Wireless Consulting Services

Cisco wireless controllers streamline the management of Wi-Fi environments by centralizing the deployment and management of Wi-Fi APs, maximizing wireless throughput by reducing the effects of radio congestion, enhancing Wi-Fi availability with rapid auto-failover, and tightening protection by uncovering cyber threats and filtering content based on client ID and location.

Cisco's wireless controllers integrate with Cisco's Prime Infrastructure and DNA Center network management tools and can support up to 6,000 Wi-Fi access points and 64,000 clients. Cisco's family of Wi-Fi controllers are available at price points and with feature sets suitable for networks that run from branch offices to service provider systems, multi-site enterprises, and dense campus environments. Cisco's 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 and Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 controllers and wireless access points are engineered to provide the same standard of protection, performance and robustness that companies expect from their wired environments. Cisco's technology incorporates integrated mobility services like Voice over IP, HD video, and safe guest access. Cisco's Prime Infrastructure and DNA Center platforms make it possible for businesses to implement environments that integrate wired and wireless networks into a unified ecosystem that delivers a consistent and productive user experience.

Progent's certified Wi-Fi experts can assist you to assess the business benefits of deploying Cisco wireless controllers to manage wireless networks of any size. Progent can help your business to manage and troubleshoot your existing Cisco-based wireless ecosystem or assist you to design and carry out an efficient transition from older Wi-Fi controllers to modern models to get enhanced performance and protection and to streamline administration.

Progent's Cisco-certified network consultants can provide affordable online consulting and support expertise across the U.S. and Canada to help you to create and enhance Wi-Fi solutions. Progent can also provide onsite consulting and troubleshooting in larger metropolitan areas across the U.S. and in Toronto, Canada. In addition, Progent can provide online predictive and on-premises Wi-Fi Site Surveys to assist your company to design a Wi-Fi network with wireless access points located and set up efficiently for your specific site environment, application workloads, and user density.

Cisco 9800 Series 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Controllers
Catalyst 9800 family of Wi-Fi 6-supported wireless controller appliances help you manage modern Wi-Fi environments that incorporate 802.11ax Wi-Fi access points. The 802.11ax standard, referred to as Wi-Fi 6, builds on prior generation 802.11ac (called Wi-Fi 5) appliances by delivering lower latency and more reliable performance, supporting higher client density, providing enhanced security, conserving energy for battery-powered mobile devices, and offering more flexibility for handling the latest kinds of Internet-of-Things endpoints. Cisco's Catalyst 9800 Series Wi-Fi controllers include high availability with transparent software updates, hot fixes, and the ability to connect additional wireless APs without downtime. Enhanced cybersecurity technologies include Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA), image signing, and Software-Defined Access (SD-Access). Streaming telemetry permits you to monitor and analyze network and client health. All appliances in the Catalyst 9800 line are based on Cisco's IOS XE Software and work with Cisco's DNA Center or with Prime Infrastructure network management platforms. Cisco's Catalyst 9800 wireless network controllers can support Cisco Aironet Wi-Fi 5 Wave 1 and Wave 2 APs concurrently with Cisco Catalyst 9100 Wi-Fi 6 access points.

The Cisco 9800-L Wi-Fi 6 Controller is an entry-level device available in a half-width 1RU chassis that permits dual installation in a standard 19-in rack. Intended for smaller businesses, the 9800-L offers enhanced throughput and scale if you purchase Cisco's Performance license. The 9800-L supports 250 Wi-Fi access points and 5,000 users (500 APs and 10,00 client users if you have a Performance license). The controller offers 5 Gbps data rates (10 Gbps with a Performance license), and supports 4,096 VLANs. Deployment modes include Centralized, FlexConnect for remote office installations, and fabric. Fixed uplinks include four 2.5G/1G ports plus either two 10G/Multigigabit copper (Catalyst 9800-L-C) or two 10G/Multigigabit fiber ports (Catalyst 9800-L-F). Additional ports include an RJ-45 console port and a Micro USB console port for out-of-band management, a USB 3.0 port for adding external RAM, an RJ-45 service port, and an RJ-45 HA redundancy interface for stateful switchover.

Cisco's Catalyst 9800-40 802.11ax Wireless Controller, offered in a 1 rack unit (RU) form factor, is intended for midsize campus environments. The 9800-40 can handle 2,000 Wi-Fi access points and 32,000 clients. The 9800-40 controller offers 40 Gbps data rates and supports 4,096 VLANs. Deployment modes include Centralized, FlexConnect, and Fabric Wireless (SD-Access). Integrated ports include four GE SFP/10 GE SFP+ or SFP ports and an SFP Gigabit Ethernet redundancy port. Other fixed ports include RJ-45 and USB 3.0 console ports, an RJ-45 management port, an RJ-45 redundancy interface used for stateful switchover, and two USB 3.0 ports for plugging in external RAM memory.

The Cisco Catalyst 9800-80 802.11ax Wireless Controller, offered in a 2 rack unit form factor, is an expandable, high-end Wi-Fi controller intended to support large campus and service provider deployments. The 9800-80 can handle 60,00 Wi-Fi access points and 64,000 client users. The 9800-80 offers a maximum of 80 Gbps data rates and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. Deployment modes include Centralized, FlexConnect, and Fabric Wireless (SD-Access). Integrated uplink interfaces include eight 10G SFP+ ports or six 10G interfaces plus two 1G interfaces. Supported hot swappable uplink modules include 18 1GE ports, 10 10GE ports, a 40GE port, two 40GE interfaces, or a 100GE port. Additional integrated interfaces include RJ-45 and USB 3.0 console interfaces, an RJ-45 service interface, an SFP Gigabit Ethernet redundancy port for stateful switchover (SSO), an RJ-45 redundancy port used for stateful switchover (SSO), and two USB 3.0 ports for plugging in external RAM.

Cisco Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 controllers allow realtime communication, configuration, administration, analysis and troubleshooting for Cisco wireless appliances and services. Cisco has developed both physical and software-based Wi-Fi controllers for centralized administration of wireless environments, but systems with many wireless APs are better served by physical wireless controllers. Wave 2 Wi-Fi controller appliances from Cisco deliver significant advantages over Wave 1 and earlier products such as higher throughput, concurrent support for both 1G and 10G interfaces, enhanced application visibility and control (AVC), and advanced, integrated security.

The Cisco 3504 Wireless Controller is an entry-level appliance with a desktop form factor and intended for smaller organizations. You can install the 3504 model in a centralized WLAN architecture such as in small branch and remote offices managed over the WAN via Cisco FlexConnect, or in bridge deployments where wiring is sparse. The 3504 Wi-Fi controller supports as many as 150 APs and 3,000 client users, offers 4 Gbps throughput, and supports 4,096 VLANs. Cisco's 3504 controller includes a Cisco Multigigabit interface (up to 5 Gigabit Ethernet) and four 1-GB Ethernet ports. Access points can be connected to the WiFi controller via two PoE ports. The 3504 Wi-Fi controller features fast failover for access points and clients, which provides nonstop availability for applications. Like other current Wave 2 Wi-Fi controllers available from Cisco, the 3504 model has the integrated capability to work with Cisco Prime Infrastructure, Cisco Mobility Services, and Cisco 5520 and 8540 wireless controllers.

The Cisco 5520 WiFi Controller, available in a 1 rack unit enclosure, is designed for larger organizations and campus networks and can be used in centralized, distributed, and mesh deployments. The 5520 wireless controller can handle as many as 1,500 wireless APs and 20,000 clients, delivers 20 Gbps throughput, and supports 4,096 VLANs. The 5520 model controller features two 10 GE interfaces and incorporates solid-state storage, backup fans, optional backup power supplies, and subsecond failover for uninterrupted availability.

The Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller, offered in a 2 rack unit enclosure, is a top-of-the-line WiFi controller intended to support large enterprises, service providers, and large campuses. The 8540 WiFi controller can be used in centralized, distributed, and mesh architectures and can handle up to 6,000 access points and 64,000 client users. The 8540 WiFi controller offers data rates as high as 40 Gbps and supports 4,096 VLANs. The 8340 comes with four 1-GB or 10GE interfaces and features solid-state storage, backup power supplies, redundant fans, and rapid failover.

Wave 1 Cisco WiFi LAN Controllers
Cisco wireless controllers reduce the time and expense needed to configure, monitor, and troubleshoot Wi-Fi networks by offering single-point control of tasks like provisioning APs, enforcing consistent policies throughout converged wired and wireless LANs, supporting enterprise-wide Quality of Service for voice and HD video, tracking and troubleshooting system performance, activating security capabilities to defend against cyber break-ins and Distributed Denial of Service attacks, and handling IPv6 clients. Cisco has developed wireless LAN controllers for organizations of all sizes and offers standalone desktop appliances, modular add-on wireless controllers for Cisco routers and switches, and switches with built-in wireless controllers.

Cisco's Wave 1 wireless network controllers include Cisco CleanAir technology to minimize RF interference and produce self-healing wireless networks for top 802.11n and 802.11ac throughput and security. Integrated Bonjour Gateways permit discovery, advertisement and policy across the enterprise for Apple applications. For high availability (HA), Cisco wireless controllers support wireless access point and client stateful switchover by enabling a backup HA controller to synch with a main controller for access point license tabulation, CAPWAP state and roaming keys, and access point CAPWAP state. In case the primary controller goes down, thousands of wireless access points and wireless clients can failover in less than a second to the secondary wireless LAN controller.

Cisco's Wireless Module for ISR Routers with UCS-E provides entry-level 802.11n and 802.11ac support for Cisco 2900 and 3900 Series routers used by small to medium-sized organizations and branches. This affordable and scalable module can handle up to 200 APs and up to 6000 clients. (To find out concerning Progent's online and on-premises consulting and troubleshooting services for Cisco routers, refer to Cisco router configuration and management consulting.)

Cisco Legacy Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco Catalyst 3650 Series are 1RU form-factor switches intended for small to mid-size businesses and satellite offices and come with a built-in wireless controller with the capability to handle 40 Gb of wireless capacity for each switch and 25 APs and 1000 wireless clients per switch or stack. Catalyst 3850 Series are 1RU switches intended for mid-size and large organizations and feature a built-in wireless network controller supporting 40 Gb of wireless capacity per switch and support for up to 50 access points and 2000 wireless clients. The Wireless Services Module2 is an add-in blade for Catalyst 6500 Series switches that include an integrated wireless controller intended for mid-to-large size businesses and able to deliver 20 Gbps performance and with support for 1000 wireless access points and 15,000 wireless clients. (For information concerning Progent's support for Catalyst switches, refer to Cisco switches configuration and management consulting.)

Cisco 2500 Series Wireless Controllers are value-priced desktop appliances that simplify the deployment and operation of wireless LANs for SMBs and branches. The Cisco 2500 wireless LAN controller can handle from five to 75 wireless access points and 1000 clients and offers throughput of 1 Gbps.

The Cisco 5500 Wireless Controller is an expandable 1RU unit intended for mid-to-large sized enterprises and campuses and can support 500 APs and 7,000 clients while delivering 8 Gbps throughput. The Cisco 5760 Series Wireless Controller is a 1RU device designed for mid-to-large campuses with support for 1000 APs and 12,000 wireless clients and offering throughput of 60 Gbps to handle high client densities and high usage of media-rich applications.

The Cisco Flex 7500 Wireless Controller is designed to enable centralized management of thousands of wireless remote sites from one location, avoiding the costs of a Wi-Fi controller at every branch. The 1RU Flex 7500 appliance lets you build a private cloud to deploy, monitor, manage, and repair as many as 6000 APs and up to 64,000 wireless clients while handling 1 Gbps throughput. The Cisco 8500 Series Wireless Controller is a 1RU rackmount appliance engineered to monitor and control wireless environments for very large campuses or service providers and can scale to handle 6000 APs and 64,000 clients while offering 10 Gbps throughput.

To see additional details concerning Progent's consulting expertise for Cisco products, select a subject:

• Introduction to Progent's Cisco Support
• Fast Online Support from a Cisco CCIE Network Engineer
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Series Firewalls: Integration and Management Services
• Cisco ASA 5500-X Series Firewall with Cisco Firepower: Configuration and Management Expertise
• Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewall Upgrade. Migration Assistance
• Cisco PIX 500 Series Firewall Engineering Support
• Cisco Routers Configuration and Troubleshooting Services
• Cisco Wireless Engineering Support
• Aironet Wireless Access Points Deployment Help
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 WiFi Access Points System Design Expertise
• Catalyst 802.11ax Wireless APs Solution Design, Deployment and Debugging Support
• Cisco Meraki Wireless APs Design Services
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and Cisco CallManager Configuration and Technical Support
• Cisco Voice over IP Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Consulting Services and Cisco Wireless IP Phone Configuration
• Cisco Jabber Consulting and Support Expertise
• Catalyst Switches Configuration and Maintenance Expertise
• Nexus Switches Configuration and Maintenance Expertise
• Meraki Switches Deployment Expertise
• Cisco VPN Consulting Expertise
• SIP and CUBE Infrastructure Solutions: SIP Trunks and Cisco CUBE Integration Expertise
• Design and Support for Cisco-powered Datacenters and Colocation Centers
• Data Center Optimization Consulting for ISPs
• Remote Management Technologies for Cisco-powered Infrastructure