Cisco Wireless Solutions Experts

Cisco wireless controllers simplify the administration of Wi-Fi environments by centralizing the configuration and management of Wi-Fi APs, maximizing Wi-Fi performance by minimizing the effects of RF congestion, improving Wi-Fi uptime with rapid auto-failover, and tightening security by uncovering cyber threats and filtering traffic content based on user type and location.

Cisco Wi-Fi controllers work with Cisco's Prime Infrastructure and DNA Center network management solutions and are able to accommodate up to 6,000 wireless APs and 64,000 users. Cisco's family of wireless controllers are offered at price points and with feature sets suitable for networks that run from small offices to service provider systems, enterprises, and large campus deployments. Cisco's 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 and Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 controllers and Wi-Fi access points are designed to deliver the high standard of protection, speed and robustness that users are accustomed to from their wired environments. Cisco's technology incorporates built-in mobility support such as IP voice, HD video, and secure guest access. Cisco's Prime Infrastructure and DNAC platforms allow organizations to implement systems that integrate wired and Wi-Fi networks into a centrally managed ecosystem that delivers a consistent and productive user experience.

Progent's seasoned wireless experts can help your organization to assess the business benefits of deploying Cisco wireless controllers to manage wireless networks of any scale. Progent can help you to support and debug your current Cisco-based wireless solution or help you to plan and implement a smooth migration from earlier generation wireless controllers to current models to get improved performance and protection and to streamline management.

Progent's Cisco-certified network consultants offer affordable remote consulting and support services across the U.S. to assist businesses to build and refine Wi-Fi solutions. Progent also offers on-premises consulting in major metropolitan areas across the United States and in Toronto, Canada. In addition, Progent can provide online predictive and on-premises Wireless Site Surveys to help your company to plan a Wi-Fi network with access points placed and configured optimally for your particular site layout, application workloads, and user density.

Cisco 9800 Series Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Controllers
Cisco Catalyst 9800 line of Wi-Fi 6-supported wireless LAN controllers allow you to automate and manage advanced wireless networks that incorporate 802.11ax wireless APs. The 802.11ax standard, popularly known as Wi-Fi 6, builds on previous generation 802.11ac (referred to as Wi-Fi 5) appliances by providing lower latency and more predictable performance, allowing higher client user density, providing greater security, saving energy for battery-dependent mobile devices, and allowing more flexibility for supporting new kinds of Internet-of-Things endpoints. Cisco's Catalyst 9800 family Wi-Fi controllers include high availability with seamless software upgrades, hot patching, and the ability to connect additional wireless APs without service interruption. Advanced security features include Cisco Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS), image signing, and Software-Defined Access. Streaming telemetry allows you to track and analyze network and client health. All devices in the Catalyst 9800 family are based on Cisco's IOS XE Software and work with Cisco's DNA Center (DNAC) or Prime Infrastructure management tools. Cisco's Catalyst 9800 Series wireless LAN controllers can manage Cisco Aironet Wi-Fi 5 Wave 1 and Wave 2 Wi-Fi access points concurrently with Catalyst 9100 Series 802.11ax access points.

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

Cisco's Catalyst 9800-40 802.11ax Wireless Controller, available in a 1RU form factor, is designed for midsize campus deployments. The 9800-40 supports 2,000 APs and 32,000 users. The appliance offers 40 Gbps throughput and supports 4,096 VLANs. Deployment scenarios include Centralized, Cisco FlexConnect, and Fabric Wireless. Integrated ports include four GE SFP/10 GE SFP+ or SFP ports and an SFP Gigabit Ethernet redundancy interface. Other integrated interfaces include RJ-45 and USB 3.0 console interfaces, an RJ-45 service port, an RJ-45 redundancy interface used for SSO, and two USB 3.0 ports for plugging in external memory.

The Cisco Catalyst 9800-80 802.11ax Wireless Controller, available in a 2 rack unit form factor, is an expandable, top-of-the-line Wi-Fi controller designed to support large campus and service provider deployments. The 9800-80 supports 60,00 APs and 64,000 client users. The controller delivers a maximum of 80 Gbps throughput and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. Deployment modes include Centralized, Cisco FlexConnect, and Fabric Wireless (SD-Access). Integrated uplink interfaces include eight 10G SFP+ ports or six 10G ports plus two 1G ports. Available hot swappable uplink modules provide 18 1GE interfaces, 10 10GE interfaces, a 40GE port, two 40GE ports, or a 100GE interface. Other fixed ports include RJ-45 and USB 3.0 console interfaces, an RJ-45 management interface, an SFP Gigabit Ethernet redundancy interface used for stateful switchover, an RJ-45 redundancy interface for stateful switchover (SSO), and two USB 3.0 ports for plugging in external RAM memory.

Cisco Wave 2 802.11ac Wi-Fi 5 Network Controllers
Cisco Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 controllers enable fast communication, provisioning, control, monitoring and debugging for Cisco wireless appliances and software services. Cisco offers both physical and virtual wireless controllers for unified administration of WiFi environments, but systems with a large number of wireless APs typically require physical wireless controllers. Wave 2 Wi-Fi controller appliances from Cisco deliver major benefits over Wave 1 and earlier models such as higher throughput, concurrent support for 1G and 10G interfaces, enhanced application visibility and control (AVC), and hardened, integrated protection.

The Cisco 3504 WiFi Controller is an entry-level device with a desktop form factor and intended for small and medium-sized businesses. You can install the 3504 in a centralized WLAN architecture such as in lean branch and home-based offices managed across the WAN via FlexConnect, or in bridge deployments where wiring is sparse. The 3504 Wi-Fi controller can handle as many as 150 wireless APs and 3,000 users, delivers 4 Gbps performance, and supports 4,096 VLANs. The 3504 controller features a Cisco Multigigabit port (up to 5 Gigabit Ethernet) and four 1-GB Ethernet ports. Access points can be attached directly to the controller through two Power over Ethernet (PoE) ports. The 3504 Wi-Fi controller offers fast failover for APs and clients, which provides high 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 WLAN controllers.

Cisco's 5520 Wireless Controller, offered in a 1RU enclosure, is intended to support midsize to large enterprises and campus networks and can be used in centralized, distributed, and mesh deployments. The 5520 Wi-Fi controller supports up to 1,500 wireless APs and 20,000 clients, delivers 20 Gbps performance, and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 5520 WiFi controller includes two 10 GE ports and incorporates solid-state storage, redundant fans, optional backup power supplies, and subsecond failover for nonstop availability.

The Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller, offered in a 2RU package, is a top-of-the-line wireless controller intended to support large enterprises, service providers, and large campuses. The 8540 Wireless controller can be used in centralized, distributed, and mesh deployments and supports up to 6,000 access points and 64,000 client users. The 8540 WiFi controller can deliver data rates up to 40 Gbps and supports 4,096 VLANs. The 8540 controller includes four 1-GB or 10GE ports and features solid-state storage, dual power supplies, backup fans, and rapid failover.

Wave 1 Cisco Wireless Network Controllers
Cisco wireless network controllers cut the effort and expense required to deploy, manage, and operate wireless networks by centralizing control of tasks such as setting up APs, applying consistent policies across converged wired and wireless networks, supporting enterprise-wide Quality of Service for voice and HD video, tracking and troubleshooting system health, implementing intrusion prevention tools to guard against unauthorized access and DDoS threats, and managing IPv6 and dual-stack clients. Cisco has developed wireless network controllers for businesses of any size and offers standalone desktop appliances, modular add-on wireless controllers for Cisco ISR routers and Catalyst switches, and Catalyst switches with integrated wireless controllers.

Cisco's Wave 1 wireless network controllers include Cisco CleanAir tools to avoid signal interference and create self-optimizing wireless networks for maximum 802.11n and 802.11ac throughput and security. Integrated Bonjour Gateways allow discovery across the enterprise for Apple-based applications. For high availability (HA), Cisco wireless controllers allow AP and client stateful failover by permitting a standby HA wireless controller to synch with a primary controller for access point license tabulation, CAPWAP state and roaming keys, and access point CAPWAP state. In case the primary controller fails, thousands of wireless access points and clients can switchover at subsecond speeds to the backup wireless controller.

Cisco's Wireless Module for ISR Routers with UCS-E provides entry-level 802.11n and 802.11ac support for 2900 and 3900 Series routers deployed by small to medium-sized organizations and branches. This value-priced and scalable solution can handle from five to 200 wireless access points and up to 6000 clients. (For information concerning Progent's online and on-premises consulting support for Cisco routers, refer to Cisco router deployment and management support.)

Cisco Legacy Wireless Network Controllers
Catalyst 3650 Series are 1RU switches intended for SMBs and branches and come with an integrated wireless LAN controller with the capability to handle 40 Gb of wireless capacity per switch and 25 APs and 1000 wireless clients on each switch. Catalyst 3850 Series are 1RU rackmount switches designed for mid-size businesses and large enterprises and include a built-in wireless LAN controller supporting up to 40 Gb of wireless capacity on each switch and the ability to handle 50 APs and up to 2000 clients. The Wireless Services Module2 (WiSM2) is a plug-in blade for Catalyst 6500 Series switches that include a built-in wireless network controller intended for mid-to-large size businesses and capable of 20 Gbps performance and able to handle up to 1000 access points and up to 15,000 clients. (To find out concerning Progent's online and onsite consulting support for Catalyst switches, refer to Cisco switches deployment and management support.)

Cisco 2500 Wireless Controllers are economical desktop appliances that simplify the deployment and operation of Wi-Fi LANs for small and midsize businesses and branches. The Cisco 2500 Series wireless network controller supports 5 to 75 APs and up to 1000 wireless clients and offers sustained performance of up to 1 Gbps.

Cisco's 5500 Series Wireless Controller is a scalable 1RU appliance designed for mid-to-large sized businesses and campuses and can support 500 APs and 7,000 clients while providing 8 Gbps performance. The Cisco 5760 Series Wireless Controller is a 1RU device designed for mid-to-large campus environments with support for 1000 wireless access points and 12,000 wireless clients and offering throughput of 60 Gbps to handle high client densities and high usage of video-intensive mobile applications.

The Cisco Flex 7500 Wireless Controller is designed to enable centralized management of thousands of wireless branches from a single datacenter, avoiding the costs of a Wi-Fi controller at every branch. The 1RU Flex 7500 appliance lets you establish a private cloud to configure, track, maintain, and repair up to 6000 access points and 64,000 clients while handling 1 Gbps performance. The Cisco 8500 Series Wireless Controller is a 1RU appliance engineered to monitor and manage wireless environments for large campuses or for service providers and can scale to support 6000 APs and up to 64,000 clients while offering 10 Gbps performance.

For more information concerning Progent's consulting help for Cisco networking products, choose a topic:

• Overview of Progent's Cisco Network Support
• Fast Remote Assistance from a Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Network Engineer
• Cisco Firepower NGFW Series Firewalls: Integration and Troubleshooting Support
• Cisco ASA 5500-X Firewalls with Firepower Services: Consulting and Management Services
• Cisco ASA 5500 Series Firewall Consulting Expertise
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• Cisco Routers Engineering Expertise
• Cisco Wireless Consulting Services
• Cisco Aironet APs Design Expertise
• Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 WiFi Access Points Engineering Support
• Cisco Catalyst Wi-Fi 6/6E APs Solution Design, Configuration and Debugging Services
• Meraki Wireless Access Points Engineering Support
• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM or Unified CM) and CallManager Integration and Troubleshooting
• Cisco Voice over IP (VoIP) Phones and IP Video Desktop Phones Expertise and Wireless IP Phone Integration
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• Design and Support for Cisco-powered Datacenters
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• Unified Cloud-based and Hybrid Network Management Strategies for Cisco-based Environments