Unified Wireless Networking
In many cases scalability and density become critical performance metrics of a wireless environment. Unleash the power of thought by giving employees the tools to communicate and collaborate anywhere at any time. Cisco's best-of-breed 802.11n wireless network integrates with the power of the wired network to deliver a truly borderless mobility experience.
As the leader in 802.11n technology, Cisco was the first vendor with an enterprise-class WiFi-certified 802.11n product and led the industry toward IEEE ratification of the standard in September 2009.
Why Cisco for 802.11n? Because Cisco:
- Has a long heritage of continuous innovation, delivering features that improve mixed-client environment performance and allow you to migrate to 802.11n at your own pace.
- Provides industry-leading wireless performance--up to 169 percent faster than wireless from other vendors.
- Delivers the industry's most flexible and scalable architecture, which seamlessly integrates with the existing wired network topology to deliver a simple-to-manage end-to-end solution.
- Eases your adoption with Wireless LAN services.
Today’s wireless solutions comprise four key components in your network: Access Points and Client Devices, Wireless LAN Controllers, Wireless Network Management, and Mobility Services.
Cisco Wireless Access Points (AP)
Cisco Aironet access points connect Wi-Fi devices to networks in a variety of wireless environments. Cisco Next-Generation Wireless solutions use 802.11n technology to deliver unprecedented reliability and up to nine times the throughput of 802.11a/b/g networks.
These access points support comprehensive connectivity for both indoor and outdoor environments, and are Wi-Fi certified for interoperability with a variety of client devices. Certain access points may be configured to support the OfficeExtend solution for secure mobile teleworking or Enterprise Wireless Mesh to extend connectivity for hard-to-wire environments.
Lightweight access points operate with Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers to address the security, deployment, management, and control issues facing large-scale enterprise WLANs. Standalone access points are ideal for simple overlay networks.
As primary elements of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, Aironet access points offer comprehensive capabilities, including:
• Wireless voice over IP (VOIP)
• Guest access
• Wireless intrusion detection and intrusion prevention
• Scalable Layer 3 roaming
• Location services
Cisco Access Points are available in several models to suite the right coverage and density need for any environment.
- Cisco Aironet 1140 Series AP’s: The Cisco® Aironet® 1140 Series Access Point is a business-ready, 802.11n access point designed for simple deployment and energy efficiency. The high-performance platform, which offers at least six times the throughput of existing 802.11a/g networks, prepares the business for the next wave of mobile devices and applications. Building on the Cisco Aironet heritage of RF excellence, the 1140 Series combines the industry's most widely deployed 802.11n technology with a sleek industrial design that blends seamlessly into any enterprise environment. Designed for sustainability, the 1140 Series delivers high performance from standard 802.3af Power over Ethernet while decreasing waste with multiunit eco-packs and Energy Star certified power supplies. As part of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, the 1140 Series provides the industry's lowest total cost of ownership and investment protection by integrating seamlessly with the existing network.
- Cisco Aironet 1250 Series AP’s: The Cisco® Aironet® 1250 Series is an
enterprise-class 802.11n access point designed for challenging RF environments. A dual-band rugged indoor access point, the 1250 Series supports data rates of up to 600 Mbps to provide users with reliable and predictable coverage for high-bandwidth data, voice, and video applications. As part of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, the 1250 Series provides the industry's lowest total cost of ownership and investment protection by integrating seamlessly with the existing network. - Cisco Aironet 1520 Series Outdoor AP’s: The Cisco Aironet® 1520 Series Lightweight Outdoor Access Points are a flexible, secure, and scalable mesh
platform that is designed for deployments across large metropolitan-sized areas. As part of the Cisco Unified Network architecture, the wireless mesh can be seamlessly deployed as an extension of wired and wireless networks, with central management through controllers and the Cisco Wireless Control System. The unified architecture centralizes critical functions of the wireless LAN to provide scalable management, advanced security, seamless mobility, and proven reliability. With maximum ratio combining (MRC) technology, the access points provide greater access range for consumer-grade client devices throughout the wireless mesh network. Rugged enclosures allow deployment in extreme weather and hazardous environments, and can be painted to adapt to local aesthetics. The Cisco Aironet 1520 Series includes the Cisco Aironet 1522 and Cisco Aironet 1524SB and 1524PS Lightweight Outdoor Mesh Access Points.
Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco has a variety of lightweight wireless access point controllers for every type of environment.
Cisco 5500 Series Wireless LAN Controllers
The Cisco® 5500 Series Wireless Controller is a highly scalable and flexible platform that enables system-wide services for mission-critical wireless in medium to large-sized enterprises and campus environments. Designed for 802.11n performance and maximum scalability, the 5500 Series offers enhanced uptime with the ability to simultaneously manage 250 access points; superior performance for reliable streaming video and toll quality voice; and improved fault recovery for a consistent mobility experience in the most demanding environments.
Designed for next-generation wireless networking, the 5500 Series:
• Offers improved mobility
• Prepares businesses for the newest mobile devices and applications
• Supports a higher client density than other wireless LAN controllers
• Delivers more efficient roaming, with at least nine times the throughput of existing 802.11a/g networks
Cisco 4400 Series Wireless LAN Controllers
Because the Cisco 4400 Series Wireless LAN Controller supports 802.11a/b/g and the IEEE 802.11n draft 2.0 standard, organizations can deploy the solution that best meets their individual requirements. Organizations can offer robust coverage with 802.11 a/b/g or deliver greater performance with 5x the throughput and unprecedented reliability using 802.11n and Cisco's Next-Generation Wireless Solutions and Cisco Enterprise Wireless Mesh.
The Cisco 4400 Series Wireless LAN Controller is available in two models. The Cisco 4402 Wireless LAN Controller with two 1 GB Ethernet ports comes in configurations that support 12, 25, and 50 access points. The Cisco 4404 Wireless LAN Controller with four 1 GB Ethernet ports supports 100 access points. The Cisco 4402 controller provides one expansion slot. The Cisco 4404 controller provides two expansion slots that can be used to add VPN termination today, as well as enhanced functionality in the future. In addition, each Cisco 4400 WLAN Controller supports an optional redundant power supply to ensure maximum availability.
Cisco 2100 Series Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco® Wireless LAN Controllers work in conjunction with Cisco Aironet access points and the Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS) to provide system-wide wireless LAN functions. As a component of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, the Cisco 2100 Series enables administrators to securely manage WLANs and mobility services, such as enhanced security, voice, guest access, and location services.
Cisco 2100 Series Wireless LAN Controllers (Figure 1) supports up to 6, 12, or 25 access points, making it a cost-effective solution for retail, enterprise branches, and small and medium-sized businesses. These controllers come with eight Ethernet ports, two of which can provide power directly to Cisco lightweight access points.
Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Wireless Services Module (WiSM)
The Cisco WiSM is a member of the Cisco Wireless LAN Controller family. It works in conjunction with Cisco Aironet access points, the Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS) and the Cisco Wireless Location Appliance to support mission-critical wireless data, voice, and video applications. It provides real-time communication between access points and other WLAN controllers to deliver a secure, end-to-end wireless solution.
The Cisco WiSM smoothly integrates into existing Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series and Cisco 7600 Series networks. It communicates using the emerging Lightweight Access Point Protocol (LWAPP) standard to establish secure connectivity between access points and modules across Layer 3 networks. This protocol enables the automation of important WLAN configuration and management functions for cost-effective operations. With this integrated approach to large-scale wireless networking, customers can realize significant total cost of ownership benefits by streamlining support costs and reducing planned and unplanned network downtime.
Because the Cisco WiSM supports 802.11a/b/g and the IEEE 802.11n draft 2.0 standards, organizations can deploy the solution that best meets their individual requirements. Organizations can offer robust coverage with 802.11 a/b/g or deliver greater performance with five times the throughput and unprecedented reliability using 802.11n as part of an enterprise or service provider wireless solution.
The Cisco WiSM scales to deliver secure wireless access, with clustering capabilities of up to 7200 access points per roaming domain. It scales to 300 access points per module with support for 10,000+ wireless client devices. For even greater scalability, the Cisco WiSM can be deployed in conjunction with other Cisco wireless LAN controllers
Cisco Catalyst 3750G Integrated Wireless LAN Controller
The Cisco Catalyst 3750G Integrated Wireless LAN Controller includes the following configurations:
• The Cisco Catalyst WS-C3750G-24WS-S25, with 24 10/100/1000 PoE ports, 2 SFP module slots, and an integrated Cisco wireless LAN controller supporting up to 25 Cisco Access Points
• The Cisco Catalyst WS-C3750G-24WS-S50, with 24 10/100/1000 PoE ports, 2 SFP module slots, and an integrated Cisco wireless LAN controller supporting up to 50 Cisco Access Points
The Cisco Catalyst 3750G Integrated Wireless LAN Controller delivers secure, enterprise wireless access to midsize organizations and enterprise branch offices requiring support for 50 to 200 access points in one logical unit. A logical unit is a stack of up to nine 3750G switches. For example, a logical unit can consist of four Cisco Catalyst 3750G Integrated Wireless LAN Controllers and five Catalyst 3750G switches, thus supporting up to 200 access points. Cisco Aironet access points can connect to any switch port in the logical unit.
The Cisco Catalyst 3750G Integrated Wireless LAN Controller delivers centralized security policies, wireless intrusion prevention system (IPS) capabilities, award-winning RF management, QoS, and Layer 3 fast secure roaming for WLANs. As a core component of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, the Cisco Catalyst 3750G Integrated Wireless LAN Controller provides the control, security, redundancy, and reliability that network managers need to scale and manage their wireless networks as easily as they scale and manage their traditional wired networks.
The Cisco Catalyst 3750G Integrated Wireless LAN Controller is available with the Cisco IOS® Software IP Base image. The IP Base image feature set includes advanced quality of service (QoS), rate limiting, access control lists (ACLs), Routing Information Protocol (RIP) routing capability, and an Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) stub for routing at the access layer. The Cisco IOS Software IP Services image and Advanced IP Services image are also available. The IP Services image provides a richer set of enterprise-class features, including advanced hardware-based IP unicast and multicast routing; the Advanced IP Services image provides IPv6 routing (Layer 3 switching).
The Cisco Catalyst 3750G Integrated Wireless LAN Controller communicates using the emerging Lightweight Access Point Protocol (LWAPP) standard to establish secure connectivity between access points and modules across Layer 3 networks. This protocol enables the automation of important WLAN configuration and management functions for cost-effective WLAN operations. With this integrated approach to wireless networking, customers can realize significant total cost of ownership benefits by streamlining support costs and reducing planned and unplanned network downtime.
The Cisco Catalyst 3750G Integrated Wireless LAN Controller is a member of the Cisco Wireless LAN Controller family. It works in conjunction with Cisco Aironet® access points, the Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS), and the Cisco Wireless Location Appliance to support mission-critical wireless data, voice, and video applications. It provides real-time communication between controller-based access points and other wireless LAN controllers to deliver a secure and unified wireless solution.
Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Modules for Integrated Service Modules
Cisco® Wireless LAN Controller Modules (WLCMs), shown in Figure 1, supported on the Cisco Integrated Services Routers (ISR), provide an easy to deploy, cost-effective branch office or Small to Medium Business wireless solution. As a component of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, the Cisco WLCMs give network administrators the visibility and control necessary to effectively and securely manage business-class wireless LANs and mobility services, such as enhanced security, voice, guest access, and context aware mobility or location services. WLCMs work in conjunction with Cisco lightweight access points and the Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS) to provide centralized wireless LAN management and monitoring.
Cisco is delivering higher scalability for the WLCMs. The modules manage 6, 12 or 25 Cisco Aironet® lightweight access points and are supported on Cisco 2800, 2900 and 3800, 3900 Series Integrated Services Routers.
Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS)
Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS) is the industry's most comprehensive management platform for lifecycle management of 802.11n and 802.11a/b/g, enterprise-class wireless networks. This robust management platform delivers a cost-effective management solution that enables IT administrators to successfully plan, deploy, monitor, troubleshoot, and report on indoor and outdoor wireless networks.
As the management platform for the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, Cisco WCS supports the delivery of high-performance applications and mission-critical solutions that simplify business operations and improve productivity. This comprehensive platform scales to meet the needs of small, midsize, and large-scale wireless LANs across local, remote, national, and international locations. This award-winning solution gives IT managers immediate access to the tools they need, when they need them, to more efficiently implement and maintain new or expanding wireless LANs -all from a centralized location requiring minimal IT staffing.
Operational costs are significantly reduced through the Cisco WCS intuitive GUI, simplified ease-of-use, and built-in tools that deliver improved IT efficiency, lowered IT training costs, and minimized IT staffing requirements, even as the network grows. Unlike overlay management tools, Cisco WCS lowers operational costs by incorporating the full breadth of management requirements―from radio frequency to controllers to services―into a single unified platform.