Cisco Systems OL-7426-03 quick start About the Cisco Wireless LAN Solution

About the Cisco Wireless LAN Solution

The Cisco Wireless LAN Solution (Cisco WLAN Solution) is designed to provide 802.11 wireless networking solutions for enterprises and service providers. The Cisco WLAN Solution simplifies deploying and managing large-scale wireless LANs and enables a unique best-in-class security infra- structure. The Operating System manages all data client, communications, and system administration functions, performs Radio Resource Management (RRM) functions, manages system-wide mobility policies using the Operating System Security solution, and coordinates all security functions using the Operating System Security framework.

The Cisco WLAN Solution consists of Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers and their associated Cisco 1000 Series Lightweight Access Points controlled by the Operating System, all concurrently managed by any or all of the Operating System user interfaces:

•An HTTP and/or HTTPS full-featured Web User Interface hosted by Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers, can be used to configure and monitor individual Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers. See the Web User Interface section.

•A full-featured CLI (command line interface) can be used to configure and monitor individual Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers. Refer to the Command Line Interface section.

•The Cisco Wireless Control System (Cisco WCS) interface is used to configure and monitor one or more Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers and associated access points, and has tools to facilitate large-system monitoring and control. The Cisco Wireless Control System runs on Windows 2000, Windows 2003, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES servers.

•An industry-standard SNMP V1, V2c, and V3 interface can be used with any SNMP-compliant third-party network management system.

The Cisco WLAN Solution supports client data services, client monitoring and control, and all rogue access point detection, monitoring and containment functions. The Cisco WLAN Solution uses Cisco 1000 Series lightweight access points, Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers, and optional Cisco Wireless Control System Cisco Wireless Control System to provide wireless services to enterprises and service providers.

The Cisco WCS application is offered in two versions:

•Cisco WCS Base, which also supports client, rogue access point, rogue assess point client, radio frequency ID (RFID) tag location to the nearest Cisco 1000 Series lightweight access point.

•Cisco WCS Location, which also supports client, rogue access point, rogue assess point client, RFID tag location to within 10 meters.

When Cisco WCS Location is used, Cisco WLAN Solution end users can also deploy Cisco 2700 Series Location Appliances (location appliances), described in the Cisco 2700 Series Location Appliances section. The location appliance enhances the high-accuracy built-in Cisco WCS Location abilities by computing, collecting and storing historical location data, which can be displayed in Cisco WCS. In this role, the location appliance acts as a server to one or more Cisco WCS Servers, collecting, storing, and passing on data from its associated Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers.

The following figure shows the Cisco WLAN Solution components, which can be simultaneously deployed across multiple floors and buildings.

Note: This document refers to Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers throughout. Unless specifically called out, the descriptions herein apply to all Cisco Wireless LAN Control- lers, including but not limited to Cisco 2000 Series Wireless LAN Controllers, Cisco 4100 Series Wireless LAN Controllers, and Cisco 4400 Series Wireless LAN Controllers.

5/26/05	About the Cisco Wireless LAN Solution
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