Cisco offers an extensive line of wireless LAN devices and software tools designed to enable continual connections to data and other resources and to facilitate teamwork among employees, associates, suppliers, and customers. Cisco's wireless product families include Cisco's Small Business, Aironet and Meraki lines of access points, as well as Cisco's Wireless LAN Controller modules and appliances. Progent's Cisco-certified wireless consulting experts can help organizations of all sizes to utilize Cisco wireless products to support the new model of BYOD networks by converging their wired/wireless networks to benefit from easy deployment, consistently high performance, single-point control, uniform policy, fault tolerance, and across-the-board security.
The Cisco Unified Wireless architecture can expand to up to 18,000 access points with Layer 3 connectivity across central or remote locations such as business campuses, university auditoriums, branches, and home offices. Cisco's 802.11x wireless access points and controllers are part of Cisco's Unified Wireless Network and are engineered to support the same degree of protection, performance, and ease of management for WLANs that businesses expect in their wired networks. Cisco's architecture includes built-in mobility services like Voice over IP, IP video, and secure guest connectivity. Cisco's Unified Wireless Network solution allows companies to create wireless environments that streamline the way they do business and enhance productivity through a dynamic and connected employee base.
Progent's Cisco CCIE network consultants can provide online or on-premises expertise to help you to design, deploy, maintain, upgrade, and repair converged wired/wireless networks of all sizes and for any environment. Also, Progent can provide affordable online and on-premises wireless site surveys to assist your company to plan and deploy a wireless LAN with customized AP clusters optimized for your specific office layout, building structure, and intended application.
Cisco Small Business, Aironet, Meraki and Catalyst Access Points (APs)
Cisco's Small Business, Aironet, Meraki and Catalyst families of access points allow organizations to converge wired/wireless infrastructure to provide the accessibility, capacity, throughput, security compliance and manageability needed to support practically any environment. These wireless access points start at bare bones, single-radio 802.11b/g/n units with data rates of 300 Mb intended for very small businesses or home offices to Wi-Fi 6 APs capable of handling hundreds of clients on each access point and offering sustained throughput in excess of 5 Gb. Cisco's current selection of APs can be clustered to provide the capacity to handle sites crowded with clients and with high usage rates of HD video applications.
Small Business Series of APs
Cisco's Small Business Family of APs are Linux-based units intended as entry-level Wi-Fi solutions for light workloads. Most models in the Cisco Small Business family of access points support Cisco's Single Point Setup technology, which allows you to set up, manage and troubleshoot a cluster of wireless access points from one AP via an intuitive web browser interface. All versions support Power over Ethernet (POE) and provide Quality of Service (QoS), rogue access point awareness, and bridging for wirelessly connecting to another Ethernet LAN.
The Cisco Small Business WAP121 Wireless-N Access Point is a wall-mountable, single-band 2.4GHz device that can support 16 active 802.11n wireless clients, includes a Fast Ethernet interface, allows up to four access pointss and 40 active wireless clients in a cluster, and supports sustained data rates of up to 300 Mbps. The Cisco WAP131 is a desktop dual-band 2.4/5 GHz 802.11n access point able to handle 16 wireless clients per radio for up to 32 wireless clients, includes a Gigabit Ethernet LAN interface, and delivers sustained data rates of 300 Mbps for each radio. The WAP131 Wireless-N does not allow AP clustering. The Cisco WAP150 is a value-priced Wave 1 dual-radio AC/n AP that includes a 1xGE Power over Ethernet (PoE) port and can support 16 clients from each radio with 867 Mbps performance for 802.11ac clients and 300 Mbps for 802.11n devices. The Cisco WAP1501 supports 4 access points per cluster.
Cisco's Small Business WAP321 Wireless-N Access Point is a wall-mountable selectable-band (2.4 or 5 GHz) 802.11a/b/g/n device that can handle 80 wireless clients sharing an 8-AP cluster. The Cisco WAP321 has a 10/100/1000 Ethernet port and can deliver throughput of 300 Mbps for the activated radio. The Cisco WAP351 is a dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n wireless access point that includes a 5-port Gigabit Ethernet switch and can support 32 active clients per radio for a total of up to 64 active clients, and support throughput of 300 Mbps per radio. The WAP351 does not allow clustering. Cisco's WAP361 is a dual-radio Wireless-AC/N AP that features a 5 x Gb Ethernet switch, allows 32 active WLAN clients on each radio, and delivers 867 Mbps throughput for 802.11ac devices and 300 Mbps performance for 802.11n devices. The Cisco WAP361 allows 8 WAP361 access points per cluster. Cisco's wall-mountable WAP371 Wireless-AC/N is a dual-band AP that supports 802.11n and the latest 802.11ac IEEE Wi-Fi standard. The WAP371 includes a Gigabit Ethernet interface, can handle as many as 32 wireless clients per radio, and 8 access points per cluster.
Cisco's WAP561 802.11n Dual Radio Selectable Band wireless access point includes one GE port and two radios (2.4 and 5.0 GHz) that deliver 450 Mbps performance per radio, can handle 64 clients for each radio, and allow up to 16 APs per cluster. The Cisco WAP551 is similar to the WAP 561 but has a single radio selectable band. Cisco's WAP571 and WAP571E (a weather-proof outdoor model) are dual-band 802.11ac wireless access points that feature 2 x GE LAN interfaces with link aggregation (LAG), and as high as 1.9 Gigabit/sec performance with 1300 Mbps over 802.11ac and 600 Mbps over 11n. Both units support 32 active WAN clients per radio and 16 APs per cluster.
The Cisco Small Business WAP581 Wireless-AC Dual Radio Wave 2 Wireless Access Point complies with the 802.11ac specification and features 4x4 and 3x3 MU-MIMO technology to deliver 2.8 Gbps throughput at 5 GHz and 600 Mbps at 2.4 GHz for a total max throughput of 2.4 Gbps. The Small Business WAP581 has a fixed 2.5G Ethernet port and a 10/100/1000 Ethernet interface with 802.3at PoE. Cisco's WAP581 Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 AP can handle as many as 200 connective users, up to 50 active client users for each radio, 16 APs per cluster, and 960 active client users per cluster.
For more information about Progent's support for current and legacy Cisco Small Business family of WiFi APs, refer to Cisco Small Business WiFi APs consulting.
The Aironet Family of Access Points
Cisco's Aironet family of indoor and outdoor wireless access points has consistently been the top-selling access point product. Aironet APs run the gamut from value priced devices to advanced APs. Cisco's Aironet family cover several generations of models supporting the continually improving 11x standard. Cisco's latest line of Aironet access points work with Cisco's Unified Wireless Network architecture and come with 802.11ac Wi-Fi support, which delivers three times the speed as well as superior distance and user density than the prior generation of devices. Cisco's latest multi-frequency Aironet access points continue to accommodate 802.11n at 2.4 GHz for clients that do not have 802.11ac capability.
The earliest Aironet APs are now legacy units that have come to end-of-life status and are not supported by Cisco. Progent continues to provide technical support for the entire Aironet line of APs and can help you to maintain your current Aironet Wi-Fi system or move efficiently to the latest Aironet products. To find out more about Progent's consulting services for current and outdated Cisco Aironet wireless access points, see Aironet access points consulting services.
Meraki Wireless Access Points
Cisco's family of Meraki dual-band 2.4/5 GHz indoor access points range from budget-friendly devices for general use to enterprise-class units that offer up to 5.9 Gbit/sec throughput. Every Meraki indoor access point provides high-end capabilities like self-configuring installation, advanced security, Bring-Your-Own-Device support, built-in traffic analysis, zero-touch web-based updates, and unified cloud management via an intuitive dashboard. Every Meraki indoor access point also incorporates two powerful client-serving radios with boosted receive sensitivity as well as a dedicated radio that offers (WIDS/WIPS) security for threat detection and deep packet inspection at line rate.
Meraki outdoor access points are IP67 rated, designed to withstand harsh outdoor environments, and tested to resist dust particles, shock and moisture. Cisco's Meraki outdoor access points include a Gigabit Ethernet port and deliver advanced features that include cloud-based management with multi-site visibility, 802.1X and native Active Directory integration, built-in antivirus scan, single-click guest access and isolation firewall, Layer 7 traffic shaping, plus self-configuring mesh with MIMO and beamforming. For more information about Progent's consulting services for Meraki access points and management, refer to Cisco's Meraki access points planning and support.
Cisco's Catalyst 9100 Family of Wi-Fi 6 and W-Fi 6E APs
Cisco's Catalyst 9100 Series 802.11ax wireless access points are designed for deployments ranging from home offices to high-density stadiums. Catalyst 9100 APs are based on the 802.11ax specification, known as Wi-Fi 6, which is an evolution of the previous 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) standard. Unlike 802.11ac, Wi-Fi 6 is able to use both the 2.4-Ghz and 5-GHz radio bands. Important enhancements incorporated in Catalyst 9100 Series access points include MU-MIMO support for uplink traffic, dual NAVs for better reliability, increased device sleep time for conserving power usage in battery-powered endpoints, adaptive power thresholds for more efficient spectrum utilization, and dynamic fragmentation for reduced overhead. Cisco Catalyst 9100 Wi-Fi 6 access points can run Cisco's Embedded Wireless Controller (EWC), handle up to 400 client users per radio, and run on Cisco IOS XE Software.
Cisco's Catalyst 916x Series Wi-Fi 6E APs are the first Cisco APs to offer the flexibility of being monitored and managed either on-prem with Cisco DNA Center or via the cloud by deploying Meraki management tools. This enables organizations to transition to cloud-based or hybrid management environments on their own timetable. All Catalyst 916x APs comply with the a/b/g/n/ac/ax and 6E Wi-Fi standards and include support for the new 6-GHz band. Each AP includes 5 radios and allows up to 400 clients on each radio. Every AP also comes with a dedicated radio for Cisco CleanAir Pro for mitigating interference, has a USB 2.0 port, and offers Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). Cisco's entry-level Catalyst 9162 Series access point is designed for small organizations, has three 2x2 radios, and provides 1x 100M/1000M/2.5G mGig Ethernet support. The Catalyst 9164 Series AP is suited for small and mid-size organizations, incorporates one 2x2 radio and two 4x4 radios, and features 1x 100M/1000M/2.5G mGig Ethernet. The Catalyst 9166 Series access point is meant for large and medium-sized enterprises, has three 4x4 radios, and provides 1x 100M/1000M/2.5G/5G mGig Ethernet support. The 9166 also includes environmental sensors to measure air quality, temperature, and moisture. For details about Progent's consulting services for Catalyst 9100 Line of 802.11ax Access Points, refer to Wi-Fi 6/6E access points system planning, deployment, and debugging services.
Cisco 9800 Series Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Controllers
Cisco Catalyst 9800 family of Wi-Fi 6-compatible wireless LAN controller appliances help you manage advanced Wi-Fi networks that incorporate 802.11ax Wi-Fi access points. 802.11ax, also called Wi-Fi 6, improves on prior generation 802.11ac (referred to as Wi-Fi 5) appliances by delivering less latency and more reliable performance, supporting higher client density, providing greater protection, saving energy for battery-powered handheld devices, and allowing more versatility for handling new kinds of IoT endpoints. Catalyst 9800 line Wi-Fi controllers feature high availability with transparent software upgrades, live patching, and the ability to add APs without disruption of service. Enhanced cybersecurity technologies include Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA), image signing, and Cisco Software-Defined Access. Streaming telemetry allows you to monitor and analyze infrastructure and endpoint health.
All controllers in the Catalyst 9800 line are powered by Cisco's IOS XE Software and work with Cisco's DNA Center (DNAC) or Prime Infrastructure network management tools. Cisco's Catalyst 9800 wireless network controllers can manage Cisco Aironet Wi-Fi 5 Wave 1 and Wave 2 access points concurrently with Catalyst 9100 Wi-Fi 6 Wi-Fi access points. For details about Progent's consulting services for Cisco 9800 Series Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Controllers, see Catalyst 9800 line of Wi-Fi 6 wireless controller appliances system planning, configuration, and management services.
Cisco Wi-Fi 5 802.11ac Wireless Network Controllers
Cisco Wave 2 Wi-Fi controllers allow realtime communication, configuration, administration, analysis and troubleshooting for Cisco Wi-Fi devices and software services. Cisco has developed both physical and software-based Wi-Fi controllers for unified management of wireless networks, but networks with many wireless access points typically require hardware-based wireless controllers. Wave 2 Wi-Fi controller appliances from Cisco offer major advantages over Wave 1 and earlier models such as greater performance, concurrent support for both 1G and 10G interfaces, enhanced application visibility and control (AVC), and hardened, built-in security.
The Cisco 3504 Wireless Controller is a value-priced appliance available in a desktop body and designed for small and medium-sized organizations. You can install the 3504 model in a centralized network architecture such as in lean branch and home-based offices administered across the wide-area network via FlexConnect, or in bridge deployments where wiring is limited. The 3504 wireless controller supports up to 150 APs and 3,000 client users, offers 4 Gbps throughput, and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 3504 controller includes a multi-gigabit Ethernet interface (up to 5 Gigabit Ethernet) and four 1-GB Ethernet ports. Access points can be attached to the WiFi controller through two Power over Ethernet ports. The 3504 wireless controller features fast failover for access points and users, which provides uninterrupted availability for applications. As with other Wave 2 wireless controllers available from Cisco, the 3504 device has the built-in capability to communicate with Cisco Prime Infrastructure, Cisco Mobility Services Engine, and Cisco 5520 and 8540 WiFi controllers.
The Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller, available in a 1RU package, is intended to support midsize to large enterprises and campus environments and can be run in centralized, distributed, and mesh architectures. The 5520 Wi-Fi controller supports up to 1,500 access points and 20,000 clients, offers 20 Gbps throughput, and supports 4,096 VLANs. The 5520 wireless controller includes two 10 GE ports and incorporates solid-state storage, redundant fans, optional redundant power supplies, and rapid failover for high availability.
Cisco's 8540 Wireless Controller, available in a 2 rack unit (RU) enclosure, is a top-of-the-line wireless controller intended to support large enterprises, service providers, and large campus environments. The 8540 WiFi controller can be run in centralized, distributed, and mesh deployments and can handle as many as 6,000 Wi-Fi access points and 64,000 client users. The 8540 Wireless controller offers data rates as high as 40 Gbps and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 8340 includes four 1-GB or 10GE interfaces and features SSD storage, redundant power supplies, redundant fans, and subsecond failover.
Wave 1 Cisco WiFi LAN Controllers
Cisco wireless network controllers reduce the time and expense needed to deploy, monitor, and troubleshoot Wi-Fi networks by offering single-point control of critical tasks like setting up wireless access points, applying single-point policies across converged LANs, supporting enterprise-wide QoS for voice and video, tracking and troubleshooting network performance, activating intrusion prevention capabilities to guard 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 all sizes and offers desktop or rackmount controllers, modular add-on wireless controllers for Cisco routers and Catalyst switches, and Catalyst switches with built-in wireless controllers.
Cisco's Wave 1 wireless LAN controllers incorporate Cisco CleanAir tools to minimize signal interference and create self-optimizing wireless networks for top 802.11n and 802.11ac throughput and protection. Built-in Bonjour Gateways enable discovery and policy across WLAN, LAN and WAN for Apple-based applications. For high availability (HA), Cisco wireless network controllers allow wireless access point and client stateful switchover by permitting a backup high-availability wireless controller to synchronize with a main controller for access point license count, CAPWAP state and roaming keys, and access point CAPWAP state. If the primary wireless controller stops working, thousands of wireless access points and clients can failover at subsecond speeds to the backup wireless LAN controller.
Cisco's Wireless Module for ISR G2 Routers with UCS-E provides basic 802.11n and 802.11ac support for 2900 and 3900 routers used by small to medium-sized organizations and branch offices. This value-priced and scalable solution can support up to 200 APs and up to 6000 clients. (To find out concerning Progent's online and on-premises consulting and troubleshooting support services for Cisco routers, see Cisco router deployment and troubleshooting support.)
Cisco Catalyst 3650 Series are 1RU form-factor switches intended for small to mid-size businesses and branch offices and have an integrated wireless LAN controller with the capability to handle 40 Gb of wireless capacity for each switch and 25 APs and 1000 clients per switch or stack. Catalyst 3850 Series are 1RU switches designed for midsize and large organizations and include a built-in wireless network controller supporting 40 Gb of wireless throughput on each switch and support for 50 wireless access points and up to 2000 wireless clients. The Wireless Services Module2 (WiSM2) is a plug-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 throughput and with support for up to 1000 APs and as many as 15,000 wireless clients. (To find out about Progent's support for Cisco Catalyst switches, see Cisco switches deployment and management support.)
Cisco 2500 Series Wireless Controllers are entry-level desktop devices that streamline the deployment and operation of wireless LANs for small and midsize businesses and satellite offices. The 2500 Series wireless controller supports 5 to 75 wireless access points and 1000 clients and can deliver sustained data rates of 1 Gbps.
The Cisco 5500 Series Wireless Controller is a scalable 1RU unit designed for mid-to-large sized enterprises and campuses and can support up to 500 access points and 7,000 wireless clients while providing 8 Gbps performance. The Cisco 5760 Series Wireless Controller is a 1RU device intended for mid-to-large campuses with the ability to manage up to 1000 wireless access points and 12,000 clients and providing performance of 60 Gbps to accommodate high client densities and high usage of video-intensive applications.
Cisco's Flex 7500 Series Wireless Controller is intended to enable centralized management of massive collections of wireless branches from one datacenter, eliminating the requirement for a Wi-Fi controller at each remote site. The 1RU rackmount Flex 7500 appliance allows you to create a private cloud to configure, monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot up to 6000 access points and 64,000 wireless clients while supporting 1 Gbps performance. The Cisco 8500 Wireless Controller is a 1RU rackmount device designed to manage Wi-Fi environments for very large campuses or service providers and can scale to handle 6000 wireless points and 64,000 clients while offering 10 Gbps throughput.
For more information about Cisco wireless controllers, see Cisco wireless controllers consulting services.
Legacy Cisco Wireless Access Points, LAN Bridges and Wireless Controllers Supported by Progent
The introduction of the IEEE 802.11ac standard for Wi-Fi largely rendered obsolete the prior releases of Wi-Fi products for many environments that support high densities of wireless clients and high usage of HD video software applications. Even for businesses who do not currently need the performance of 802.11ac Wi-Fi, many of Cisco wireless products have arrived at end-of-life status, which can represent significant maintenance and regulatory compliance issues. Progent's Cisco-certified consultants offer remote and on-premises support for a wide array of older-generation Cisco wireless products. Progent can in addition assist organizations to assess the financial justification for updating legacy wireless infrastructure and can help in planning and executing cost-effective, seamless migrations. The following are a few of Cisco older-generation wireless products that Progent's consulting experts continue to support.
Legacy Cisco Aironet APs
Cisco Aironet 1000/1130AG Series APs are ideal for conventional workplaces and other locations which have little environmental instability. These access points have built-in antennas that offer dependable radio coverage patterns. The Cisco 1130G Series access point is designed for regulated locations that do not allow 5GHz operation.
Aironet 1230AG or 1240AG family access points are intended for more problematic radio frequency environments like manufacturing plants and warehouses or above suspended ceilings which typically call for adjustable protruding antennas and durable cases. The Cisco 1240G Series product is intended for controlled domains that do not permit 802.11a/5GHz operation.
Aironet 1500 lightweight outdoor mesh LAN access points provide a cost-effective, expandable, protected outdoor wireless network solution for campus areas and for public venues that require access for mobile phones or computers.
Legacy Cisco Aironet Wireless Bridges
Cisco Aironet wireless LAN bridges offer a high-speed and multi-featured solution for integrating multiple LANs in a metropolitan situation or public wireless environment. Cisco Aironet bridges offer a flexible, manageable solution that meets the security needs of wide-area networking professionals. These bridges handle both point-to-point and PTMP implementations with excellent range and the ability to handle data throughput as high as 54 Mbps.
Cisco Aironet wireless bridges offer throughput substantially faster than E1/T1 connections for far less cost, eliminating the need for costly leased lines when connecting separate offices. Because wireless bridges require no periodic charges, savings on connection bills quickly cover the initial equipment investment. Self-installed private lines and even leased lines made of metal or fiber-optic cable can require considerable up-front expenses when they are separated by barriers such as highways, railroads, or lakes and rivers. Cisco wireless bridges can be deployed quickly an offer a fast ROI.
Cisco Aironet 1300 family outside wireless access points/bridges can be deployed as stand-alone wireless access points, bridges, or wireless group bridges. These devices have a ruggedized enclosure and offer fast, affordable wireless connectivity between numerous fixed or mobile environments and clients.
Cisco 1400 family bridges offer high-speed, dependable outside connections for line-of-sight (LOS) applications. They include a durable cover that is optimized for severe outside environments and function in wide temperature ranges.
Legacy Cisco Wireless Controllers
Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers provide single-point management of wireless networks by simplifying the control of common technologies including integrated intrusion prevention system (IPS), fast RF management, automatic configuration, and full N+1 redundancy. WLAN controllers work with small access points to offer superior performance and high-end administration functions.
Cisco WLAN Controllers offer the control, scalability, security, and resilience that system managers require to build secure, large-scale wireless solutions, from satellite locations to small businesses to main campuses. Cisco's first-generation Wireless Network Controllers can be clustered to provide support for up to 2400 wireless access points for each roaming domain.
The Cisco WLCM or WLCM-E Module for Integrated Services (IS) Routers provides small-to medium businesses and enterprises a cost effective way to deploy and manage secure wireless networks at satellite locations. These wireless LAN controllers manage up to a dozen Aironet access points and are installable in 2800/3800 Series Integrated Services Routers and 3700 Series IS Routers. (To find out concerning Progent's online and on-premises support for Cisco routers, see Cisco router deployment and troubleshooting support.)
How Progent Can Help Your Company with Cisco Wireless Devices
Progent can provide access to a Cisco-certified consulting professional to assist your business to plan, deploy, maintain and troubleshoot a converged wired/wireless ecosystem incorporating a broad range of wireless technologies that offer the identical protection, expandability, and ease of management you expect from your wired network. Progent can assist you to maintain early-generation wireless products from Cisco or migrate seamlessly to current 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 technology. Progent's CISM, CISSP, and ISSAP security professionals can show you how to design protection into your WLAN and your business operations. Progent's disaster recovery planning consultants and business continuity planning consultants can show you how to set up the high availability (HA) features built into Cisco's wireless and wired technologies so your converged infrastructure provides continuing return on investment.
Progent's Wireless Site Survey helps you to plan and deploy a robust WLAN optimized for your facilities, offering a wireless ecosystem that delivers seamless coverage, high performance and density, QoS to support IP voice and video, enterprise-class security and compliance, and easy management. Progent's Wireless Site Survey can be performed online to cut time and costs, or on premises to deal with more complex situations.
For a more in-depth look at Progent's wireless integration capabilities, see Progent's Wireless Help.
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