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| ENTERPRISE HOME | Point to Point Wireless Solutions |
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Point to point wireless solutions cal net recommends Cisco Aironet Wireless Access Points
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Access points are critical elements of the Cisco® Unified Wireless Network. Cisco single- and dual-band access points are designed for offices and similar environments, challenging radio frequency (RF) environments, and the outdoors. The devices are available in two versions, those configured for lightweight operation in conjunction with Cisco wireless LAN controllers and the Wireless Control System (WCS) as well as those configured for autonomous operation in conjunction with the CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solution Engine (WLSE). Autonomous access points, along with the WLSE, deliver a core set of features and may be field-upgraded to lightweight operation and an advanced feature set.
To make the best choices for their particular applications, customers need to understand the features and benefits of the different Cisco Aironet® access points. This solution overview details the capabilities of each of the devices in the Cisco Aironet wireless access point family.
MANAGEMENT PARADIGM As wireless LANs become increasingly mission-critical and evolve in terms of scale and capabilities, the way the wireless deployment is managed must evolve as well. As each customer and each deployment is unique, Cisco provides differing feature sets and differing management paradigms to address these customer-specific requirements.
Cisco provides a core feature set that includes autonomous access points and the CiscoWorks WLSE management appliance. The core feature set provides a base set of capabilities that are required for enterprise deployments. Core features include secure connectivity through support for 802.11i/Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2), fast and secure Layer 2 roaming, and interfaces to a variety of third-party applications and products. Most Cisco access points are available in versions designed for autonomous operation. These devices may be upgraded in the field to lightweight mode, thereby providing customers with a smooth path from core to advanced features.
The Cisco advanced wireless LAN feature set is delivered by lightweight access points, wireless LAN controllers and the Wireless Control System (WCS) management application. The advanced feature set represents the most comprehensive set of capabilities in the industry including guest access, wireless intrusion detection, scalable Layer 3 mobility, and available location services. Most Cisco Aironet access points are available in versions designed for lightweight operation.
DEPLOYMENT ENVIRONMENTS Wireless LANs are becoming commonplace in numerous environments, including offices, schools, factories, and warehouses-and even the outdoors. At the same time, the wireless industry is evolving from lower-capacity, single-band devices to high-capacity dual-band solutions. The Cisco Aironet family of access points meets these various application requirements, providing:
• Single- and dual-band access points • Devices designed for indoor and outdoor deployments • A consistent hardware feature set and predictable RF performance for deployment across the enterprise As WLAN deployment expands into more applications and installation scenarios, a diverse line of access points is required to meet the associated capacity, coverage, and environmental requirements. Cisco provides access points with either single 802.11g radios for up to 54 Mbps of capacity or dual-radio access points supporting both 802.11g and 802.11a for up to 108 Mbps of combined network capacity. The Cisco product line includes access points designed for offices and similar facilities such as hospitals and retail environments, challenging RF environments like factories and warehouses, and the outdoors. These devices can be installed on desktops, on walls, on ceilings, above ceilings, and on top of poles.
While application requirements may vary, Cisco understands that all enterprise customers require uncompromised network security, scalable manageability, and an evolving set of network services. That‘s why all Cisco Aironet access points, regardless of form factor and capacity and regardless of whether they operate in lightweight or autonomous mode, support the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, a framework for wired and wireless integration that delivers the security, manageability, and services that enterprises have come to expect from Cisco on both wired and wireless networks.
SOLUTION Addressing Feature Requirements As wireless LAN usage has evolved from basic transport for largely transactional applications, so have the feature expectations of wireless LAN users and administrators. This evolution has evolved, however, on a segment-by-segment, customer-by-customer basis. It is critical for Cisco to provide differing feature sets to best fit differing customer requirements. Given that customer requirements can evolve during the lifetime of a wireless LAN deployment, it is also necessary to provide a means of smoothly upgrading this feature set for the installed base of products with minimal disruption to network operations.
Cisco‘s advanced wireless LAN feature set offers the features required for most enterprise deployments. Some deployments may not yet require these advanced capabilities. To address these evolving requirements, customers can select either access points preconfigured for lightweight operation and the advanced feature sets, or can upgrade autonomous access points in the field to lightweight operation. With Cisco, customers can choose the feature set that is right for them at the time that it is right for them. Table 1 provides a summary of the operational capabilities of various Cisco Aironet access points.
Table 1. Operational Capabilities of Cisco Aironet Access Points Addressing Capacity Requirements In just a few years, WLANs have evolved from proprietary systems with sub-Mbps capabilities to standardized offerings operating at as much as a combined data rate of 108 Mbps. These high data rates are available in both the 2.4 GHz band with 802.11g technology and the 5 GHz band with 802.11a technology. 802.11g offers backward compatibility with 802.11b devices, but is limited to three non-overlapping channels in the 2.4 GHz band. 802.11a provides no backward compatibility but supports as many as 23 channels (depending upon local regulations). To provide both backward compatibility and high capacity, WLAN client vendors are migrating to dual-band 802.11a/g-capable client devices. In 2006, 802.11a/g devices are expected to become the predominant type for embedded and aftermarket client adapters designed for laptops, desktops, and even PDAs. Over time, these dual-band capabilities are expected to extend to almost every WLAN client device, including application-specific devices like voice handsets, barcode scanners, and radio frequency identification (RFID) scanners.
Deploying an infrastructure that takes full advantage of the expanding capabilities of the client base makes sense if capacity is currently an issue or is expected to become an issue during the useful life of the infrastructure devices. Given the rapid expansion of wireless-enabled devices, increasing capacity requirements are likely to apply to most WLAN installations. For this majority of applications, access points that support both 802.11a and 802.11g represent a better long-term value, particularly given their low price premium relative to single-band devices. For the few applications that are not expected to present capacity issues in the near term, customers can choose single-radio access points. Table 2 summarizes which Cisco access points support 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g.
Table 2. Cisco Aironet Access Point Support for 802.11a/b/g * With a hardware upgrade module, the Cisco Aironet 1200 Series access point may be field-upgraded to support 802.11a.
Office Access Points Cisco Aironet 1130AG Series IEEE 802.11a/b/g Access Point Packages high capacity, high security, and enterprise-class features to deliver wireless LAN access for a low total cost of ownership. The device is available in either a lightweight version, or as an autonomous version that may be field-upgraded to lightweight operation. With support for both lightweight and autonomous operation, customers can enjoy the simplicity and efficiency of a common hardware platform even while having a hybrid lightweight and autonomous deployment. Designed for wireless LAN coverage in offices and similar RF environments, this unobtrusive autonomous access point features integrated antennas and dual IEEE 802.11a/g radios for robust and predictable coverage, delivering a combined capacity of 108 Mbps. The product comes complete with all necessary mounting hardware to provide for an installation that is both secure and consistent with contemporary office décor. The mounting bracket locks the access point as well as the Ethernet and console cables in place to prevent theft and tampering. The Cisco Aironet 1130AG Series is ready to install and easy to manage, reducing the cost of deployment and ongoing maintenance.
Cisco Aironet 1100 Series Access Point
Offers customers an affordable, easy-to-install, single-band autonomous access point that features enterprise-class management, security, and scalability. The device is available in an autonomous version only and does not support lightweight operation. Legacy Cisco Aironet 1100 Series access points have an 802.11b radio that may be field-upgraded to 802.11g; alternately, the Cisco Aironet 1100 Series may be ordered with a single 802.11g radio that is backward-compatible with 802.11b.
Cisco Aironet 1000 Series IEEE 802.11a/b/g Lightweight Access Point Model 1010 Delivers 802.11a/b/g wireless LAN access with zero-touch configuration and management. The Cisco Aironet 1010 is available only as a lightweight access point and does not support autonomous operation. Unlike the Cisco Aironet 1130AG Series, the Cisco Aironet 1010 requires additional mounting bezels for office deployments and does not provide the same level of security and tamper resistance that is provided by the 1130AG Series. As the Cisco Aironet 1010 is limited to lightweight operation, customers with hybrid lightweight and autonomous deployments cannot standardize on a single hardware platform.
Indoor Access Points for Challenging RF Environments Cisco Aironet 1240AG Series IEEE 802.11a/b/g Access Point Delivers the versatility, high capacity, security, and enterprise-class features required in more challenging RF environments, such as warehouses, factories and retailers. The device is available in either a lightweight or an autonomous version that may be field-upgraded to lightweight operation. With support for both lightweight and autonomous operation, customers can enjoy the simplicity and efficiency of having a common hardware platform even while having a hybrid lightweight and autonomous deployment. Designed for wireless LANs in rugged environments or installations that require specialized external antennas, the Cisco Aironet 1240AG Series features diversity antenna connectors for both 2.4 and 5 GHz bands to provide extended range, coverage versatility, and more flexible installation options. The Cisco Aironet 1240AG Series access points combines this versatility with industry-leading transmit power, receive sensitivity, and delay spread for high multi-path environments, providing reliable performance and throughput under the most demanding conditions. A second-generation dual-band access point, the Cisco Aironet 1240AG Series supports IEEE 802.3af Power over Ethernet (PoE). The product comes complete with all necessary mounting hardware to provide for an installation that is both secure and rugged. The mounting bracket locks the access point as well as the Ethernet and console cables in place to prevent theft and tampering.
Cisco Aironet 1200 Series Access Point Offers the same versatility, high capacity, security, and enterprise-class features demanded by industrial wireless LAN customers in a single-band 802.11g solution. The modular device provides the flexibility to field upgrade to a dual-band 802.11a/g network by adding a CardBus-based 802.11a upgrade module that can be easily installed into Cisco Aironet 1200 Series access points originally configured for 802.11g.
Cisco Aironet 1230AG Series Access Point The Cisco Aironet 1230AG Series is a preconfigured dual-band version of the 1200 Series, providing support for 802.11a and 802.11g. This first-generation dual-band device does not, however, provide the same performance and support for 802.3af PoE as does the 1240AG Series.
Cisco Aironet 1000 Series IEEE 802.11a/b/g Lightweight Access Point Model 1020 and 1030
Delivers 802.11a/b/g wireless LAN access with zero-touch configuration and management. It provides diversity antenna connectors for 2.4 GHz operation and a single non-diversity connector for the 5 GHz band. The Cisco Aironet 1020 is available only as a lightweight access point and does not support autonomous operation. The device does not provide the same extended operating temperature range as the Cisco Aironet 1230AG Series and 1240AG Series, and requires additional mounting hardware. It does not provide the same level of security and tamper resistance as that is provided by 1230AG Series and 1240AG Series. As the Cisco Aironet 1020 is limited to lightweight operation, customers with hybrid lightweight and autonomous deployments cannot standardize on a single hardware platform.
Cisco Aironet 1030 Lightweight Access Point is a version of the 1020 with software capabilities that allow the device to be deployed remotely from a wireless LAN controller. This unique capability makes the 1030 ideal for small branch office deployments where local placement of a wireless LAN controller is impractical or uneconomical.
Outdoor Access Points/Bridges Cisco Aironet 1300 Series IEEE 802.11g Wireless Outdoor Access Point/Bridge Provides autonomous access point, wireless bridge, and workgroup bridge capabilities with enhanced WLAN security. For high-speed, cost-effective wireless connectivity between multiple fixed or mobile networks and clients, this ruggedized platform is ideal for public access for outdoor areas, network connections within a campus area, or outdoor infrastructures for mobile networks and users. Engineered specifically for harsh outdoor environments, the Cisco Aironet 1300 Series is ideal for WLANs requiring outdoor coverage. The Cisco Aironet 1300 Series is available in an autonomous version only.
Cisco Aironet 1500 Series Lightweight Outdoor Mesh Access Point The Cisco Aironet 1500 Series enables cost-effective, scalable deployment of secure outdoor wireless LANs. With dual-band, simultaneous support for IEEE 802.11a and 802.11b/g standards, the Cisco Aironet 1500 Series employs a patent-pending Adaptive Wireless Path Protocol to form a dynamic wireless mesh network between remote access points, and delivers secure wireless access to any Wi-Fi-compliant client.
ACCESS POINT FEATURES AND BENEFITS Table 3 provides a summary of the Cisco Aironet access points that are best suited for different environments.
Table 3. Cisco Aironet Access Points for Different Environments * For lightweight deployment only
** For autonomous deployment only.
*** Particularly for deployments above suspended ceilings.
**** Can be deployed outdoors when deployed in a weatherproof NEMA-rated enclosure.
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