Cisco offers a comprehensive catalog of wireless networking devices and technologies that provide anywhere, anytime access to information and other resources and to facilitate teamwork among employees, partners, vendors, and clients. Cisco's wireless offerings include the Small Business, Aironet and Meraki series of wireless access points, as well as Cisco's Wireless Network Controller plug-ins and standalone devices. Progent's certified wireless consulting experts can enable businesses of all sizes to utilize Cisco wireless products to accommodate the current paradigm of Bring-Your-Own-Device networks by converging their tethered and untethered ecosystems to benefit from simplified configuration, predictable throughput, single-point management, enterprise-wide policy, high availability, and advanced protection.

The Cisco Unified Wireless Network solution can scale to up to 18,000 APs with Layer 3 mobility across central or offsite venues such as business campuses, university auditoriums, branch offices, and telecommuter homes. Cisco's 802.11x APs and controllers are part of Cisco's Unified Wireless Network and are designed to deliver the identical level of protection, performance, and ease of management for wireless networks that businesses expect in their wired ecosystem. This technology incorporates built-in mobility services such as IP voice, high-definition IP video, and safe guest access. Cisco's Unified Wireless architecture allows organizations to create wireless environments that improve the way they work and enhance productivity through a dynamic and connected employee base.
Progent's Cisco-certified network consultants can provide online or onsite support to help your organization to design, configure, manage, expand, and troubleshoot converged wired/wireless networks of any size and for any environment. Also, Progent can provide economical remote and onsite Wi-Fi site surveys to help you to plan and deploy a Wi-Fi LAN with custom-designed wireless access point clusters optimized for your individual office layout, building structure, and intended application.
Cisco Small Business, Aironet, Meraki and Catalyst Access Points
Cisco's Small Business, Aironet, Meraki and Catalyst families of access points enable organizations to converge wired and wireless infrastructure to provide the accessibility, capacity, throughput, protection and ease of management required for virtually any environment. These wireless access points start at entry-level, single-radio 802.11b/g/n devices with throughput of 300 Mbps designed for small companies or telecommuters to Wi-Fi 6 APs capable of supporting hundreds of clients on each AP and offering data rates in excess of 5 Gigabits per second. Cisco's latest selection of access points can be combined or clustered to provide the capacity to handle environments crowded with clients and with a high incidence of HD video application software.
Small Business 100, 300 and 500 Family of Access Points
Cisco's Small Business Series of access points are Linux-based devices engineered as value-priced wireless solutions for light workloads. Most versions in the Cisco Small Business portfolio of wireless access points support Cisco's Single Point Setup technology, which makes it possible to set up, manage and troubleshoot a cluster of wireless access points from a single AP through a simple web browser tool. All models support Power over Ethernet and feature QoS, rogue AP awareness, and bridging for connecting to another network.
Cisco's Small Business WAP121 Wireless-N AP is a wall-mountable, single-band 2.4GHz device able to handle 16 802.11b/g/n clients, includes a Fast Ethernet interface, permits up to 4 AP devices and 40 wireless clients in a cluster, and can handle throughput of 300 Mbps. The Cisco Small Business WAP131 is a desktop dual-radio 802.11n access point that can handle 16 active clients per radio for up to 32 wireless clients, includes a 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN interface, and can support throughput of 300 Mbps for each radio. The WAP131 does not allow AP clustering. Cisco's Small Business WAP150 is a general-purpose Wave 1 dual-radio AC/n wireless access point that features a 1xGE Power over Ethernet port and can handle 16 clients per radio with 867 Mbps performance for 802.11ac devices and 300 Mbps for 802.11n devices. Cisco's WAP1501 supports 4 access points for each cluster.
The Cisco Small Business WAP321 AP is a wall-mountable selectable-band (2.4 or 5 GHz) 802.11a/b/g/n unit with support for up to 80 active clients in an 8-device cluster. The WAP321 features a Gigabit Ethernet port and can support sustained throughput of 300 Mbps for the activated radio. Cisco's WAP351 is a dual-radio 2.4/5 GHz 802.11n wireless access point that includes a 5-port Gigabit Ethernet switch and can support 32 active wireless clients per radio for a total of up to 64 active clients, and deliver a data rate of 300 Mbps per radio. The WAP351 does not support clustering. Cisco's WAP361 is a dual-band 802.11ac wireless access point that includes a 5 x Gb Ethernet LAN switch, allows 32 active WLAN clients per radio, and offers 867 Mbps performance for 802.11ac devices and 300 Mbps for 802.11n devices. Cisco's Small Business WAP361 supports 8 access points per cluster. Cisco's wallmount WAP371 Wireless-AC/N is a dual-band AP that works with 802.11n and the latest 802.11ac Wi-Fi specification. The WAP371 includes a 10/100/1000 Ethernet port, can support as many as 32 wireless clients per radio, and eight APs per cluster.
Cisco's WAP561 Wireless-N Selectable Band wireless access point includes one GE LAN interface and dual concurrent radios (2.4 and 5.0 GHz) that offer 450 Mbps throughput for each radio, support 64 clients for each radio, and allow 16 APs per cluster. The Cisco WAP551 is similar to the WAP 561 but has a single radio selectable band. The Cisco WAP571 and WAP571E (the ruggedized outdoor version) are dual-band 2.4/5 GHz Wireless-AC/N access points incorporating two Gb Ethernet LAN interfaces with link aggregation, 3x3 MIMO, and as high as 1.9 Gigabit/sec throughput with 1300 Mbps on 802.11ac and 600 Mbps on 11n. Both access points support 32 clients on each radio and 16 APs on each cluster.

The Cisco WAP581 Wireless-AC Wave 2 AP supports the Wi-Fi 5 standard and offers 4x4 and 3x3 MU-MIMO to provide 2.8 Gbps data rates on the 5.0-Ghz radio and 0.6 Gbps on the 2.4-GHz radio for an aggregate maximum throughput of 2.4 Gbps. The Small Business WAP581 includes an integrated 2.5G Ethernet LAN interface and a 10/100/1000 Ethernet interface with 802.3at Power over Ethernet (PoE). The WAP581 Wave 2 Wi-Fi 5 AP can handle as many as 200 connective client users, a maximum of 50 active users per radio, 16 APs for each cluster, and 960 active client users for each cluster.
To find out more about Progent's consulting services for current and legacy Cisco Small Business series of wireless access points, see Cisco Small Business 100, 300 and 500 WiFi access points consulting.
Cisco's Aironet Line of Wireless Access Points

The Aironet line of indoor and outdoor wireless APs has for years been the leading access point product. Aironet APs range from entry-level models to enterprise-class units. Cisco's Aironet family cover multiple generations of devices supporting the continually improving Wi-Fi specification. The current portfolio of Aironet APs work with Cisco's Unified Wireless Network architecture and incorporate 802.11ac technology, which delivers triple the speed as well as greater coverage and density compared to the prior generation of devices. The current multi-band Aironet access points can handle 802.11n at 2.4 GHz for client devices that do not have 802.11ac capability.
The oldest Aironet access points are legacy devices that have come to end-of-life status and are not fully supported by Cisco. Progent continues to support the entire Aironet line of wireless access points and can assist your company to maintain your existing Aironet Wi-Fi system or upgrade efficiently to current Aironet products. For details about Progent's support for both current and outdated Aironet wireless access points, refer to Aironet access points system design and troubleshooting.
Meraki Wireless Access Points
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Cisco's family of Meraki 2.4/5 GHz indoor wireless access points include value-priced models for small businesses to enterprise-class units that offer as high as 5.9 Gigabit per second performance. Each Meraki indoor access point provides high-end features like plug-and-play installation, in-depth protection, Bring-Your-Own-Device support, built-in traffic analysis, zero-touch web-based firmware updates, and unified cloud management for multiple sites. Each Meraki indoor AP also incorporates two powerful radios with enhanced receive sensitivity plus a separate radio that provides (WIDS/WIPS) security for threat detection and deep packet inspection at line rate.
Cisco's Meraki outdoor wireless access points are IP67 certified, built to withstand rugged outdoor conditions, and able to withstand dust particles, shock and humidity. Meraki outdoor access points include a Gigabit Ethernet port and deliver advanced capabilities such as cloud management with multi-site visibility, 802.1X and native Active Directory integration, built-in antivirus scan (NAC), 1-click guest access and guest isolation firewall, application-aware traffic shaping, plus self-configuring mesh with MIMO and beamforming. For details about Progent's support for Cisco's Meraki access points and management, see Meraki wireless access points consulting.
Catalyst 9100 Series Wi-Fi 6 and W-Fi 6E APs

Cisco's Catalyst 9100 line of Wi-Fi 6 and 6E 802.11ax APs are designed for environments ranging from telecommuter homes to high-density stadiums. Catalyst 9100 APs are based on the 802.11ax standard, referred to as Wi-Fi 6, which in turn builds on the previous 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) specification. Unlike 802.11ac, Wi-Fi 6 is designed to utilize both the 2.4-Ghz and 5-GHz bands. Important enhancements incorporated in Cisco Catalyst 9100 Series APs include MU-MIMO support for uplink traffic, dual NAVs for improved dependability, Target Wake Time for reduced power consumption in battery-powered endpoints, adaptive sensitivity thresholds for better spectrum utilization, and dynamic fragmentation for reduced overhead. Catalyst 9100 802.11ax access points can run Cisco's Embedded Wireless Controller, handle up to 400 clients per Wi-Fi radio, and run on Cisco IOS XE Software.
Cisco's Catalyst 9160 Series Wi-Fi 6E APs are the first Cisco access points to offer the flexibility to be managed either on-prem via Cisco DNA Center platform or through the cloud using Meraki management tools. This allows organizations to move to cloud-based or hybrid management environments at their own pace. All Cisco's Catalyst 916x APs meet the a/b/g/n/ac/ax and 6E wireless standards and include support for the 6-GHz band. Each device includes 5 radios and supports as many as 400 clients on each radio. Every model also contains a dedicated radio for Cisco CleanAir Pro for reducing wireless interference, comes with a USB 2.0 port, and offers Bluetooth BLE. The value-priced Catalyst 9162 Series AP is suited for small organizations, has three 2x2 radios, and includes 1x 100M/1000M/2.5G mGig Ethernet connectivity.
The Catalyst 9163E Wi-Fi 6E AP is designed to withstand tough outside deployments like campus environments or stadiums. The 9163E includes three client serving 2x2 radios, one IoT radio, and a tri-band scanning radio. Interfaces include 1x 100M/1000M/2.5G mGig 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 suited for small and mid-size organizations, includes one 2x2 radio and two 4x4 radios, and features 1x 100M/1000M/2.5G mGig Ethernet support. The Catalyst 9166 Series Wi-Fi access point is intended for large and medium-sized enterprises, has three 4x4 radios, and provides 1x 100M/1000M/2.5G/5G mGig Ethernet connectivity. The 9166 also has environmental sensors to measure air quality, temperature, and humidity. For more information about Progent's consulting services for Cisco's Catalyst 9100 Series Wi-Fi 6/6E 802.11ax Access Points, see Wi-Fi 6/6E APs system design, configuration, and troubleshooting consulting.
Cisco 9800 Series 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Controllers
Cisco Catalyst 9800 family of Wi-Fi 6-supported wireless controllers help you manage advanced Wi-Fi environments that incorporate 802.11ax APs. 802.11ax, referred to as Wi-Fi 6, improves on previous generation 802.11ac (referred to as Wi-Fi 5) appliances by providing lower latency and more predictable performance, allowing higher client density, offering greater protection, conserving energy for battery-powered mobile devices, and offering more flexibility for supporting the latest kinds of IoT endpoints. Catalyst 9800 Series wireless controllers include high availability with seamless software updates, live fixes, and the ability to connect additional APs with zero downtime. Enhanced security technologies include Cisco Wireless Intrusion Prevention System (WIPS), image signing, and Cisco Software-Defined Access (SD-Access). Streaming telemetry allows you to monitor and understand infrastructure and client health.
All controllers in the Catalyst 9800 line are powered by Cisco's IOS XE Software and work with Cisco's DNA Center or Cisco Prime Infrastructure network management tools. Catalyst 9800 Series wireless LAN controllers can manage Cisco Aironet 802.11ac Wave 1 and Wave 2 access points concurrently with Cisco Catalyst 9100 802.11ax wireless APs. For more information about Progent's consulting services for Cisco 9800 line of Wi-Fi 6 Wireless Controllers, see Catalyst 9800 family of Wi-Fi 6 wireless LAN controllers solution design, configuration, and debugging services.
Cisco Wave 2 802.11ac Wireless Network Controllers
Cisco Wave 2 Wi-Fi controllers enable fast data exchange, provisioning, management, monitoring and troubleshooting for Cisco Wi-Fi appliances and software services. Cisco offers both physical and virtual wireless controllers for centralized management of WiFi networks, but systems with many wireless APs typically require hardware-based wireless controllers. Wave 2 Wi-Fi controller devices from Cisco offer significant advantages over Wave 1 and older models including greater performance, concurrent support for both 1G and 10G Ethernet, improved application visibility and control (AVC), and advanced, integrated security.
Cisco's 3504 Wireless Controller is a value-priced appliance with a desktop enclosure and intended for smaller businesses. You can install the 3504 model in a centralized network environment such as in small branch and remote offices managed over the WAN via FlexConnect, or in bridge installations where Ethernet cabling is sparse. The 3504 wireless controller supports up to 150 APs and 3,000 users, delivers 4 Gbps performance, and supports 4,096 VLANs. The 3504 controller features a multi-gigabit Ethernet port and four 1-Gigabit Ethernet ports. APs can be attached directly to the controller via two PoE ports. The 3504 Wi-Fi controller offers subsecond failover for APs and clients, which provides nonstop availability for apps. Like other Wave 2 wireless controllers available from Cisco, the 3504 model has the integrated capability to work with Cisco Prime Infrastructure, Cisco Mobility Services Engine, and Cisco 5520 and 8540 wireless controllers.
The Cisco 5520 WiFi Controller, available in a 1RU form factor, is designed to support larger organizations and campus environments and can be used in centralized, distributed, and mesh architectures. The 5520 wireless controller supports as many as 1,500 wireless APs and 20,000 clients, offers 20 Gbps performance, and supports up to 4,096 VLANs. The 5520 wireless controller features two 10 GE interfaces and features solid-state storage, backup fans, optional dual power supplies, and subsecond failover for nonstop availability.
Cisco's 8540 Wireless Controller, offered in a 2 rack unit package, is a high-end wireless controller designed to support large enterprises, service providers, and large campus environments. The 8540 Wireless controller can be used in centralized, distributed, and mesh deployments and supports as many as 6,000 wireless APs and 64,000 clients. The 8540 WiFi controller offers throughput up to 40 Gbps and supports 4,096 VLANs. The 8540 controller includes four 1-GB or 10GE ports and features solid-state storage, redundant power supplies, backup fans, and subsecond failover.
Wave 1 Cisco WiFi LAN Controllers
Cisco wireless LAN controllers cut the effort and expense needed to deploy, manage, and troubleshoot Wi-Fi networks by centralizing control of functions like setting up APs, applying single-point policies across converged wired and wireless LANs, supporting enterprise-wide Quality of Service (QoS) for voice and video, monitoring and troubleshooting network health, activating intrusion prevention tools to guard against cyber break-ins and Distributed Denial of Service attacks, and handling IPv6 clients. Cisco has developed wireless LAN controllers for organizations of all sizes and offers standalone desktop appliances, modular add-on wireless controllers for Cisco ISR routers and Catalyst switches, and switches with integrated wireless network controllers.
Cisco's Wave 1 wireless network controllers include Cisco CleanAir tools to avoid signal interference and create self-optimizing wireless networks for top 802.11n and 802.11ac performance and protection. Integrated Apple Bonjour Gateways allow discovery and policy across WLAN, LAN and WAN for Apple-based applications. For fault tolerance, Cisco wireless LAN controllers support AP and client stateful switchover by permitting a backup HA wireless controller to synch with a main wireless controller for AP license count, CAPWAP state and roaming keys, and access point CAPWAP state. If the primary controller fails, thousands of access points and wireless clients can switchover at subsecond speeds to the secondary wireless LAN controller.
Cisco's Wireless Controller Module for ISR G2 Routers with UCS-E offers entry-level 802.11n and 802.11ac support for Cisco 2900 and 3900 Series routers used by small to medium-sized organizations and branch offices. This value-priced and expandable module can handle up to 200 access points and as many as 6000 wireless clients. (For information about Progent's remote and onsite consulting 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 satellite offices and features a built-in wireless LAN controller with the capability to support 40 Gb of wireless throughput per switch and up to 25 APs and 1000 clients on each switch or stack. Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series are 1RU rackmount switches designed for mid-size businesses and large enterprises and include an integrated wireless network controller with 40 Gb of wireless capacity on each switch and the ability to handle 50 access points and 2000 wireless clients. The 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 enterprises and able to deliver 20 Gbps performance and able to handle 1000 wireless access points and 15,000 clients. (To find out about Progent's consulting services for Cisco switches, see Catalyst switches configuration and management services.)
Cisco 2500 Wireless Controllers are entry-level desktop appliances that simplify the provisioning and management of Wi-Fi networks for small to medium-sized enterprises and satellite offices. The 2500 Series wireless controller supports from five to 75 access points and 1000 clients and offers sustained performance of up to 1 Gbps.
The Cisco 5500 Series Wireless Controller is a scalable 1RU unit intended for mid-to-large sized businesses and campus environments and can support 500 APs and 7,000 clients while delivering 8 Gbps throughput. Cisco's 5760 Wireless Controller is a 1RU appliance intended for mid-to-large campuses with the ability to manage 1000 wireless access points and 12,000 clients and providing performance of 60 Gbps to handle high wireless client densities and high amounts of video-intensive mobile applications.
The Cisco Flex 7500 Wireless Controller is intended to enable centralized management of massive collections of wireless branches from one location, eliminating the requirement for a Wi-Fi controller at each remote site. The 1RU rackmount Flex 7500 appliance allows you to create a private cloud to configure, monitor, maintain, and repair as many as 6000 access points and up to 64,000 clients while handling 1 Gbps performance. Cisco's 8500 Wireless Controller is a 1RU appliance engineered to monitor and manage Wi-Fi networks for very large campuses or service providers and can be expanded to support 6000 wireless points and up to 64,000 clients while delivering 10 Gbps performance.
For more information about Cisco wireless controllers, see Cisco Wi-Fi controllers consulting and integration.Legacy Cisco APs, LAN Bridges and Controllers Supported by Progent
The IEEE 802.11ac standard for Wi-Fi virtually rendered obsolete the earlier releases of Wi-Fi products for venues that have high densities of wireless clients and high usage of video-intensive applications. Even for businesses who do not currently require the bandwidth efficiency of 802.11ac, a large number of Cisco wireless devices have arrived at end-of-sale or end-of-support status, which can present serious maintenance and compliance issues. Progent's Cisco-certified consulting experts offer remote and on-premises support for a broad array of earlier-generation wireless products from Cisco. Progent can also assist companies to assess the financial justification for updating up-of-date wireless technology and can help in designing and carrying out affordable, non-disruptive upgrades. The following are a sample of Cisco older-generation Wi-Fi products that Progent's consultants still support.
Legacy Cisco Aironet Wireless Access Points
Cisco Aironet 1000 or 1130AG family APs are designed for conventional workplaces and other sites which have little environmental instability. These devices include integrated antennas that provide dependable radio coverage profiles. The Cisco Aironet 1130G family wireless access point is designed for controlled domains that do not allow 5GHz transmission.
Aironet 1230AG or 1240AG Series access points are ideal for more difficult radio frequency environments like factories or above ceiling structures which typically call for flexible external antennas and durable cases. The 1240G Series AP is intended for controlled locations that do not permit 5GHz transmission.
Cisco Aironet 1500 lightweight outdoor wireless mesh APs deliver an affordable, scalable, protected outdoor wireless network solution for campus areas and for public venues that require connectivity for mobile phones or computers.
Legacy Cisco Aironet Wireless LAN Bridges
Cisco wireless LAN bridges provide a high-throughput and feature-rich solution for connecting numerous LANs in a metropolitan area or public access environment. Cisco Aironet wireless LAN bridges provide a versatile, manageable solution that satisfies the protection needs of public networking specialists. These devices manage both point-to-point and P2MP deployments with good range and the ability to handle data throughput up to 54 Mbps.
Cisco wireless bridges offer data rates dramatically higher than E1/T1 connections for a fraction of the expense, eliminating the requirement for costly leased lines when connecting different buildings. Since wireless bridges carry no periodic charges, the expenses saved on connection services rapidly cover the initial hardware costs. Private lines and even leased lines utilizing metal or fiber-optic cable can require very expensive initial expenses if they are separated by obstacles like highways, train tracks, or lakes and rivers. Cisco Aironet wireless LAN bridges can be deployed rapidly with a fast ROI.
Cisco Aironet 1300 outside wireless access points/bridges can be implemented as independent wireless access points, wireless bridges, or workgroup bridges. These products have a durable enclosure and provide high-speed, affordable wireless connectivity between numerous stationary or mobile environments and clients.
Aironet 1400 wireless bridges offer high-speed, reliable outdoor connections for LOS applications. They include a ruggedized enclosure that can hold up to harsh outside environments and can function within broad temperature ranges.
Legacy Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers centralize the management of wireless LANs by simplifying the handling of key technologies including integrated IPS, real-time RF management, automatic deployment, and N+1 redundancy. WLAN controllers work with small APs to offer superior throughput and high-end administration capabilities.
Cisco WLAN Controllers (WLCs) provide the manageability, expandability, security, and reliability that network managers require to create safe, enterprise-scale wireless networks, from branch offices to small businesses to headquarter campuses. Cisco's first-generation Wireless Network Controllers can be clustered to provide accommodation for up to 2400 WAPs per roaming domain.
Cisco's WLCM or WLCM-E Module for IS Routers offers small-to medium businesses (SMBs) and large corporations an affordable solution to implement and manage secure wireless networks at satellite offices. These controllers manage as many as 12 Aironet APs and are supported on 2800/3800 Series IS Routers and 3700 Series Integrated Services Routers. (To learn concerning Progent's remote and onsite consulting services for Cisco routers, see Cisco router deployment and management consulting.)
How Progent Can Help You with Cisco Wireless Solutions
Progent can provide access to a Cisco-certified consulting professional to assist you to plan, deploy, maintain and troubleshoot a converged wired/wireless ecosystem incorporating a wide range of wireless products that provide the identical protection, expandability, and manageability you demand from your wired network. Progent can help you to manage early-generation wireless solutions from Cisco or upgrade efficiently to current 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 technology. Progent's CISA and ISSAP security specialists can advise you about how to design protection into your WLAN and your business operations. Progent's disaster recovery consultants and business continuity consultants can assist you to configure the high availability (HA) features incorporated into Cisco's wired/wireless technologies so your converged infrastructure provides non-stop return on investment.
Progent's Wi-Fi Site Survey helps you to plan and deploy a state-of-the-art WLAN optimized for your environment, providing a wireless solution that provides comprehensive coverage, high speed and capacity, Quality of Service to accommodate IP voice and video, enterprise-class security, and simplified management. Progent's Wireless Site Survey can be performed remotely to cut time and expense, or on premises for more complex facilities.
For a further discussion of Progent's wireless integration capabilities, visit Progent's Wireless LAN Support. To see additional information about Progent's consulting expertise for Cisco solutions, pick a topic:
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