Cisco wireless controllers simplify the administration of Wi-Fi environments by centralizing the configuration and control of wireless APs, optimizing Wi-Fi performance by reducing the effects of radio congestion, enhancing Wi-Fi availability with fast auto-failover, and tightening protection by uncovering threats and filtering content based on user ID and location.

Cisco wireless controllers work with Cisco's Prime Infrastructure and DNA Center management tools and are able to accommodate up to 6,000 Wi-Fi access points and 64,000 users. Cisco's family of Wi-Fi controllers are offered at prices and with feature sets appropriate for venues ranging from small or home offices to service provider systems, enterprises, and dense campus environments. Cisco's 802.11ax and 802.11ac controllers and Wi-Fi access points are designed to deliver the high level of security, speed and robustness that users are accustomed to in their wired environments. Cisco's technology incorporates built-in mobility support such as Voice over IP, HD video, and safe guest access. Cisco's Prime Infrastructure and DNAC architecture allow organizations to implement systems that integrate wired and Wi-Fi networks into a unified solution that ensures a seamless and productive user experience.

Progent's certified wireless consultants can assist your organization to assess the business value of deploying Cisco Wi-Fi controllers to manage WiFi environments of any scale. Progent can help your business to support and troubleshoot your existing Cisco-based wireless solution or help you to plan and carry out a smooth transition from older Wi-Fi controllers to current products to deliver improved performance and protection and to streamline administration.

Progent's Cisco-certified network infrastructure consultants can provide low-cost online consulting and support services throughout the U.S. and Canada to help you to create and refine Wi-Fi solutions. Progent also offers onsite consulting in major metropolitan areas across the United States and in Toronto, Canada. In addition, Progent offers remote predictive and onsite Wi-Fi Site Surveys to assist your company to design a Wi-Fi network with access points placed and set up efficiently for your particular site environment, traffic volume, and user density.

Cisco 9800 Series Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Controllers
Catalyst 9800 family of Wi-Fi 6-supported wireless LAN controllers help you manage modern wireless environments that support 802.11ax APs. 802.11ax, aka Wi-Fi 6, builds on prior generation 802.11ac (referred to as Wi-Fi 5) devices by providing lower latency and more predictable performance, allowing higher client density, providing enhanced security, saving energy for battery-dependent mobile devices, and allowing more flexibility for handling the latest types of Internet-of-Things endpoints. Cisco's Catalyst 9800 family wireless controllers include always-on availability with seamless software updates, live fixes, and the ability to add Wi-Fi access points with zero service interruption. Enhanced security features include Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA), secure boot, and Cisco Software-Defined Access (SD-Access). Streaming telemetry allows you to monitor and analyze network and client health. All appliances in the Catalyst 9800 family are based on Cisco's IOS XE Software and work with Cisco's DNA Center or Cisco Prime Infrastructure management platforms. Catalyst 9800 Series wireless network controllers can support Cisco Aironet 802.11ac Wave 1 and Wave 2 Wi-Fi access points as well as Catalyst 9100 802.11ax wireless APs.

Cisco Catalyst 802.11ax Wireless Controller Experts

Cisco Wi-Fi 6 wireless controller appliances offer greater scale than Cisco's embedded wireless controllers (EWCs)

Catalyst 9800-L 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Controller ConsultantsCisco's 9800-L Wi-Fi 6 Controller is an entry-level appliance with a half-width 1RU enclosure that permits dual mounting in a 19-in rack. Designed for smaller wireless networks, the controller offers extra throughput and scale for customers with Cisco's Performance license option. The 9800-L can handle 250 Wi-Fi access points and 5,000 clients (500 wireless APs and 10,00 client users if you have Cisco's Performance license). The 9800-L offers 5 Gbps throughput (10 Gbps with a Performance license), and supports 4,096 VLANs. Deployment options include Centralized, FlexConnect for branch office installations, and fabric. Integrated uplinks include four 2.5G/1G ports plus two 10G/Multigigabit copper (Catalyst 9800-L-C) or two 10G/Multigigabit fiber ports (Catalyst 9800-L-F). Other ports include an RJ-45 console port and a Micro USB console interface for management, a USB 3.0 interface for plugging in external RAM memory, an RJ-45 management port, and an RJ-45 HA redundancy interface used for stateful switchover.

Cisco Catalyst 9800-40 802.11ax Wi-Fi Controller ExpertsThe Cisco Catalyst 9800-40 Wi-Fi 6 Controller, offered in a 1 rack unit (RU) package, is designed to support midsize campus environments. The 9800-40 can handle 2,000 access points and 32,000 users. The 9800-40 delivers 40 Gbps throughput and supports 4,096 VLANs. Deployment options include Centralized, Cisco FlexConnect, and Fabric Wireless. Integrated interfaces include four GE SFP/10 GE SFP+ or SFP ports and an SFP Gigabit Ethernet redundancy port. Other integrated ports include RJ-45 and USB 3.0 console ports, an RJ-45 management interface, an RJ-45 redundancy interface used for SSO, and two USB 3.0 ports for plugging in external RAM.

Cisco Catalyst 9800-80 Wi-Fi 6 Controller ExpertsThe Cisco Catalyst 9800-80 802.11ax Wireless Controller, offered in a 2RU enclosure, is an expandable, top-of-the-line Wi-Fi controller designed to support large campus and service provider environments. The 9800-80 can handle 60,00 wireless APs and 64,000 client users. The controller delivers a maximum of 80 Gbps throughput and supports 4,096 VLANs. Deployment options include Centralized, Cisco FlexConnect, and Fabric Wireless. Integrated uplink interfaces include eight 10G SFP+ interfaces or six 10G ports and two 1G ports. Optional uplink add-in modules can add 18 1GE ports, 10 10GE ports, a 40GE interface, two 40GE interfaces, or a 100GE port. Other integrated ports include RJ-45 and USB 3.0 console interfaces, an RJ-45 service interface, an SFP Gigabit Ethernet redundancy port used for stateful switchover, an RJ-45 redundancy port used for SSO, and two USB 3.0 ports for adding external RAM memory.

Cisco Wave 2 802.11ac Wi-Fi 5 Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 controllers allow realtime data exchange, configuration, administration, monitoring and debugging for Cisco wireless devices and software services. Cisco offers both physical and virtual Wi-Fi controllers for unified administration of WiFi environments, but WLANs with a large number of wireless APs are better served by hardware-based Wi-Fi controllers. Wave 2 wireless controller devices from Cisco offer significant benefits in comparison to Wave 1 and earlier products including greater performance, concurrent support for both 1G and 10G Ethernet, enhanced application visibility and control, and hardened, built-in security.

Cisco Wireless Controller Experts

Cisco's Wave 2 Wi-Fi controllers can support Wi-Fi 5 access points

Cisco 3504 Wireless Controller Integration ConsultingCisco's 3504 Wireless Controller is an entry-level appliance available in a desktop enclosure and designed for smaller businesses. You can use the 3504 in a centralized network architecture such as in lean branch and remote offices managed across the WAN via Cisco FlexConnect, or in mesh deployments where wiring is sparse. The 3504 Wi-Fi controller supports up to 150 WiFi access points and 3,000 users, offers 4 Gbps performance, and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. Cisco's 3504 wireless controller includes a Cisco Multigigabit port and four 1-Gigabit Ethernet ports. Access points can be connected directly to the WiFi controller via two Power over Ethernet ports. The 3504 Wi-Fi controller features subsecond failover for APs and users, which allows high availability for applications. As with other Wave 2 Wi-Fi controllers available from Cisco, the 3504 model has the integrated ability to work with Cisco Prime Infrastructure, Cisco Mobility Services, and Cisco 5520 and 8540 wireless controllers.

Cisco 5520 Wi-Fi Controller Setup and Troubleshooting ConsultantsCisco's 5520 WiFi Controller, offered in a 1 rack unit package, is intended to support midsize to large enterprises and campus environments and can be used in centralized, distributed, and mesh architectures. The 5520 Wi-Fi controller supports as many as 1,500 access points and 20,000 client users, offers 20 Gbps throughput, and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 5520 WiFi controller features two 10 GE interfaces and incorporates solid-state storage, redundant fans, optional redundant power supplies, and rapid failover for nonstop availability.

Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller Setup and Troubleshooting ConsultingThe Cisco 8540 Wireless Controller, offered in a 2RU enclosure, is a top-of-the-line WiFi controller designed to support enterprises, service providers, and large campuses. The 8540 WiFi controller can be used in centralized, distributed, and mesh architectures and can handle as many as 6,000 APs and 64,000 users. The 8540 Wireless controller can deliver throughput up to 40 Gbps and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 8540 controller comes with four 1-GB or 10GE ports and features SSD storage, dual power supplies, backup fans, and subsecond failover.

Wave 1 Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Wireless Network Controllers ConsultantsCisco wireless controllers reduce the effort and cost needed to configure, monitor, and operate Wi-Fi networks by offering single-point control of functions like provisioning APs, applying consistent policies throughout converged networks, supporting enterprise-wide QoS for IP voice and video, tracking and troubleshooting system health, activating wireless intrusion prevention system (wIPS) tools to defend against cyber break-ins and Distributed Denial of Service threats, and managing IPv6 clients. Cisco has developed wireless LAN controllers for organizations of all sizes and can provide standalone desktop controllers, modular plug-in controllers for Cisco routers and Catalyst switches, and Catalyst switches with integrated wireless LAN controllers.

Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Module ConsultantsCisco's Wave 1 wireless controllers include Cisco CleanAir technology to minimize RF interference and produce self-healing wireless networks for top 802.11n and 802.11ac performance and security. Integrated Bonjour Gateways allow discovery, advertisement and policy across the enterprise for Apple applications. For high availability, Cisco wireless controllers allow access point and client stateful failover by permitting a backup HA controller to synch with a main controller for access point license tabulation, CAPWAP keys, and AP CAPWAP state. If the primary controller stops working, thousands of APs and wireless clients can switchover at subsecond speeds to the secondary controller.

Cisco's Wireless Controller Module for ISR G2 Routers with UCS-E provides basic 802.11n and 802.11ac capability for Cisco 2900 and 3900 Series routers deployed by small to medium-sized organizations and satellite offices. This affordable and expandable solution can handle up to 200 wireless access points and as many as 6000 wireless clients. (To learn about Progent's remote and onsite consulting services for Cisco routers, refer to Cisco router deployment and troubleshooting services.)

Cisco Legacy Wi-Fi Network Controllers
Catalyst 3650 Series are 1RU form-factor switches intended for SMBs and branches and come with an integrated wireless LAN controller with the ability to handle 40 Gb of wireless capacity for each switch and 25 access points and 1000 wireless clients on each switch or stack. Catalyst 3850 Series are 1RU rackmount switches intended for midsize businesses and large enterprises and include a built-in wireless network controller with up to 40 Gb of wireless throughput on each switch and the ability to handle 50 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 network controller designed for mid-to-large size enterprises and capable of 20 Gbps throughput and able to handle up to 1000 APs and up to 15,000 clients. (To find out concerning Progent's support for Cisco Catalyst switches, refer to Cisco switches deployment and management support.)

Cisco 2500 Wireless Controllers are value-priced desktop appliances that simplify the provisioning and operation of wireless networks for small to medium-sized enterprises and satellite offices. The 2500 Series wireless LAN controller can handle from five to 75 access points and 1000 wireless clients and can deliver throughput of 1 Gbps.

Cisco Wireless Controllers Consulting ServicesThe Cisco 5500 Series Wireless Controller is a scalable 1RU unit designed for medium-sized to large businesses and campus environments and can manage 500 wireless access points and 7,000 wireless clients while delivering 8 Gbps throughput. The Cisco 5760 Wireless Controller is a 1RU device designed for mid-to-large campus environments with support for up to 1000 access points and 12,000 wireless clients and delivering performance of 60 Gbps to accommodate high wireless client densities and high amounts of video-intensive mobile applications.

Cisco's Flex 7500 Series Wireless Controller is intended to manage thousands of wireless remote sites from one datacenter, avoiding the need for a wireless controller at every remote site. The 1RU rackmount Flex 7500 lets you build a private cloud to configure, monitor, manage, and troubleshoot as many as 6000 APs and up to 64,000 wireless clients while supporting 1 Gbps throughput. Cisco's 8500 Wireless Controller is a 1RU rackmount device engineered to manage Wi-Fi environments for large campuses or service providers and can be expanded to handle up to 6000 access points and 64,000 clients while offering 10 Gbps throughput.

Contact Progent for Consulting Support for Cisco Wi-Fi Controllers
To learn more about Progent's consulting services for Cisco wireless controllers, call 1-800-993-9400 or visit Contact Progent.

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