Cisco Certified Expert Network Consultants

Cisco wireless controllers work with Cisco's Prime Infrastructure and DNA Center (DNAC) network management solutions and are able to support up to 6,000 wireless APs and 64,000 users. Cisco's line of Wi-Fi controllers are offered at price points and with capabilities suitable for networks that run from small or home offices to service provider systems, enterprises, and large campus deployments. Cisco's 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 and Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 controllers and wireless access points are designed to provide the high standard of security, performance and reliability that companies expect in their wired environments. Cisco's technology includes integrated mobility services like Voice over IP, HD video, and secure guest access. Cisco's Prime Infrastructure and DNA Center architecture allow organizations to build systems that combine wired and wireless networks into a unified ecosystem that ensures a consistent and productive user experience.

Progent's certified wireless experts can help your organization to assess the business value of deploying Cisco wireless controllers to administer wireless environments of any scale. Progent can assist your business to manage and debug your current Cisco Wi-Fi solution or help you to design and carry out an efficient migration from earlier generation Wi-Fi controllers to modern products to deliver improved performance and security and to simplify management.

Progent's Cisco-certified integration consultants can provide affordable online consulting and support services throughout the U.S. and Canada to help businesses to build and refine Wi-Fi networks. Progent also offers on-premises consulting and troubleshooting in major metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. and in Toronto, Canada. In addition, Progent offers remote predictive and onsite Wireless Site Surveys to assist your company to plan a Wi-Fi network with wireless access points located and configured efficiently for your particular site layout, application workloads, and client density.

Cisco 9800 Series Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Controllers
Cisco Catalyst 9800 family of Wi-Fi 6-supported wireless controllers help you automate and manage modern Wi-Fi environments that incorporate 802.11ax access points. 802.11ax, referred to as Wi-Fi 6, builds on prior generation 802.11ac (called Wi-Fi 5) appliances by providing less latency and more reliable performance, supporting higher client density, offering enhanced protection, saving energy for battery-powered handheld devices, and allowing more versatility for handling the latest kinds of IoT endpoints. Cisco's Catalyst 9800 Series Wi-Fi controllers feature always-on availability with seamless software updates, live fixes, and the ability to connect additional access points with zero disruption of service. 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 endpoint health. All devices in the Catalyst 9800 family are powered by Cisco's IOS XE Software and work with Cisco's DNA Center or with Prime Infrastructure network management platforms. Catalyst 9800 wireless LAN controllers can manage Cisco Aironet Wi-Fi 5 Wave 1 and Wave 2 Wi-Fi access points concurrently with Cisco Catalyst 9100 Series 802.11ax APs.

The Cisco 9800-L Wi-Fi 6 Controller is a value-priced device available in a half-width 1RU enclosure that permits dual mounting in a standard 19-in rack. Intended for small and medium-sized wireless networks, the 9800-L provides extra throughput and capacity if you purchase Cisco's Performance license. The 9800-L can handle 250 access points and 5,000 client users (500 APs and 10,00 client users with a Performance license). The appliance delivers 5 Gbps data rates (10 Gbps with a Performance license), and supports 4,096 VLANs. Deployment modes include Centralized, FlexConnect for branch office installations, and fabric. Fixed uplinks include four 2.5G/1G ports plus two 10G/Multigigabit copper (Catalyst 9800-L-C) or two 10G/Multigigabit fiber ports (Catalyst 9800-L-F). Other interfaces include an RJ-45 console port and a Micro USB console port for management, a USB 3.0 interface for plugging in external RAM memory, an RJ-45 management port, and an RJ-45 high-availability redundancy interface used for stateful switchover (SSO).

The Cisco Catalyst 9800-40 Wi-Fi 6 Controller, available in a 1 rack unit package, is designed to support midsize campus deployments. The 9800-40 can handle 2,000 APs and 32,000 client users. The controller offers 40 Gbps throughput and supports 4,096 VLANs. Deployment modes include Centralized, Cisco FlexConnect, and Fabric Wireless (SD-Access). Integrated interfaces include four GE SFP/10 GE SFP+ or SFP interfaces and an SFP Gigabit Ethernet redundancy interface. Additional fixed ports include RJ-45 and USB 3.0 console interfaces, an RJ-45 service port, an RJ-45 redundancy interface for stateful switchover (SSO), and two USB 3.0 interfaces for plugging in external RAM.

The Cisco Catalyst 9800-80 Wi-Fi 6 Controller, available in a 2RU form factor, is a modular, high-end wireless controller intended to manage large campus and service provider environments. The 9800-80 supports 60,00 Wi-Fi access points and 64,000 clients. The 9800-80 offers up to 80 Gbps throughput and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. Deployment modes include Centralized, FlexConnect, and Fabric Wireless. Fixed uplink ports include eight 10G SFP+ ports or six 10G ports and two 1G ports. Optional hot swappable uplink modules provide 18 1GE ports, 10 10GE interfaces, a 40GE interface, two 40GE interfaces, or a 100GE port. Other fixed interfaces include RJ-45 and USB 3.0 console ports, an RJ-45 management interface, an SFP Gigabit Ethernet redundancy interface for SSO, an RJ-45 redundancy port for stateful switchover, and two USB 3.0 ports for plugging in external RAM memory.

Cisco Wave 2 802.11ac Wi-Fi 5 Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 controllers enable fast communication, deployment, administration, monitoring and debugging for Cisco wireless devices and software services. Cisco offers both hardware and virtual Wi-Fi controllers for centralized management of wireless networks, but systems with a large number of Wi-Fi APs typically require hardware-based wireless controllers. Wave 2 wireless controller devices from Cisco offer significant benefits in comparison to Wave 1 and older products including higher performance, simultaneous support for 1G and 10G Ethernet, improved application visibility and control, and advanced, integrated security.

Cisco's 3504 Wireless Controller is a value-priced device available in a desktop enclosure and intended for smaller organizations. You can use the 3504 model in a centralized network environment such as in small branch and remote offices managed over the WAN via Cisco FlexConnect, or in mesh deployments where Ethernet cabling is sparse. The 3504 Wi-Fi controller can handle up to 150 access points and 3,000 client users, delivers 4 Gbps performance, and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. Cisco's 3504 controller includes a Cisco Multigigabit interface and four 1-Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. Access points can be attached to the WiFi controller via two PoE ports. The 3504 Wi-Fi controller offers subsecond failover for APs and clients, which provides nonstop availability for apps. As with other current Wave 2 Wi-Fi controllers available from Cisco, the 3504 model has the built-in ability to communicate with Cisco Prime Infrastructure, Cisco Mobility Services Engine, and Cisco 5520 and 8540 WLAN controllers.

Cisco's 5520 WiFi Controller, available in a 1RU enclosure, is intended for midsize to large organizations and campus networks and can be used in centralized, distributed, and mesh architectures. The 5520 wireless controller supports as many as 1,500 Wi-Fi access points and 20,000 clients, offers 20 Gbps performance, and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 5520 WiFi controller features two 10 GE ports and features SSD storage, redundant fans, optional redundant power supplies, and subsecond failover for uninterrupted availability.

Cisco's 8540 Wireless Controller, offered in a 2 rack unit (RU) enclosure, is a top-of-the-line WiFi controller designed to support enterprises, service providers, and large campuses. 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 Wireless controller can deliver data rates up to 40 Gbps and supports 4,096 VLANs. The 8340 comes with four 1-GB or 10GE interfaces and features SSD storage, dual power supplies, redundant fans, and subsecond failover.

Wave 1 Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco wireless LAN controllers reduce the time and expense required to configure, manage, and operate Wi-Fi networks by offering single-point control of critical functions like setting up APs, applying single-point policies throughout converged wired/wireless networks, supporting enterprise-wide Quality of Service for voice and video, tracking and optimizing network performance, implementing security tools to guard against unauthorized access and Distributed Denial of Service attacks, and managing IPv6 clients. Cisco has developed wireless network controllers for organizations of any size and can provide desktop or rackmount appliances, modular add-on controllers for Cisco routers and Catalyst switches, and switches with built-in wireless network controllers.

Cisco's Wave 1 WiFi LAN controllers incorporate Cisco CleanAir technology to avoid signal interference and create self-optimizing wireless LANs for top 802.11n and 802.11ac throughput and security. Built-in Bonjour Gateways enable discovery and policy across WLAN, LAN and WAN for Apple-based applications. For high availability, Cisco wireless network controllers allow access point and client stateful failover by enabling a backup HA controller to synchronize with a main wireless controller for AP license tabulation, CAPWAP state and roaming keys, and access point CAPWAP state. If the primary wireless controller fails, thousands of APs and wireless clients can failover immediately to the backup wireless controller.

Cisco's Wireless Module for ISR G2 Routers with UCS-E offers entry-level 802.11n and 802.11ac capability for Cisco 2900 and 3900 Series routers used by small to medium-sized organizations and satellite offices. This value-priced and expandable solution can support up to 200 APs and as many as 6000 clients. (To find out about Progent's remote and on-premises consulting support services for Cisco routers, refer to Cisco router deployment and management consulting.)

Cisco Legacy Wi-Fi Network Controllers
Cisco Catalyst 3650 Series are 1RU switches designed for SMBs and branch offices and come with an integrated wireless network controller with the capability to support 40 Gb of wireless throughput for each switch and 25 access points and 1000 clients on each switch. Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series are 1RU rackmount switches designed for mid-size businesses and large enterprises and feature an integrated wireless controller supporting 40 Gb of wireless throughput per switch and the ability to handle 50 access points and up to 2000 clients. The Wireless Services Module2 is a plug-in blade for Catalyst 6500 Series switches that include an integrated wireless network controller designed for mid-to-large size businesses and capable of 20 Gbps throughput and with support for up to 1000 wireless access points and as many as 15,000 clients. (For information concerning Progent's consulting services for Catalyst switches, refer to Cisco Catalyst switches deployment and troubleshooting services.)

Cisco 2500 Wireless Controllers are value-priced desktop units that streamline the deployment and operation of Wi-Fi networks for small to medium-sized enterprises and branches. The Cisco 2500 wireless controller can handle from five to 75 APs and 1000 wireless clients and can deliver sustained performance of up to 1 Gbps.

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

The Cisco Flex 7500 Series Wireless Controller is designed to manage thousands of wireless branches from one location, eliminating the need for 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 access points and 64,000 wireless clients while supporting 1 Gbps throughput. The Cisco 8500 Series Wireless Controller is a 1RU device engineered to monitor and manage wireless networks for very large campuses or service providers and can be expanded to support 6000 access points and up to 64,000 clients while delivering 10 Gbps throughput.

Contact Progent for Consulting Support for Cisco Wi-Fi Controllers
To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Cisco wireless controllers, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.

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