Cisco has developed a comprehensive portfolio of wireless networking devices and software tools intended to provide continual connections to information and other resources and to promote teamwork among workers, associates, suppliers, and customers. Cisco's wireless offerings include Cisco's Small Business, Aironet and Meraki lines of access points, plus Cisco's Wireless LAN Controller plug-ins and standalone devices. Progent's Cisco-certified wireless experts can enable businesses of all sizes to utilize Cisco wireless products to support the new model of Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) computing by integrating their wired and wireless ecosystems to achieve easy configuration, consistently high throughput, single-point control, uniform policy enforcement, high availability (HA), and advanced security.
The Cisco Unified Wireless Network architecture can scale to up to 18,000 APs with full Layer 3 connectivity at local or offsite locations such as business campuses, college auditoriums, branches, and home offices. Cisco's Wi-Fi wireless access points and wireless controllers are components of Cisco's Unified Wireless Network and are designed to support the identical level of protection, performance, and manageability for wireless networks that companies expect in their wired ecosystem. This technology includes built-in mobile services such as VoIP, HD video, and secure guest connectivity. Cisco's Unified Wireless Network technology enables organizations to create wireless ecosystems that improve the way they do business and enhance productivity via a mobile and connected workforce.
Progent's Cisco CCIE network infrastructure consulting services offers remote or onsite expertise to assist your organization to plan, configure, maintain, expand, and repair converged wired and wireless network infrastructure of any size and for any environment. In addition, Progent offers value-priced remote and on-premises wireless site surveys to help your company to design and install a Wi-Fi network with customized access point clusters optimized for your individual work area layout, building characteristics, and application workloads.
Small Business, Aironet, Meraki and Catalyst Access Points
Cisco's Small Business, Aironet, Meraki and Catalyst families of wireless access points enable businesses to integrate wired/wireless networks to deliver the accessibility, density, performance, protection and ease of management required to support virtually any environment. Cisco's APs start at bare bones, single-band 802.11b/g/n units with data rates of 300 Mb for very small companies or home offices to 802.11ax wireless access points suitable for supporting hundreds of clients per access point and delivering sustained throughput in excess of 5 Gb. Cisco's current line of wireless access points can be clustered to deliver the scale to support sites with high client density and with a high incidence of HD video application software.
Cisco Small Business Series of APs
Cisco's Small Business Series of wireless access points are Linux-based devices designed as value-priced Wi-Fi APs for small offices. Many models in Cisco's Small Business portfolio of wireless access points support Cisco's Single Point Setup system, which allows you to configure, manage and repair a cluster of access points from a single device via an intuitive web browser interface. All of the versions support POE and provide Quality of Service (QoS), rogue AP awareness, and bridging for wirelessly connecting to another network.
The Cisco Small Business WAP121 Access Point is a wall-mountable, single-radio 2.4GHz unit able to handle 16 802.11n wireless clients, includes a 10/100 Ethernet port, allows up to four access pointss and 40 active clients per cluster, and supports sustained throughput of up to 300 Mbps. Cisco's Small Business WAP131 is a desktop dual-radio 802.11a/b/g/n AP that can handle 16 wireless clients on each radio for up to 32 clients, features a GE interface, and delivers throughput of 300 Mbps for each radio. The WAP131 Wireless-N does not support clustering. Cisco's WAP150 is an entry-level Wave 1 dual-radio 802.11ac/n access point that features a one Gbit Power over Ethernet port and can support up to 16 clients per radio with 867 Mbps throughput for 802.11ac devices and 300 Mbps for 802.11n devices. Cisco's WAP1501 allows 4 access points for each cluster.
Cisco's Small Business WAP321 Wireless-N model is a wall-mountable selectable-band (either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz) 802.11n device with support for 80 wireless clients in an 8-AP cluster. The Cisco WAP321 has a 10/100/1000 Ethernet interface and can deliver sustained throughput of 300 Mbps for the activated radio. The Cisco Small Business WAP351 is a dual-radio 2.4/5 GHz 802.11a/b/g/n wireless access point with a 5-port Gigabit Ethernet switch and can handle 32 active wireless clients on each radio for a total of up to 64 clients, and support sustained throughput of 300 Mbps for each radio. The WAP351 AP does not support clustering. The Cisco WAP361 is a dual-band 802.11ac wireless access point that features a 5-port Gigabit Ethernet LAN switch, allows 32 clients on each radio, and delivers 867 Mbps performance for 802.11ac clients and 300 Mbps for 802.11n devices. The Cisco Small Business WAP361 allows eight WAP361 access points per cluster. Cisco's wallmount WAP371 Wireless-AC/N is a dual-radio AP that supports 802.11n and the latest 802.11ac wireless networking standard. The WAP371 Wireless-AC/N has a GE port, can support up to 32 wireless clients per radio, and eight access points for each cluster.
The Cisco WAP561 Wireless-N Selectable Band wireless access point features a Gigabit Ethernet interface and two concurrent radios that deliver 450 Mbps throughput for each radio, support 64 devices for each radio, and allow 16 wireless access points per cluster. The Cisco WAP551 is like the WAP 561 but has a single radio selectable band (2.4 or 5.0 GHz). Cisco's WAP571 and WAP571E (the weather-proof outdoor version) are dual-band Wireless-AC/N access points incorporating 2 x GE interfaces with link aggregation (LAG), 3x3 MIMO, and as high as 1.9 Gbps performance with 1300 Mbps over 802.11ac and 600 Mbps on 11n. Both APs support 32 active WAN clients per radio and 16 wireless access points per cluster.
The Cisco WAP581 Wireless-AC Dual Radio Wave 2 Wireless Access Point supports the Wi-Fi 5 specification and features 4x4 and 3x3 MU-MIMO technology to provide 2.8 Gbps throughput at 5 GHz and 600 Mbps at 2.4 GHz for a total max throughput of 2.4 Gbps. The WAP581 includes an integrated 2.5G Ethernet LAN interface and a 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN interface with 802.3at PoE. Cisco's WAP581 Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 AP supports as many as 200 connective client users, up to 50 active users per radio, 16 access points for each cluster, and 960 active users for each cluster.
To find out more about Progent's support for current and legacy Cisco Small Business family of WiFi APs, refer to Cisco Small Business WiFi access points system design and troubleshooting.
Cisco's Aironet Line of Wireless Access Points
Cisco's Aironet family of wireless APs has consistently been the market leading access point product. Aironet APs range from value priced devices to advanced units. Cisco's Aironet family cover several generations of devices supporting the continually improving 802.11x Wi-Fi specification. Cisco's latest line of Aironet access points work with Cisco's Unified Wireless Network software and come with 802.11ac Wi-Fi support, which offers three times the speed as well as superior coverage and user density compared to the prior generation of APs. The current multi-band Aironet APs can support 802.11n at 2.4 GHz for client devices that lack 802.11ac radios.
The oldest Aironet APs are legacy units that have reached end-of-life status and are no longer supported by Cisco. Progent continues to support the complete Aironet family of access points and can assist you to manage and troubleshoot your current Aironet wireless environment or upgrade efficiently to current Aironet technology. For more information about Progent's consulting services for current and legacy Aironet wireless access points, refer to Cisco Aironet access points consulting.
Meraki Access Points
Cisco's family of Meraki 2.4/5 GHz indoor APs include budget-friendly models for general use to enterprise-class units that offer up to 5.9 Gigabit per second throughput. Every Cisco Meraki indoor wireless access point provides next-generation capabilities like plug-and-play installation, advanced protection, Bring-Your-Own-Device support, extensive traffic analysis, automatic web-based updates, and centralized cloud-based management via an intuitive dashboard. Each Meraki indoor access point also includes dual high-power radios with enhanced receive sensitivity plus a separate radio that offers (WIDS/WIPS) security for RF analysis and deep packet inspection at line rate.
Cisco's Meraki outdoor access points are IP67 certified, designed to withstand rugged outdoor environments, and able to resist dust particles, shock and moisture. Meraki outdoor APs include a Gigabit Ethernet port and offer advanced features that include cloud-based management with network-wide visibility and control, 802.1X integration, built-in antivirus scan (NAC), single-click secure guest access and isolation firewall, Layer 7 traffic shaping, plus self-configuring mesh with beamforming. For more information about Progent's support for Cisco's Meraki APs and cloud management, refer to Meraki access points consulting services.
Cisco's Catalyst 9100 Series Wi-Fi 6 802.11ax Access Points
Cisco's Catalyst 9100 family of Wi-Fi 6 access points are designed for deployments ranging from home offices to crowded convention centers. Catalyst 9100 access points are based on the 802.11ax standard, known as Wi-Fi 6, which is an evolution of the previous 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) standard. As an improvement to 802.11ac, Wi-Fi 6 is able to use both the 2.4-Ghz and 5-GHz radio bands. Headline technologies supported by Cisco Catalyst 9100 Series APs include OFDMA scheduling for high density deployments, dual NAVs for better reliability, Target Wake Time for conserving power consumption in battery-powered endpoints, adaptive power thresholds for better spectrum utilization, and dynamic fragmentation for reduced overhead. All Cisco Catalyst 9100 wireless APs can run Cisco's Embedded Wireless Controller, accommodate as many as 200 client users per radio, and run on Cisco IOS XE Software. To find out more about Progent's consulting services for Cisco's Catalyst 9100 Family of Wireless APs, see 802.11ax access points system planning, configuration, and management consulting.
Cisco 9800 Series Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Controllers
Catalyst 9800 Series Wi-Fi 6-supported wireless LAN controllers help you manage modern wireless environments that support 802.11ax access points. The 802.11ax standard, referred to as Wi-Fi 6, builds on previous generation 802.11ac (referred to as Wi-Fi 5) devices by providing less latency and more reliable performance, supporting higher client density, providing enhanced protection, conserving energy for battery-dependent handheld devices, and allowing more versatility for supporting the latest kinds of Internet-of-Things endpoints. Cisco's Catalyst 9800 Series wireless controllers include high availability with transparent software updates, hot fixes, and the ability to connect additional APs without downtime. Advanced security technologies include Cisco Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS), image signing, and Software-Defined Access (SD-Access). Streaming telemetry allows you to monitor and analyze infrastructure and endpoint health.
All controllers in the Catalyst 9800 line are based on Cisco's IOS XE Software and operate with Cisco's DNA Center (DNAC) or Cisco Prime Infrastructure network management tools. Catalyst 9800 Series wireless LAN controllers can manage Cisco Aironet 802.11ac Wave 1 and Wave 2 APs concurrently with Catalyst 9100 Series Wi-Fi 6 wireless APs. To find out more about Progent's support for Cisco 9800 line of Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Controllers, refer to Catalyst 9800 Series Wi-Fi 6 wireless controllers system design, configuration, and management consulting.
Cisco Wi-Fi 5 Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco Wave 2 Wi-Fi controllers enable realtime communication, deployment, administration, analysis and debugging for Cisco Wi-Fi devices and services. Cisco has developed both physical and virtual Wi-Fi controllers for centralized management of WiFi networks, but networks with many wireless access points are better served by physical Wi-Fi controllers. Current generation Wi-Fi controller devices from Cisco deliver major benefits over Wave 1 and earlier models including greater throughput, simultaneous support for both 1G and 10G Ethernet, improved application visibility and control (AVC), and advanced, integrated security.
Cisco's 3504 WiFi Controller is an entry-level device available in a desktop form factor and intended for small and medium-sized organizations. You can install the 3504 model in a centralized network environment such as in lean branch and remote offices administered across the WAN with FlexConnect, or in bridge installations where wiring is sparse. The 3504 wireless controller can handle as many as 150 wireless APs and 3,000 users, delivers 4 Gbps performance, and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. Cisco's 3504 wireless controller includes a multi-gigabit Ethernet port (up to 5 Gigabit Ethernet) and four 1-Gigabit Ethernet ports. Access points can be attached directly to the controller via two PoE ports. The 3504 wireless controller offers fast failover for access points and users, which provides high availability for applications. As with other Wave 2 wireless controllers available from Cisco, the 3504 device has the integrated ability to communicate with Cisco Prime Infrastructure, Cisco Mobility Services, and Cisco 5520 and 8540 wireless controllers.
The Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller, offered in a 1 rack unit (RU) enclosure, is designed to support midsize to large organizations and campus environments and can be run in centralized, distributed, and mesh architectures. The 5520 Wi-Fi controller can handle as many as 1,500 APs and 20,000 users, delivers 20 Gbps throughput, and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 5520 wireless controller features two 10 GE ports and incorporates solid-state storage, redundant fans, optional backup power supplies, and subsecond failover for uninterrupted availability.
Cisco's 8540 Wireless Controller, offered in a 2RU form factor, is a top-of-the-line wireless controller designed to support large enterprises, service providers, and large campus environments. The 8540 Wireless controller can be run in centralized, distributed, and mesh deployments and supports up to 6,000 APs and 64,000 users. The 8540 Wireless controller offers data rates up to 40 Gbps and supports 4,096 VLANs. The 8340 includes four 1-GB or 10GE interfaces and features solid-state storage, dual power supplies, backup fans, and rapid failover.
Wave 1 Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco wireless network controllers reduce the time and cost needed to configure, monitor, and troubleshoot wireless networks by centralizing control of critical functions like provisioning wireless access points, applying single-point policies across wired/wireless networks, supporting enterprise-wide Quality of Service (QoS) for IP voice and HD video, tracking and optimizing system health, activating security capabilities to defend against unauthorized access and Distributed Denial of Service attacks, and handling IPv6 clients. Cisco has designed wireless network controllers for businesses of any size and can provide standalone desktop appliances, modular add-on controllers for Cisco routers and switches, and Catalyst switches with built-in wireless controllers.
Cisco's Wave 1 WiFi 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 protection. Integrated Apple Bonjour Gateways allow discovery across the enterprise for Apple applications. For fault tolerance, Cisco wireless controllers allow wireless access point and client stateful failover by enabling a standby high-availability wireless controller to synchronize with a main wireless controller for AP license count, CAPWAP state and roaming keys, and AP CAPWAP state. If the primary controller fails, thousands of wireless access points and clients can failover in less than a second to the secondary wireless LAN controller.
Cisco's Wireless Controller Module for ISR Routers with UCS-E provides basic 802.11n and 802.11ac support for Cisco 2900 and 3900 routers deployed by smaller businesses and satellite offices. This affordable and scalable module can support from five to 200 wireless access points and up to 6000 wireless clients. (To learn about Progent's online and onsite consulting and troubleshooting support services for Cisco routers, see Cisco router deployment and management consulting.)
Catalyst 3650 Series are 1RU switches intended for SMBs and branches and have a built-in wireless network controller with the capability to handle 40 Gb of wireless throughput per switch and up to 25 APs and 1000 wireless clients on each switch. Catalyst 3850 Series are 1RU switches designed for mid-size and large organizations and include a built-in wireless controller supporting up to 40 Gb of wireless capacity on each switch and support for up to 50 access points and 2000 wireless clients. The WiSM2 is a plug-in blade for Catalyst 6500 Series switches that include an integrated wireless network controller intended for mid-to-large size enterprises and capable of 20 Gbps throughput and with support for 1000 APs and up to 15,000 wireless clients. (To learn concerning Progent's consulting services for Cisco switches, see Cisco switches configuration and troubleshooting consulting.)
Cisco 2500 Series Wireless Controllers are economical desktop units that streamline the deployment and operation of Wi-Fi LANs for small and midsize businesses and branches. The 2500 Series wireless controller supports 5 to 75 APs and up to 1000 clients and offers throughput of 1 Gbps.
The Cisco 5500 Wireless Controller is an expandable 1RU unit intended for mid-to-large sized organizations and campus environments and can support up to 500 APs and 7,000 wireless clients while providing 8 Gbps performance. The Cisco 5760 Series Wireless Controller is a 1RU appliance intended for mid-to-large campus environments with the ability to manage up to 1000 APs and 12,000 clients and providing throughput of 60 Gbps to accommodate high wireless client densities and high usage of video-intensive applications.
The Cisco Flex 7500 Series Wireless Controller is designed to enable centralized management of massive collections of wireless remote sites from a single datacenter, eliminating the need for a wireless controller at each branch. The 1RU rackmount Flex 7500 allows you to build a private cloud to deploy, monitor, manage, and repair as many as 6000 APs and 64,000 wireless clients while handling 1 Gbps throughput. The Cisco 8500 Wireless Controller is a 1RU rackmount appliance designed to monitor and manage Wi-Fi environments for large campuses or for service providers and can be expanded to handle up to 6000 access points and up to 64,000 clients while delivering 10 Gbps throughput.
To learn more about Cisco wireless controllers, visit Cisco Wi-Fi controllers consulting and integration.
Legacy Cisco Wireless Access Points, LAN Bridges and Wi-Fi Controllers Supported by Progent
The IEEE 802.11ac specification for wireless connectivity largely made obsolete all earlier releases of Wi-Fi products for many venues that support high numbers of clients and high incidence of video-intensive software applications. Even for businesses who do not currently require the bandwidth efficiency of 802.11ac, many of Cisco wireless devices have reached end-of-life status, which can present serious service and regulatory compliance problems. Progent's Cisco-certified consulting experts provide remote and on-premises support for a wide array of older-generation Cisco wireless products. Progent can also help organizations to assess the financial justification for updating legacy wireless technology and can help in planning and executing affordable, seamless migrations. Below are a few of Cisco older-generation Wi-Fi devices that Progent's consultants still support.
Legacy Cisco Aironet APs
Aironet 1000/1130AG family APs are intended for conventional workplaces and similar sites which have little environmental variability. These products have built-in antennas that offer dependable omnidirectional range patterns. The Cisco Aironet 1130G family WAP is available for regulated domains that do not allow 5GHz operation.
Aironet 1230AG or 1240AG family wireless access points are designed for more difficult radio frequency environments such as factories and warehouses or above suspended ceilings which commonly call for adjustable external antennas and rugged metal cases. The Aironet 1240G family wireless access point is intended for restricted domains that do not allow 802.11a operation.
Cisco Aironet 1500 lightweight outdoor wireless mesh LAN access points deliver an affordable, scalable, secure outdoor wireless solution for campus areas and for public venues that require access for mobile phones or computers.
Legacy Cisco Wireless Bridges
Cisco Aironet wireless LAN bridges provide a high-performance and feature-rich solution for integrating numerous LANs in a metro area or public wireless environment. Cisco bridges offer a flexible, manageable solution that satisfies the protection demands of WAN professionals. These devices support both PTP and P2MP implementations with good range and support for data rates up to 54 Mbps.
Cisco wireless bridges offer throughput dramatically faster than E1/T1 lines for a fraction of the expense, avoiding the necessity of expensive leased lines when connecting different buildings. Because bridges require no periodic charges, the expenses saved on connection bills rapidly pay for the initial hardware costs. Self-installed private lines and even leased lines made of copper or optical cable often require considerable startup expenses in cases where they are impeded by obstacles such as freeways, railroads, or bodies of water. Cisco Aironet wireless LAN bridges can be deployed quickly an offer a fast ROI.
Cisco 1300 Series outside access points/bridges can be deployed as independent access points, wireless bridges, or workgroup bridges. These devices have a durable enclosure and offer high-speed, cost-effective wireless connectivity between numerous fixed or mobile networks and clients.
Aironet 1400 Series wireless bridges provide high-performance, reliable outdoor wireless bridging for LOS environments. These devices include an all-weather enclosure that can withstand severe outside environments and function within broad temperature ranges.
Legacy Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco WLAN Controllers provide single-point management of wireless LANs by streamlining the handling of common functions including integrated intrusion prevention system (IPS), fast RF management, automatic deployment, and full N+1 redundancy. Cisco Wireless controllers operate with lightweight wireless access points to deliver enhanced performance and high-end administration functions.
Cisco WLAN Controllers (WLCs) offer the control, scalability, protection, and resilience that IT managers need to create secure, large-scale wireless environments, from satellite locations to small businesses to main campuses. Cisco's first-generation Wireless Controllers can be configured together to provide support for as many as 2400 WAPs for each roaming domain.
The Cisco WLCM or WLCM-E Module for IS Routers offers small-to mid-size businesses and large corporations an affordable solution to implement and manage secure wireless LANs at branch offices. These controllers manage up to twelve Cisco Aironet wireless access points and are installable in Cisco 2800/3800 Series Routers and 3700 Series Integrated Services Routers. (For information concerning Progent's online and onsite consulting support for Cisco routers, see Cisco router configuration and management support.)
How Progent Can Help You with Cisco Wireless Devices
Progent can provide access to a Cisco-certified expert to assist you to design, install, maintain and repair a converged wired/wireless environment integrating a wide range of wireless technologies that provide the same security, extensibility, and manageability you demand from your wired network. Progent can help you to maintain early-generation wireless products from Cisco or upgrade seamlessly to the latest 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 technology. Progent's CISM and CISSP security consultants can advise you about how to design protection into your wireless network and into your business processes. Progent's disaster recovery consultants and business continuity consultants can show you how to set up the high availability (HA) features incorporated into Cisco's wired/wireless products so your converged network delivers significant return on investment.
Progent’s Wireless Site Survey helps you to design and implement a state-of-the-art wireless network customized for your facilities, offering a Wi-Fi ecosystem that delivers comprehensive coverage, high speed and density, Quality of Service to handle IP voice and video, advanced security, and streamlined management. Progent's Wireless Site Survey can be delivered online to reduce time and expense, or onsite to deal with more complex facilities.
For a more in-depth discussion of Progent's wireless consulting capabilities, see Progent's Wireless Consulting.
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