AIR-CT 2504 & 3504 Controller Comparison
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Product Overview
The Cisco Wireless LAN can help reduce your risk of hackers or malicious users gaining access to critical network resources. This controller enables system wide wireless functions in small to medium-sized enterprises and branch offices. Control can be maintained throughout the whole organization by lightweight wireless access points from the controller and changes can be applied within minutes if need be. It’s designed for 802.11n and 802.11ac performance. Wireless LAN controllers can simultaneously act as data-serving devices and IDS sensors.
Cisco 2504 Wireless LAN Controller
The Cisco 2504 Wireless Controller supports Cisco Application Visibility and Control (AVC), the technology that includes Cisco’s Network-Based Application Recognition 2 (NBAR-2) engine. N-BAR-2 does deep packet inspection (DPI) to classify applications and tie into quality of service (QoS) to either drop or mark the traffic, thereby prioritizing business-critical applications in the network. Cisco AVC uses NetFlow Version 9 to export the flows to CiscoPrime™ Infrastructure or to a third-party NetFlow Collector. The Cisco 2504 Wireless Controller also supports Bonjour Services Directory, which enables Bonjour (Apple) 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 2500 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.
Cisco 2504 and 3504 WLC Benefits Comparison
| Cisco 2504 Wireless LAN Controller key Benefits | Cisco 3504 Wireless LAN Controller key Benefits | ||
| Feature | Benefits | Feature | Benefits |
| Scalability |
Supports up to 75 access points Supports up to 1000 clients |
Cisco DNA SD-Access Wireless | SD-Access Wireless is Cisco’s next-generation architecture for enterprise networks. It is the industry’s first policy-based automation from the edge to the cloud. It enables network access in minutes for any user or device to any application without compromising on security. |
| Ease of Deployment | For quick and easy deployment Access Points can be connected directly to 2504 Wireless LAN Controller via two PoE (Power over Ethernet) ports | Cisco DNA Analytics and Assurance | Cisco DNA Analytics and Assurance offer comprehensive network visibility. It collects data from users, devices, and applications to proactively identify problems. Network analytics and automation help IT quickly resolve issues, so you can increase availability and deliver a better user experience. |
| High Performance |
Wired-network speed and nonblocking performance for 802.11n and 802.11ac networks. Supports up to 1 Gbps throughput. |
Scalability and performance |
Optimized to enable 802.11ac Wave 2 next-generation networks, supporting:
4096 VLANs |
| RF Management | Provides both real-time and historical information about RF interference impacting network performance across controllers. | Flexibility and ease of deployment |
|
| Comprehensive End-to-End Security | Offers CAPWAP-compliant Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) encryption to help ensure full-line-rate encryption between access points and controllers across remote WAN/LAN links. | RF Management |
|
| End-to-end Voice |
Supports Unified Communications for improved collaboration through messaging, presence, and conferencing. Supports all Cisco Unified Wireless IP Phones for cost-effective, real-time voice services. |
Multimode with indoor/ outdoor mesh access points |
|
| High-Performance Video | Integrates Cisco VideoStream technology as part of the Cisco medianet framework. | Comprehensive end-to-end security | Offers Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP)-compliant Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) encryption on the control plane. |
| PCI Integration | Part of Payment Card Industry (PCI) certified architecture, and are well-suited for retail customers who deploy transactional data applications such as scanners and kiosks. | Fault tolerance and high availability |
|
| OfficeExtend |
|
WLAN express setup | Simplified GUI wizard for quick setup, and intuitive dashboards for monitoring and troubleshooting |
| Enterprise Wireless Mesh |
|
High-performance Video | Cisco VideoStream technology optimizes the delivery of video applications across the WLAN |
Wireless Controller Features and Benefits
The Cisco 3504 and 2504 Wireless Controller with Cisco Multi gigabit Ethernet technology is optimized for 802.11ac Wave 2 performance, high scale, and enhanced system uptime.
It offers:
- Intent-driven programmability and streaming telemetry.
- Quiet operation, with a small form factor and compact design-- ideal for space-constrained deployments, providing flexibility without compromising on features.
- Cisco Multi gigabit Ethernet technology to support next-generation 802.11ac Wave 2 deployments using existing cabling infrastructure.
- Sub second access point and client failover for uninterrupted application availability.
- Extraordinary visibility into application traffic, using Cisco Application Visibility and Control (AVC), the technology that includes the Network-Based Application Recognition 2 (NBAR2) engine, with Cisco's Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) capability. This allows the 3504 to mark, prioritize, and block to conserve network bandwidth and enhance security. Customers have the option to export the flow to Cisco Prime Infrastructure or any third-party Net Flow collector.
- An embedded wireless Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) classification engine that allows classification of client devices and application of user group policies.
- Guest access and Bonjour and Chrome cast services in centralized deployments.
- Software-defined segmentation with Cisco Trust Sec technology, reducing Access Control List (ACL) maintenance, complexity, and overhead.
- Integrated Cisco Clean Air technology, providing the industry’s only self-healing and self-optimizing wireless network.
- A simplified GUI wizard for quick setup and intuitive dashboards for monitoring and troubleshooting.
- Cisco DNA and SD-Access Wireless, as well as Cisco DNA Assurance.