Wireless Consulting Expertise

Cisco Catalyst Wi-Fi controllers simplify the administration of Wi-Fi networks by centralizing the deployment and management of Wi-Fi access points, optimizing wireless performance by reducing the impact of RF congestion, enhancing Wi-Fi availability with rapid and automatic failover, and tightening security by identifying threats and filtering content according to client type and location.

Catalyst wireless controllers work with Cisco's Prime Infrastructure architecture, which can support up to Wi-Fi 18,000 Wi-Fi access points and 64,000 clients. Cisco Wi-Fi controllers are available at prices and with features appropriate for environments ranging from small offices to large enterprises and school campuses. Catalyst 802.11ac Wi-Fi controllers and access points are designed to deliver the same degree of security, throughput and management ease that organizations expect in their wired networks. Cisco wireless controller technology includes integrated mobility functions like VoIP, HD video, and safe access for guests. Cisco's Prime Infrastructure allows you to create environments that combine wired and Wi-Fi resources into a centrally managed connectivity solution that produces maximum business value.

Progent's Cisco-certified Wi-Fi experts can help you to evaluate the benefits of using Cisco Wi-Fi controllers to manage wireless networks of any size. Progent can help you to maintain and debug your current Wi-Fi network or help you plan and implement an efficient transition from earlier generation wireless controllers to modern solutions.

Progent's Cisco-certified Wi-Fi infrastructure consultants offer affordable remote consulting across the U.S. and Canada to assist you to deploy and manage wireless solutions. Progent can also provide onsite consulting in major metro areas across the U.S. and in Toronto, Canada. In addition, Progent can provide economical remote and onsite Wi-Fi site surveys to help you to plan and implement a wireless environment with optimal AP selection and placement to align with your particular workplace layout, building materials, client density, and application workloads.

Cisco Wave 2 802.11ac Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco Wave 2 wireless controllers enable realtime data exchange, provisioning, administration, monitoring and debugging for Cisco wireless devices and services. Cisco offers both physical and virtual Wi-Fi controllers for centralized management of wireless environments, but networks with many wireless APs are better served by hardware-based Wi-Fi controllers. Current generation Wi-Fi controller appliances from Cisco offer significant advantages in comparison to Wave 1 and older models such as higher performance, concurrent support for both 1G and 10G Ethernet, improved application visibility and control, and advanced, integrated protection.

Cisco's 3504 Wireless Controller is a value-priced appliance available in a desktop form factor and designed for small and medium-sized businesses. You can use the 3504 in a centralized network environment such as in small branch and remote offices managed over the wide-area network via FlexConnect, or in mesh installations where wiring is sparse. The 3504 wireless controller can handle as many as 150 access points and 3,000 clients, offers 4 Gbps performance, and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 3504 WiFi controller features a multi-gigabit Ethernet port (up to 5 Gigabit Ethernet) and four 1-Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. Access points can be connected to the WiFi controller through two Power over Ethernet ports. The 3504 Wi-Fi controller offers fast failover for APs and clients, which allows uninterrupted availability for apps. As with other current Wave 2 Wi-Fi controllers from Cisco, the 3504 device has the built-in capability to communicate with Cisco Prime Infrastructure, Cisco Mobility Services, and Cisco 5520 and 8540 WLAN controllers.

The Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller, offered in a 1RU enclosure, is intended to support larger organizations and campus environments and can be run in centralized, distributed, and mesh architectures. The 5520 wireless controller supports as many as 1,500 Wi-Fi access points and 20,000 client users, offers 20 Gbps throughput, and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 5520 wireless controller includes two 10 GE ports and incorporates solid-state storage, backup fans, optional backup power supplies, and rapid failover for uninterrupted availability.

The Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller, offered in a 2RU form factor, is a top-of-the-line wireless controller intended to support enterprises, service providers, and large campus environments. The 8540 WiFi controller can be run in centralized, distributed, and mesh deployments and can handle up to 6,000 Wi-Fi access points and 64,000 clients. The 8540 WiFi controller offers throughput up to 40 Gbps and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 8340 includes four 1-GB or 10GE interfaces and features SSD storage, backup power supplies, backup fans, and subsecond failover.

Wave 1 Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco wireless controllers cut the time and expense required to deploy, monitor, and troubleshoot Wi-Fi networks by centralizing control of functions like provisioning access points, enforcing consistent policies across converged wired/wireless networks, supporting enterprise-wide Quality of Service (QoS) for voice and HD video, monitoring and troubleshooting network performance, implementing security capabilities to defend against cyber break-ins and DDoS threats, and handling IPv6 clients. Cisco has developed wireless network controllers for organizations of any size and offers standalone desktop appliances, modular add-on controllers for Cisco routers and switches, and switches with integrated wireless LAN controllers.

Cisco's Wave 1 WiFi LAN controllers include Cisco CleanAir tools to minimize signal interference and create self-healing and self-optimizing wireless networks for top 802.11n and 802.11ac performance and security. Integrated Apple Bonjour Gateways permit discovery throughout WLAN, LAN and WAN for Apple-based applications. For high availability (HA), Cisco wireless network controllers allow AP and client stateful switchover by enabling a standby HA controller to synch with a main wireless controller for access point license count, CAPWAP keys, and access point CAPWAP state. In case the main controller stops working, thousands of access points and clients can failover at subsecond speeds to the secondary wireless network controller.

Cisco's Wireless Controller Module for ISR Routers with UCS-E offers basic 802.11n and 802.11ac support for 2900 and 3900 routers deployed by small to medium-sized businesses and satellite offices. This value-priced and expandable module can handle from five to 200 wireless access points and up to 6000 clients. (To find out concerning Progent's remote and onsite consulting support for Cisco routers, see Cisco router deployment and management support.)

Cisco Catalyst 3650 Series are 1RU switches intended for small to mid-size businesses and satellite offices and come with an integrated wireless network controller with the capability to handle up to 40 Gb of wireless throughput for each switch and 25 wireless access points and 1000 clients on each switch. Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series are 1RU rackmount switches intended for midsize and large organizations and include an integrated wireless controller with 40 Gb of wireless capacity on each switch and the ability to handle 50 wireless access points and up to 2000 wireless clients. The Wireless Services Module2 is an add-in blade for Catalyst 6500 Series switches that include a built-in wireless controller intended for mid-to-large size enterprises and capable of 20 Gbps throughput and with support for 1000 wireless access points and up to 15,000 wireless clients. (For information about Progent's online and onsite consulting support for Catalyst switches, see Cisco Catalyst switches deployment and troubleshooting consulting.)

Cisco 2500 Wireless Controllers are entry-level desktop devices that simplify the provisioning and operation of Wi-Fi LANs for SMBs and branch offices. The Cisco 2500 wireless controller supports 5 to 75 wireless access points and 1000 wireless clients and can deliver sustained data rates of 1 Gbps.

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

Cisco's Flex 7500 Series Wireless Controller is intended to manage thousands of wireless remote sites from one location, eliminating the requirement for a Wi-Fi controller at each remote site. The 1RU rackmount Flex 7500 allows you to establish a private cloud to deploy, track, manage, and repair as many as 6000 wireless access points and up to 64,000 wireless clients while supporting 1 Gbps performance. The Cisco 8500 Wireless Controller is a 1RU rackmount device engineered to monitor and manage wireless networks for very large campuses or for service providers and can be expanded to handle 6000 wireless points and up to 64,000 clients while offering 10 Gbps performance.

Legacy Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco Wireless Controllers provide single-point management of wireless LANs by simplifying the handling of key technologies including integrated intrusion prevention system (IPS), real-time RF control, zero touch configuration, and full N+1 redundancy. Cisco Wireless Network controllers work with lightweight wireless access points to offer superior throughput and high-end management capabilities.

Wireless LAN Controllers (WLCs) provide the control, scalability, protection, and dependability that system managers need to build safe, enterprise-scale wireless networks, from satellite locations to small companies to main campuses. Cisco's legacy WLCs can be configured together to offer support for up to 2400 access points per roaming domain.

Cisco's WLCM or WLCM-E Module for Integrated Services Routers offers small-to mid-size businesses (SMBs) and large corporations a cost effective way to implement and manage secure wireless networks at branch offices. These controllers manage up to a dozen Cisco APs and are supported on 2800/3800 Series Routers and 3700 Series Integrated Services Routers. (For information about Progent's online and on-premises support for Cisco routers, see Cisco router deployment and management support.)

How Progent's Experts Can Assist You with Cisco Catalyst Wi-Fi Controllers
Progent can provide a Cisco-certified consulting professional to assist you to plan, install, manage and repair a converged wired and wireless infrastructure incorporating a broad array of wireless devices that provide the same protection, scalability, and manageability you demand from a wired environment. Progent can assist you to maintain legacy wireless products from Cisco or upgrade seamlessly to current 802.11ac Wi-Fi technology. Progent's CISM and CISSP security specialists can show you how to design protection into your WLAN and into your business processes. Progent's disaster recovery consultants and business continuity planners can help you to configure the high availability (HA) technology incorporated into Cisco's wireless and wired products so your converged network delivers non-stop business value.

Progent's Wireless Site Survey helps you to design and implement a state-of-the-art WLAN optimized for your facilities, providing a Wi-Fi ecosystem that delivers comprehensive coverage, high speed and density, Quality of Service features to support IP video, advanced security and compliance, and streamlined management. Progent's Wireless Site Survey can be delivered online to cut time and expense, or onsite to deal with more challenging environments.

For a more in-depth discussion of Progent's wireless integration services, visit Progent's Wireless LAN Help.

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

• Introduction to Cisco Expertise
• Fast and Affordable Remote Help from a Cisco CCIE Engineer
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Firewalls: Integration and Troubleshooting Support
• Cisco ASA 5500-X Series Firewall with Firepower Services: Integration and Management Support
• ASA 5500 Firewall Management Help
• Cisco PIX Firewall Management Support
• Cisco Routers Configuration and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Network Design Services
• Aironet Wireless Access Points Design Help
• Cisco Small Business WiFi APs System Design Services
• Catalyst 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6/6E Wireless APs Solution Design, Deployment and Troubleshooting Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Controllers Experts
• Meraki Wireless APs Deployment Support
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Integration and Technical Support
• Cisco Voice over IP (VoIP) Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Expertise and Wireless IP Phone Integration
• Cisco Jabber Deployment Expertise
• Catalyst Switches Engineering Services
• Cisco Nexus Switches Deployment Expertise
• Cisco Meraki MS Switches Deployment Expertise
• Cisco VPN and Security Setup and Troubleshooting Expertise
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP PSTN Trunks and CUBE Integration Consulting
• Infrastructure Design for Cisco-based Data Centers
• Infrastructure Optimization Consulting for ISPs
• Centralized Management Techniques for Cisco Infrastructure
• NetApp and Cisco FlexPod Cloud Platform Consulting Services