches and features an integrated wireless network controller with the ability to support up to 40 Gb of wireless capacity per switch and 25 access points and 1000 clients on each switch. Catalyst 3850 Series are 1RU switches intended for mid-size and large organizations and feature a built-in wireless network controller with 40 Gb of wireless throughput per switch and the ability to handle 50 access points and 2000 wireless clients. The WiSM2 is a plug-in blade for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series switches with an integrated wireless network controller intended for mid-to-large size businesses and capable of 20 Gbps throughput and able to handle 1000 APs and up to 15,000 wireless clients. (To learn about Progent's consulting services for Cisco switches, refer to Catalyst switches configuration and management services.)

Cisco 2500 Wireless Controllers are value-priced desktop appliances that streamline the provisioning and management of wireless LANs for SMBs and branches. The 2500 Series wireless LAN controller can handle from five to 75 APs and 1000 wireless clients and can deliver sustained performance of 1 Gbps.

The Cisco 5500 Wireless Controller is an expandable 1RU unit intended for medium-sized to large enterprises and campuses and can support 500 wireless access points and 7,000 clients while delivering 8 Gbps performance. The Cisco 5760 Series Wireless Controller is a 1RU device intended for mid-to-large campus environments with the ability to manage up to 1000 APs and 12,000 wireless clients and offering throughput of 60 Gbps to accommodate high wireless client densities and high usage of media-rich mobile applications.

Cisco's Flex 7500 Wireless Controller is intended to manage thousands of wireless branches from a single datacenter, eliminating the requirement for a wireless controller at each remote site. The 1RU Flex 7500 appliance lets you create a private cloud to configure, track, manage, and troubleshoot up to 6000 APs and 64,000 clients while handling 1 Gbps performance. The Cisco 8500 Wireless Controller is a 1RU rackmount appliance engineered to monitor and manage wireless environments for large campuses or service providers and can be expanded to support up to 6000 access points and 64,000 wireless clients while offering 10 Gbps performance.

Legacy Cisco Wireless Network Controllers
Cisco Wireless Controllers provide single-point management of wireless networks by streamlining the control of common functions including integrated IPS, real-time RF control, automatic deployment, and N+1 redundancy. Wireless LAN controllers operate with lightweight access points to offer superior throughput and high-end management capabilities.

Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers (WLCs) offer the manageability, expandability, security, and reliability that system managers need to create safe, large-scale wireless solutions, from branch locations to small companies to main campuses. Cisco's legacy WLCs can be clustered to offer accommodation for as many as 2400 wireless access points for each roaming domain.

Cisco's WLCM or WLCM-E Wireless LAN Controller Module for Integrated Services Routers offers small-to mid-size businesses (SMBs) and large corporations an economical solution to deploy and manage secure WLANs at satellite offices. These products manage up to twelve Aironet access points and are installable in Cisco 2800/3800 Series IS Routers and 3700 Series Integrated Services Routers. (To find out concerning Progent's online and onsite consulting services for Cisco routers, see Cisco router deployment and troubleshooting consulting.)

How Progent's Consultants Can Assist You with Catalyst Wireless Controllers
Progent can provide a Cisco-certified consultant to help you to plan, install, manage and repair a converged wired and wireless environment integrating a broad range of wireless products that offer the same security, extensibility, and ease of management you expect from your wired environment. Progent can assist you to support legacy wireless products from Cisco or upgrade seamlessly to the latest 802.11ac-comaptible products. Progent's CISM and CISSP security specialists can show you how to design security into your WLAN and your business operations. Progent's disaster recovery consultants and business continuity planning consultants can assist you to configure the high availability (HA) features incorporated into Cisco's wireless and wired products so your converged infrastructure delivers significant business value.

Progent's Wi-Fi Site Survey helps you to design and implement a state-of-the-art wireless network customized for your environment, offering a Wi-Fi ecosystem that provides seamless coverage, high performance and density, Quality of Service features to accommodate IP video, advanced security and compliance, and simplified management. Progent's Wi-Fi Site Survey can be performed online to cut time and expense, or onsite for more difficult facilities.

For a further look at Progent's wireless integration services, see Progent's Wireless Network Consulting.

For more information about Progent's consulting expertise for additional Cisco network infrastructure products, select a topic:

• Introduction to Cisco Consulting Services
• Timely Remote Help from a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Engineer
• Cisco Firepower Series Firewalls: Configuration and Management Services
• ASA 5500-X Series Firewall with Firepower: Configuration and Management Support
• ASA 5500 Series Firewall Troubleshooting Support
• Cisco PIX Firewall Engineering Support
• Cisco Routers Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Network Design Help
• Aironet Access Points Consulting Support
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 WiFi APs Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Catalyst Wi-Fi 6/6E Wireless APs Solution Design, Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Consultants
• Meraki Wireless Access Points Design Support
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Consulting and Troubleshooting
• Cisco VoIP Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Consulting Services and Wireless VoIP Phone Solutions
• Cisco Jabber Migration and Support Services
• Cisco Catalyst Switches Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Nexus Switches Deployment Services
• Cisco Meraki MS Switches Configuration and Maintenance Expertise
• Cisco VPN and Network Security Consulting Expertise
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and CUBE Integration Expertise
• Cisco Duo MFA Two-factor Authentication (2FA) Services for an At-Home Workforce
• Design and Support for Cisco-powered Datacenters
• Infrastructure Optimization Services for ISPs
• Unified Cloud-based and Hybrid Management Techniques for Cisco-powered Environments
• NetApp and Cisco Private Cloud Platform Consulting Services