Cisco has developed a comprehensive portfolio of wireless networking products and software tools that provide continual connections to information and resources and to promote teamwork among workers, associates, suppliers, and customers. Cisco's wireless offerings include Cisco's Small Business, Aironet and Meraki series of access points, as well as Cisco's Wireless Network Controller plug-ins and standalone devices. Progent's Cisco-certified wireless experts can help businesses of all sizes to deploy Cisco wireless technology to accommodate the new paradigm of Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) computing by converging their wired and wireless ecosystems to benefit from simplified configuration, consistent and fast throughput, centralized management, enterprise-wide policy, high availability (HA), and across-the-board security.
The Cisco Unified Wireless Network solution can scale to as many as 18,000 APs with full Layer 3 connectivity across central or offsite venues such as business campuses, college lecture halls, branches, and home offices. Cisco's 802.11x APs and controllers are components of Cisco's Unified Wireless Network and are designed to support the identical degree of security, performance, and manageability for wireless LANs that businesses demand in their wired networks. This technology includes integrated mobile services such as IP voice, HD video, and safe guest connectivity. Cisco's Unified Wireless technology allows organizations to build Wi-Fi ecosystems that streamline the way they work and improve productivity through a dynamic and collaborative employee base.
Progent's Cisco CCIE network consultants offers remote or on-premises expertise to assist you to plan, deploy, maintain, upgrade, and troubleshoot converged wired/wireless network infrastructure of any size and for any environment. Also, Progent offers value-priced remote and on-premises wireless site surveys to help you to design and install a Wi-Fi network with customized wireless access point clustering optimized for your individual work area layout, building characteristics, and application workloads.
Cisco Small Business, Aironet, Meraki and Catalyst Wireless Access Points (APs)
Cisco's Small Business, Aironet, Meraki and Catalyst families of access points enable you to converge wired and wireless networks to deliver the accessibility, density, throughput, security and ease of management needed to support virtually any scenario. Cisco's wireless access points start at bare bones, single-radio 802.11b/g/n units with data rates of 300 Mb designed for very small businesses or telecommuters to Wi-Fi 6 APs suitable for supporting hundreds of clients on each AP and delivering data rates in excess of 5 Gigabits per second. Cisco's current selection of APs can be clustered to provide the capacity to handle environments crowded with clients and with high usage rates of video-intense application software.
Small Business Series of Wireless Access Points
Cisco's Small Business 100, 300 and 500 Series of APs are Linux-powered devices intended as value-priced wireless APs for light workloads. Many models in the Cisco Small Business portfolio of wireless access points work with Cisco's Single Point Setup technology, which allows you to configure, manage and troubleshoot a cluster of wireless access points from one device through a simple web browser tool. All models support Power over Ethernet (POE) and feature QoS, rogue access point awareness, and bridge mode for wirelessly connecting to a second network.
Cisco's Small Business WAP121 Wireless-N AP is a wall-mountable, single-radio 2.4GHz unit that can handle 16 802.11b/g/n clients, has a Fast Ethernet port, permits up to four AP devices and 40 active clients per cluster, and supports sustained throughput of up to 300 Mbps. Cisco's Small Business WAP131 is a desktop dual-band 2.4/5 GHz 802.11a/b/g/n AP that can handle 16 active clients on each radio for a total of up to 32 wireless clients, features a Gigabit Ethernet LAN interface, and can support sustained data rates of up to 300 Mbps per radio. The WAP131 Wireless-N does not support AP clustering. Cisco's WAP150 is a general-purpose dual-radio 802.11ac/n access point that features a one Gbit Power over Ethernet port and can handle 16 clients per radio with 867 Mbps throughput for 802.11ac clients and 300 Mbps for 802.11n devices. The Cisco Small Business WAP150 allows four APs for each cluster.
The Cisco Small Business WAP321 model is a wall-mountable selectable-band (2.4 or 5 GHz) 802.11n unit with support for 80 wireless clients sharing an 8-AP cluster. The WAP321 has a 10/100/1000 Ethernet port and can support a sustained data rate of 300 Mbps for the selected radio. Cisco's WAP351 is a dual-radio 802.11n access point with a 5-port Gigabit Ethernet interface 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 per radio. The WAP351 does not support clustering. Cisco's WAP361 is a dual-band Wireless-AC/N access point that includes a 5-port Gigabit Ethernet switch, allows 32 clients on each radio, and delivers 867 Mbps performance for 802.11ac devices and 300 Mbps for 802.11n clients. The Cisco WAP361 supports 8 WAP361 access points per cluster. Cisco's wall-mountable WAP371 Wireless-AC/N is a dual-band AP that works with 802.11n and the latest 802.11ac IEEE specification. The WAP371 includes a Gigabit Ethernet port, can support as many as 32 active clients per radio, and eight access points for each cluster.
The Cisco WAP561 802.11n Dual Radio AP includes one Gigabit Ethernet port and two concurrent radios (2.4 and 5.0 GHz) that deliver 450 Mbps performance per radio, support 64 clients for each radio, and allow up to 16 wireless access points for each cluster. The Cisco WAP551 is like Cisco's WAP 561 but has a single radio selectable band. Cisco's WAP571 and WAP571E (the weather-proof outside model) are dual-band 802.11ac Wave 1 APs that feature 2 x GE ports with link aggregation, and up to 1.9 Gigabit/sec throughput with 1300 Mbps over 11ac and 600 Mbps on 11n. Both access points support 32 clients on each radio and 16 access points per cluster.
The Cisco Small Business WAP581 Wireless-AC Wave 2 AP complies with the 802.11ac specification and offers 4x4 and 3x3 MU-MIMO technology to deliver 2.8 Gbps data rates at 5 GHz and 600 Mbps at 2.4 GHz for a total top throughput of 2.4 Gbps. The Small Business WAP581 includes an integrated 2.5G Ethernet interface and a 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN interface with 802.3at Power over Ethernet (PoE). Cisco's WAP581 Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 access point supports up to 200 connective client users, a maximum of 50 active users per radio, 16 APs for each cluster, and 960 active users per cluster.
To find out more about Progent's consulting services for current and legacy Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 family of WiFi APs, refer to Cisco Small Business wireless access points planning and support.
Cisco's Aironet Family of Wireless Access Points
The Aironet family of indoor and outdoor wireless access points has for years been the top-selling AP product. Aironet APs range from value priced devices to enterprise-class APs. The Aironet series span several generations of models compliant with the evolving 802.11x Wi-Fi standard. Cisco's current portfolio of Aironet APs work with Cisco's Unified Wireless Network software and include 802.11ac Wi-Fi support, which offers three times the speed plus superior distance and user density compared to the prior generation of devices. Cisco's current dual-frequency Aironet APs continue to handle 802.11n at 2.4 GHz for client devices without 802.11ac radios.
The earliest Aironet access points are now outdated units that have come to end-of-sale status and are no longer fully supported by Cisco. Progent continues to provide technical support for the entire Aironet family of wireless access points and can assist you to maintain your existing Aironet wireless system or upgrade cost effectively to the latest Aironet technology. For more information about Progent's consulting services for current and legacy Aironet wireless access points, refer to Cisco Aironet APs system design and troubleshooting.
Cisco's Meraki Access Points
Cisco's family of Meraki dual-band indoor APs include budget-friendly devices for small businesses to enterprise-class units that offer up to 5.9 Gbit/sec throughput. Each Cisco Meraki indoor access point provides next-generation capabilities such as self-configuring plug-and-play deployment, in-depth security, BYOD support, built-in analytics, zero-touch over-the-web firmware updates, and consolidated cloud-based management for multiple sites. Each Cisco Meraki indoor wireless access point also includes dual high-power client-serving radios with boosted receive sensitivity as well as a separate radio that offers intrusion detection and prevention system (WIDS/WIPS) security for threat detection and deep packet inspection.
Meraki outdoor wireless access points are IP67 certified, designed to withstand harsh outdoor conditions, and tested to withstand dust, shock and moisture. Meraki outdoor wireless access points include a 1 x Gbit Ethernet port and offer advanced capabilities such as cloud management with multi-site control, 802.1X and native Active Directory integration, built-in antivirus scan (NAC), 1-click secure guest access and isolation firewall, application-aware traffic shaping, plus self-configuring mesh with MIMO and beamforming. For more information about Progent's consulting services for Meraki wireless access points and cloud management, see Meraki APs consulting.
Catalyst 9100 Family of Wi-Fi 6 and W-Fi 6E APs
Cisco's Catalyst 9100 family of Wi-Fi 6/6E APs are designed for environments ranging from telecommuter homes to crowded stadiums. Catalyst 9100 access points are based on the 802.11ax specification, known as Wi-Fi 6, which in turn builds on the preceding 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) standard. As an improvement to 802.11ac, Wi-Fi 6 is designed to use both the 2.4-Ghz and 5-GHz radio bands. Important technologies incorporated in Catalyst 9100 Series access points include OFDMA scheduling for high density deployments, dual NAVs for better reliability, Target Wake Time for reduced power consumption in battery-powered endpoints, adaptive power and sensitivity thresholds for more efficient spectrum utilization, and dynamic fragmentation for reduced overhead. Catalyst 9100 Series 802.11ax APs can run Cisco's EWC, accommodate up to 400 client users per radio, and run on Cisco IOS XE Software.
Cisco's Catalyst 916x Series Wi-Fi 6E access points are the first Cisco access points to feature the versatility to be managed on-prem with Cisco DNA Center or through the cloud using Meraki Dashboard management utilities. This allows organizations to transition to cloud-centric or hybrid management environments on their own timetable. All Catalyst 916x access points comply with the a/b/g/n/ac/ax and 6E wireless specifications and support the 6-GHz band. Each AP includes 5 radios and supports as many as 400 clients on each radio. Each AP model also features a dedicated radio for Cisco CleanAir Pro for reducing wireless interference, has a USB 2.0 port, and supports Bluetooth BLE. The value-priced Catalyst 9162 Series AP is meant for small businesses, incorporates three 2x2 radios, and provides 1x 100M/1000M/2.5G mGig Ethernet connectivity.
The Catalyst 9163E Wi-Fi 6E access point is built to withstand harsh outside venues such as campuses or stadiums. The 9163E includes three client serving 2x2 radios, an IoT radio, and a tri-band scanning radio. Interfaces include 1x 100M/1000M/2.5G Multigigabit Ethernet (RJ-45), a management console port (RJ-45), 4x N-Type Wi-Fi antenna connectors, and an RP-SMA active GPS/GNSS antenna connector. The 9163E supports Omnidirectional Dipole Self-Identifying Antennas. The Catalyst 9164 Series access point is meant for small and mid-size organizations, has one 2x2 radio and two 4x4 radios, and provides 1x 100M/1000M/2.5G mGig Ethernet. The Catalyst 9166 Series access point is intended for large and medium-sized enterprises, includes three 4x4 radios, and offers 1x 100M/1000M/2.5G/5G mGig Ethernet support. The 9166 also comes with environmental sensors that measure air quality, temperature, and moisture. For details about Progent's support for Cisco's Catalyst 9100 Family of Wireless APs, refer to Wi-Fi 6/6E 802.11ax access points system design, configuration, and debugging services.
Cisco 9800 Series Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Controllers
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wi-Fi 6-compatible wireless controllers allow you to automate and manage modern wireless networks that support 802.11ax access points. 802.11ax, popularly known as Wi-Fi 6, builds on previous generation 802.11ac (called Wi-Fi 5) devices by providing less latency and more reliable performance, allowing higher client density, offering enhanced protection, saving energy for battery-powered mobile devices, and allowing more versatility for supporting the latest types of IoT endpoints. Cisco's Catalyst 9800 line Wi-Fi controllers feature high availability with seamless software updates, hot fixes, and the ability to add Wi-Fi access points without disruption of service. Enhanced security features include Cisco Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS), image signing, and Cisco Software-Defined Access. Streaming telemetry permits you to track and understand network and client health.
All appliances in the Catalyst 9800 family 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 LAN controllers can support Cisco Aironet Wi-Fi 5 Wave 1 and Wave 2 Wi-Fi access points as well as Catalyst 9100 Series 802.11ax access points. For details about Progent's consulting services for Cisco 9800 Series Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Controllers, refer to Cisco Catalyst 9800 line of Wi-Fi 6 wireless LAN controller appliances system design, configuration, and management services.
Cisco Wave 2 Wireless Network Controllers
Cisco Wave 2 wireless controllers enable fast communication, provisioning, management, monitoring and troubleshooting for Cisco Wi-Fi devices and services. Cisco has developed both hardware and virtual Wi-Fi controllers for unified administration of wireless networks, but WLANs with a large number of wireless APs typically require hardware-based wireless controllers. Wave 2 Wi-Fi controller appliances from Cisco offer major advantages over Wave 1 and older models including higher throughput, simultaneous support for 1G and 10G Ethernet, improved application visibility and control, and hardened, built-in protection.
The Cisco 3504 Wireless Controller is an entry-level appliance with a desktop body and intended for smaller businesses. You can install the 3504 in a centralized WLAN architecture such as in small branch and remote offices administered across the wide-area network with FlexConnect, or in mesh deployments where wiring is limited. The 3504 Wi-Fi controller supports as many as 150 access points and 3,000 client users, delivers 4 Gbps throughput, and supports 4,096 VLANs. The 3504 WiFi controller features a multi-gigabit Ethernet interface (up to 5 Gigabit Ethernet) and four 1-Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. APs can be connected to the controller via two PoE ports. The 3504 Wi-Fi controller features fast failover for access points and users, which provides uninterrupted availability for applications. Like other Wave 2 wireless controllers from Cisco, the 3504 device has the built-in capability to work with Cisco Prime Infrastructure, Cisco Mobility Services, and Cisco 5520 and 8540 WiFi controllers.
The Cisco 5520 Wireless Controller, available in a 1RU package, is intended to support larger enterprises 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 ports and features solid-state storage, redundant fans, optional redundant power supplies, and subsecond failover for nonstop availability.
The Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller, available in a 2RU form factor, is a top-of-the-line wireless controller intended to support large enterprises, service providers, and large campuses. The 8540 WiFi controller can be used in centralized, distributed, and mesh deployments and can handle up to 6,000 access points and 64,000 users. The 8540 WiFi controller can deliver data rates up to 40 Gbps and supports 4,096 VLANs. The 8540 controller 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 cut the time and cost needed to configure, manage, and operate wireless networks by centralizing control of critical tasks such as provisioning wireless access points, enforcing single-point policies throughout converged wired/wireless networks, supporting enterprise-wide Quality of Service (QoS) for voice and HD video, tracking and optimizing system health, implementing wireless intrusion prevention system (wIPS) tools to guard against unauthorized access and DDoS threats, and handling IPv6 and dual-stack clients. Cisco has developed wireless LAN controllers for businesses of all sizes and offers standalone desktop controllers, modular add-on wireless controllers for Cisco ISR routers and switches, and switches with built-in wireless controllers.
Cisco's Wave 1 wireless LAN controllers incorporate Cisco CleanAir tools to avoid signal interference and produce self-optimizing wireless LANs for top 802.11n and 802.11ac performance and security. Built-in Bonjour Gateways allow discovery, advertisement and policy across WLAN, LAN and WAN for Apple-based applications. For fault tolerance, Cisco wireless network controllers support wireless access point and client stateful failover by enabling a backup HA controller to synch with a primary wireless controller for access point license tabulation, CAPWAP keys, and access point CAPWAP state. In case the primary wireless controller stops working, thousands of wireless access points and wireless clients can failover at subsecond speeds to the secondary controller.
Cisco's Wireless Module for ISR G2 Routers with UCS-E provides basic 802.11n and 802.11ac capability for Cisco 2900 and 3900 routers used by small to medium-sized businesses and satellite offices. This affordable and scalable solution can support from five to 200 wireless access points and up to 6000 wireless clients. (To find out about Progent's online and onsite consulting and troubleshooting support services for Cisco routers, refer to Cisco router configuration and troubleshooting consulting.)
Catalyst 3650 Series are 1RU switches intended for small to mid-size businesses and branches and have a built-in wireless LAN controller with the capability to handle up to 40 Gb of wireless capacity per switch and 25 access points and 1000 clients per switch. Catalyst 3850 Series are 1RU switches designed for midsize businesses and large enterprises and feature a built-in wireless controller supporting 40 Gb of wireless capacity on each switch and support for 50 APs and 2000 clients. The Wireless Services Module2 (WiSM2) is an add-in blade for Catalyst 6500 Series switches that include a built-in wireless controller intended for mid-to-large size businesses and capable of 20 Gbps performance and able to handle up to 1000 wireless access points and as many as 15,000 wireless clients. (To find out concerning Progent's support for Cisco Catalyst switches, refer to Catalyst switches deployment and troubleshooting consulting.)
Cisco 2500 Wireless Controllers are economical desktop units that simplify the deployment and management of wireless LANs for small and midsize businesses and satellite offices. The Cisco 2500 Series wireless network controller can handle from five to 75 wireless access points and 1000 wireless clients and can deliver sustained performance of 1 Gbps.
Cisco's 5500 Series Wireless Controller is an expandable 1RU unit intended for medium-sized to large businesses and campuses and can manage up to 500 wireless access points and 7,000 wireless clients while providing 8 Gbps performance. Cisco's 5760 Wireless Controller is a 1RU device intended 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 wireless client densities and high usage of video-intensive applications.
The Cisco Flex 7500 Wireless Controller is intended to enable centralized management of thousands of wireless branches from one datacenter, avoiding the need for a wireless controller at each remote site. The 1RU rackmount Flex 7500 appliance lets you establish a private cloud to deploy, monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot up to 6000 wireless access points and up to 64,000 clients while handling 1 Gbps performance. Cisco's 8500 Wireless Controller is a 1RU rackmount appliance engineered to monitor and control Wi-Fi networks for large campuses or for service providers and can be expanded to handle up to 6000 wireless points and up to 64,000 wireless clients while delivering 10 Gbps performance.
To find out more about Cisco WiFi controllers, visit Cisco wireless controllers consulting services.
Legacy Cisco Wireless Access Points, Bridges and Wireless Controllers Supported by Progent
The introduction of the IEEE 802.11ac standard for wireless connectivity largely made obsolete all earlier generations of Wi-Fi devices for many environments that support high densities of wireless clients and high usage of video-intensive applications. Even for businesses who do not currently need the bandwidth efficiency of 802.11ac Wi-Fi, many of Cisco wireless devices have arrived at end-of-sale or end-of-support status, which can present serious service and regulatory compliance problems. Progent's Cisco-certified consultants provide remote and on-premises support for a broad array of older-generation wireless products from Cisco. Progent can in addition assist companies to assess the potential ROI for updating up-of-date wireless technology and can assist in designing and carrying out cost-effective, non-disruptive migrations. Below are a few of Cisco legacy Wi-Fi products that Progent's consultants still support.
Legacy Cisco Aironet APs
Aironet 1000 or 1130AG Series APs are designed for conventional workplaces and other locations which have little environmental instability. These products include integrated antennas that offer dependable omnidirectional range profiles. The Cisco Aironet 1130G Series WAP is designed for regulated domains that do not allow 802.11a/5GHz operation.
Aironet 1230AG/1240AG Series APs are designed for more challenging RF situations like factories and warehouses or above ceiling structures which commonly call for adjustable external antennas and ruggedized cases. The Aironet 1240G family wireless access point is designed for restricted locations that do not permit 802.11a transmission.
Cisco Aironet 1500 lightweight outdoor wireless mesh APs provide an economical, scalable, secure outdoor wireless network technology for campus areas and for public sites that require connectivity for portable phones or computers.
Legacy Cisco Aironet Wireless LAN Bridges
Cisco Aironet wireless bridges offer a high-throughput and multi-featured solution for integrating multiple LANs in a metropolitan situation or public wireless network. Cisco wireless bridges offer a flexible, manageable solution that satisfies the protection demands of WAN specialists. These devices support both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint deployments with excellent coverage and the ability to handle data throughput up to 54 Mbps.
Cisco wireless bridges offer data rates dramatically higher than E1/T1 lines for far less cost, eliminating the need for costly leased lines when linking different offices. Because bridges have no recurring charges, savings on leased-line bills rapidly pay for the startup hardware costs. Private lines and in some cases leased lines using copper or optical cable often require high startup costs when they are impeded by barriers like freeways, train tracks, or bodies of water. Cisco Aironet wireless bridges can be installed rapidly an offer a fast return on investment.
Aironet 1300 family outside access points/bridges can be deployed as independent wireless access points, wireless bridges, or workgroup bridges. These appliances have a tough cover and offer high-speed, economical wireless connectivity between multiple fixed or mobile environments and clients.
Cisco 1400 Series bridges offer fast, dependable outdoor connections for LOS applications. These devices include a durable enclosure that is optimized for harsh outside conditions and function within wide temperature ranges.
Legacy Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco WLAN Controllers provide single-point management of wireless LANs by streamlining the control of key technologies including intrusion prevention, fast RF management, zero touch deployment, and full N+1 redundancy. Wireless Network controllers work with small APs to deliver superior throughput and high-end administration capabilities.
WLAN Controllers (WLCs) provide the control, expandability, security, and fault tolerance that system managers require to create safe, enterprise-scale wireless environments, from satellite offices to small businesses to headquarter campuses. Cisco's first-generation Wireless Controllers can be clustered to provide support for up to 2400 wireless access points for each roaming domain.
The Cisco WLCM or WLCM-E Controller Module for IS Routers offers small-to mid-size businesses and enterprises an economical way to deploy and control secure wireless networks at branch locations. These products supervise up to twelve Cisco wireless access points and are installable in 2800/3800 IS Routers and 3700 IS Routers. (To find out concerning Progent's online and onsite consulting support for Cisco routers, see Cisco router deployment and troubleshooting services.)
How Progent's Engineers Can Help Your Company with Cisco Wireless Solutions
Progent can provide a Cisco-certified consultant to help you to design, install, manage and troubleshoot a converged wired/wireless environment integrating a broad array of wireless devices that provide the identical protection, extensibility, and manageability you demand from your wired environment. Progent can assist you to maintain early-generation wireless products from Cisco or upgrade seamlessly to the latest 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 technology. Progent's CISM, CISSP, and ISSAP security professionals can show you how to build protection into your WLAN and your company's processes. Progent's disaster recovery consultants and business continuity planners can show you how to set up the HA features incorporated into Cisco's wireless and wired products so your converged infrastructure provides non-stop business value.
Progent's Wi-Fi Site Survey assists you to plan and implement a state-of-the-art WLAN customized for your facilities, offering a Wi-Fi solution that provides seamless coverage, high performance and density, Quality of Service to support IP voice and video, advanced security and compliance, and simplified management. Progent's Wi-Fi Site Survey can be delivered remotely to cut time and costs, or onsite to deal with more difficult facilities.
For a more in-depth look at Progent's wireless integration capabilities, see Progent's Wireless Network Consulting.
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