Wireless Consulting Services

Cisco Catalyst wireless controllers simplify the administration of wireless networks by unifying the deployment and management of wireless APs, optimizing wireless performance by mitigating the impact of RF congestion, enhancing Wi-Fi uptime with rapid zero-touch failover, and improving security by detecting attacks and filtering content according to user type and location.

Cisco Catalyst Wi-Fi controllers operate with Cisco's Prime Infrastructure platform, which supports up to Wi-Fi 18,000 Wi-Fi access points and 64,000 users. Cisco wireless controllers are available at prices and with feature sets appropriate for venues ranging from branch offices to large enterprises and campuses. Cisco 802.11ac Wave 2 Wi-Fi controllers and APs are designed to provide the same degree of security, throughput and manageability that companies expect in their wired networks. Cisco Wi-Fi controller technology incorporates integrated mobility functions such as Voice over IP, high-definition video, and safe access for guest clients. Cisco's Prime Infrastructure architecture allows you to build networks that seamlessly combine wired and Wi-Fi resources into a unified connectivity experience that produces maximum business value.

Progent's Cisco-certified wireless consultants can help your organization to assess the benefits of adopting Cisco Wi-Fi controllers to manage wireless networks of any size. Progent can help you to maintain and troubleshoot your existing Wi-Fi network or help you plan and carry out an efficient migration from earlier generation wireless controllers to current solutions.

Progent's Cisco-certified Wi-Fi network consultants can provide affordable remote consulting and troubleshooting across the U.S. and Canada to help you to create and manage wireless solutions. Progent also offers on-premises support in major metro areas across the U.S. and in Toronto, Canada. In addition, Progent offers low-cost remote and on-premises Wi-Fi site surveys to assist your company to design and install a wireless environment with efficient access point clustering to match your specific workplace layout, building materials, user density, and application workloads.

Cisco Wave 2 802.11ac WiFi LAN Controllers
Cisco Wave 2 Wi-Fi controllers enable realtime communication, configuration, control, monitoring and troubleshooting for Cisco wireless appliances and services. Cisco has developed both physical and software-based wireless controllers for centralized management of wireless networks, but WLANs with a large number of Wi-Fi APs are better served by hardware-based Wi-Fi controllers. Current generation Wi-Fi controller devices from Cisco deliver major advantages in comparison to Wave 1 and older products such as greater performance, simultaneous support for both 1G and 10G interfaces, improved application visibility and control, and advanced, integrated protection.

The Cisco 3504 Wireless Controller is a value-priced appliance with a desktop form factor and designed for smaller businesses. You can install the 3504 in a centralized WLAN architecture such as in lean branch and home-based offices administered over the wide-area network via Cisco FlexConnect, or in bridge installations where wiring is limited. The 3504 wireless controller can handle as many as 150 APs and 3,000 clients, offers 4 Gbps performance, and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 3504 wireless controller includes a Cisco Multigigabit port (up to 5 Gigabit Ethernet) and four 1-GB Ethernet ports. APs can be attached to the controller through two Power over Ethernet ports. The 3504 wireless controller features fast failover for APs and users, which allows uninterrupted availability for applications. As with other current Wave 2 wireless 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 WiFi Controller, offered in a 1 rack unit (RU) enclosure, is intended to support midsize to large organizations and campus environments and can be run in centralized, distributed, and mesh architectures. The 5520 wireless controller supports up to 1,500 APs and 20,000 users, offers 20 Gbps throughput, and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 5520 wireless controller includes two 10 GE ports and features SSD storage, backup fans, optional dual power supplies, and rapid failover for high availability.

Cisco's 8540 Wireless Controller, available in a 2 rack unit package, is a high-end WiFi controller designed to support enterprises, service providers, and large campus environments. The 8540 Wireless controller can be used in centralized, distributed, and mesh architectures and can handle up to 6,000 access points and 64,000 clients. The 8540 Wireless controller can deliver data rates up to 40 Gbps and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 8540 controller includes four 1-GB or 10GE ports and features SSD storage, backup power supplies, backup fans, and rapid failover.

Wave 1 Cisco WiFi Network Controllers
Cisco wireless LAN controllers cut the effort and cost required to configure, manage, and troubleshoot Wi-Fi networks by centralizing control of critical tasks like provisioning wireless access points, enforcing single-point policies throughout converged wired/wireless LANs, supporting enterprise-wide QoS for IP voice and HD video, monitoring and optimizing network health, implementing intrusion prevention tools to defend against cyber break-ins and DDoS attacks, and managing IPv6 and dual-stack clients. Cisco has developed wireless LAN controllers for businesses of any size and offers standalone desktop controllers, modular plug-in controllers for Cisco routers and switches, and Catalyst switches with built-in wireless LAN controllers.

Cisco's Wave 1 wireless controllers incorporate Cisco CleanAir technology to avoid signal interference and produce self-healing wireless networks for top 802.11n and 802.11ac performance and security. Built-in Apple Bonjour Gateways permit discovery and policy across WLAN, LAN and WAN for Apple applications. For high availability (HA), Cisco wireless LAN controllers support wireless access point and client stateful failover by enabling a standby high-availability controller to synchronize with a main wireless controller for access point license count, CAPWAP state and roaming keys, and AP CAPWAP state. If the main wireless controller goes down, thousands of APs and clients can failover in less than a second to the secondary wireless LAN controller.

Cisco's Wireless Controller Module for ISR G2 Routers with UCS-E provides entry-level 802.11n and 802.11ac support for Cisco 2900 and 3900 routers deployed by small to medium-sized organizations and satellite offices. This affordable and expandable solution can handle up to 200 wireless access points and as many as 6000 wireless clients. (For information about Progent's remote and on-premises consulting support for Cisco routers, refer to Cisco router configuration and management services.)

Cisco Catalyst 3650 Series are 1RU form-factor switches designed for small to mid-size businesses and branch offices and features a built-in wireless network controller with the ability to handle 40 Gb of wireless capacity for each switch and 25 access points and 1000 wireless clients on each switch. Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series are 1RU switches designed for mid-size and large organizations and include a built-in wireless controller with up to 40 Gb of wireless throughput on each switch and support for 50 APs and up to 2000 wireless clients. The Wireless Services Module2 is a plug-in blade for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series switches with an integrated wireless network controller intended for mid-to-large size enterprises and capable of 20 Gbps throughput and with support for 1000 wireless access points and as many as 15,000 clients. (To learn concerning Progent's support for Cisco Catalyst switches, refer to Cisco switches configuration and troubleshooting consulting.)

Cisco 2500 Wireless Controllers are economical desktop devices that streamline the provisioning and management of wireless networks for small to medium-sized enterprises and branch offices. The Cisco 2500 Series wireless controller can manage from five to 75 wireless access points and up to 1000 clients and can deliver sustained performance of up to 1 Gbps.

Cisco's 5500 Wireless Controller is an expandable 1RU appliance intended for mid-to-large sized businesses and campus environments and can manage 500 access points and 7,000 clients while providing 8 Gbps performance. The Cisco 5760 Wireless Controller is a 1RU appliance designed for mid-to-large campuses with the ability to manage up to 1000 access points and 12,000 wireless clients and providing throughput of 60 Gbps to handle high wireless client densities and high amounts of media-rich mobile applications.

Cisco's Flex 7500 Wireless Controller is intended to enable centralized management of thousands of wireless branches from a single location, eliminating the requirement for a wireless controller at each remote site. The 1RU rackmount Flex 7500 appliance lets you establish a private cloud to configure, monitor, manage, and troubleshoot as many as 6000 access points and 64,000 wireless clients while supporting 1 Gbps performance. Cisco's 8500 Series Wireless Controller is a 1RU rackmount device engineered to monitor and manage Wi-Fi environments for very large campuses or service providers and can be expanded to handle 6000 access points and 64,000 wireless clients while offering 10 Gbps throughput.

Legacy Cisco WLAN Controllers
Cisco WLAN Controllers centralize the management of wireless networks by streamlining the handling of key technologies including intrusion prevention, fast RF control, zero touch configuration, and full N+1 redundancy. Cisco Wireless controllers operate with small access points to offer superior throughput and high-end management capabilities.

Wireless LAN Controllers (WLCs) offer the control, scalability, protection, and fault tolerance that network managers need to build safe, large-scale wireless solutions, from satellite locations to small businesses to headquarter campuses. Cisco's legacy Wireless Network Controllers can be clustered to offer accommodation for up to 2400 WAPs per roaming domain.

The Cisco WLCM or WLCM-E Wireless LAN Controller Module for Integrated Services Routers provides small-to mid-size businesses and large corporations an economical way to implement and manage protected WLANs at satellite locations. These products manage as many as a dozen Cisco Aironet APs and are supported on 2800/3800 Series IS Routers and Cisco 3700 Series IS Routers. (To find out about Progent's online and on-premises support for Cisco routers, refer to Cisco router deployment and management consulting.)

How Progent's Consultants Can Help You with Cisco Catalyst Wi-Fi Controllers
Progent can provide a Cisco-certified consulting professional to help your business to design, install, maintain and repair a converged wired/wireless ecosystem integrating a wide array of wireless devices that provide the identical security, scalability, and ease of management you expect from your wired environment. Progent can assist you to maintain early-generation wireless solutions from Cisco or migrate seamlessly to the latest 802.11ac-comaptible products. Progent's CISM and CISSP security professionals can show you how to design protection into your WLAN and into your company's processes. Progent's disaster recovery consultants and business continuity consultants can help you to configure the high availability features incorporated into Cisco's wired/wireless technologies so your converged infrastructure provides significant return on investment.

Progent’s Wi-Fi Site Survey helps you to design and implement a state-of-the-art WLAN customized for your facilities, providing a Wi-Fi ecosystem that provides comprehensive coverage, high speed and capacity, Quality of Service features to handle IP video, advanced security and compliance, and easy management. Progent's Wireless Site Survey can be performed remotely to cut time and costs, or on premises to deal with more complex facilities.

For a more in-depth look at Progent's wireless consulting capabilities, see Progent's Wireless Support.

For more information about Progent's consulting services for additional Cisco networking technology, chose a topic:

• Overview of Cisco Network Support
• Timely Online Assistance from a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Consultant
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Series Firewalls: Configuration and Troubleshooting Services
• ASA 5500-X Firewall with Firepower Services: Configuration and Management Expertise
• ASA 5500 Series Firewall Troubleshooting Support
• PIX 500 Series Firewall Consulting Help
• Cisco Routers Engineering Services
• Cisco Wireless Consulting Services
• Cisco Aironet Wireless APs Design Help
• Cisco Small Business WiFi APs System Design Expertise
• Meraki Wireless APs Consulting Services
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Configuration and Technical Support
• Cisco Voice over IP (VoIP) Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Consulting Services and Wireless VoIP Phone Solutions
• Cisco Jabber Consulting and Support Services
• Catalyst Switches Deployment Services
• Cisco Nexus Switches Deployment Services
• Cisco Meraki Switches Support and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco VPN and Network Security Engineering Help
• SIP and CUBE Integration Solutions: SIP Trunking and Cisco CUBE Integration Consulting
• Design Solutions for Cisco-powered Datacenters and Colocation Centers
• Data Center Optimization Consulting for ISPs
• Remote Network Management Technologies for Cisco-based Environments