Cisco 5508 Series Wireless Controller up to 500 APs
Part Number: AIR-CT5508-500-K9
The Cisco® 5500 Series Wireless Controller, shown in Figure 1, is a highly scalable and flexible platform that enables systemwide services for mission-critical wireless networking in medium-sized to large enterprises and campus environments. Designed for 802.11ac and 802.11n performance and maximum scalability, the 5500 Series offers enhanced uptime with:
- RF visibility and protection
- The ability to simultaneously manage up to 500 access points
- Superior performance for reliable streaming video and toll- quality voice
- Sub-second stateful failover of all access points and clients from the primary to standby controller
Features
Optimized for high-performance wireless networking, the Cisco 5500 Series Controller offers improved mobility and prepares the business for the next wave of mobile devices and applications. The 5500 Series supports a higher density of clients and delivers more efficient roaming, with at least nine times the throughput of existing 802.11a/g networks.
The 5500 Series automates wireless configuration and management functions and allows network managers to have the visibility and control needed to cost-effectively manage, secure, and optimize the performance of their wireless networks. With integrated Cisco CleanAir®technology, the 5500 Series protects 802.11n performance by providing cross-network access to real-time and historic RF interference information for quick troubleshooting and resolution.
The Cisco 5508 Wireless Controller supports Cisco Application Visibility and Control(AVC), the technology that includes the Network-Based Application Recognition 2 (NBAR-2) engine, Cisco’s deep packet inspection (DPI) capability. The NBAR-2 engine can classify applications, applies quality of service (QoS) setting to either drop or mark the traffic, and prioritizes business-critical applications in the network. Cisco AVC uses NetFlow Version 9 to export the flows to Cisco Prime™ Infrastructure or a third-party NetFlow Collector. The 5508 also supports Bonjour Services Directory to enable Bonjour Services to be advertised and utilized in a separate Layer 3 network. Wireless Policy engine is a wireless profiler and policy feature on the Cisco 5500 Series Wireless Controller that enables profiling of wireless devices and enforcement of policies such as VLAN assignment, QoS, ACL and time-of-day-based access.
As a component of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, this controller provides real-time communications between Cisco Aironet® access points, the Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS), and the Cisco Mobility Services Engine to deliver centralized security policies, wireless intrusion prevention system (IPS) capabilities, award-winning RF management, and QoS.
