Cisco 526 Wireless Express Mobility Controller

Overview:

The Cisco® 526 Wireless Express Mobility Controller is a network appliance that automatically optimizes the basic wireless network and supports advanced mobility services on top of that network. The Cisco Mobility Express solution brings together the Cisco 526 controller and the Cisco 521 Wireless Express Access Point as a flexible, cost-effective wireless solution specifically designed to meet the needs of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

As your business needs grow, the Cisco Mobility Express solution offers the versatility to evolve and scale from a solid mobile foundation delivering business-grade wireless features to a sophisticated yet cost-effective wireless network capable of supporting leading mobility services and applications. Mobility Express is part of the Cisco Smart Business Communications System - a complete unified communications solution for SMBs that provides voice, data, video, security, and wireless capabilities while integrating with existing desktop applications like calendar, e-mail, and customer relationship management (CRM).

Cisco 526 Wireless Express Mobility Controller
The Cisco 526 Wireless Express Mobility Controller harnesses the power of Cisco Lightweight Access Point Protocol (LWAPP) technology, best-in-class automatic radio optimization, mobility performance, and multi-access-point management. On top of the basic transport layer, the controller supports Cisco Secure Guest Access and Voice-over-WLAN advanced mobility services. As part of the Smart Business Communications System, this controller is managed by the Cisco Configuration Assistant, easing deployment and decreasing the cost of ongoing maintenance. A single Cisco 526 controller supports up to six Cisco 521 access points and up to two controllers can be deployed per network, delivering the capacity, simplicity, and price point appropriate for the SMB.

Easy Configuration of Secure Guest Access

Features and Benefits:

Architectural Feature Comparison
With Cisco 521 Wireless Express Access Points, the Cisco Mobility Express solution is an ideal fit for the ironment. Table 2 highlights the main architectural feature differences between consumer-grade, business-grade, and enterprise-grade WLAN solutions.

WLAN Architectural Feature Comparison
Features	Consumer-Grade Access Points	Cisco 500 Wireless Express Access Point (Standalone Mode)	Cisco 500 Wireless Express Access Point (Controller Mode)	Cisco Enterprise Unified WLAN Architecture
Part of the Cisco Smart Business Communications System
Simplifies multi-access-point networks
Cisco Configuration Assistant management tool*
Support for Cisco Lightweight Access Point Protocol (LWAPP)**
Multi-access-point Radio Resource Management (RRM)
Support for a range of secure authentication mechanisms
Wired/wireless network virtualization
Advanced-mobility-services-ready: Cisco Secure Guest Access
Advanced-mobility-services-ready: Voice-over-WLAN optimization

*The Cisco Unified Wireless Network Architecture uses Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS) Software or the command-line interface instead of the Cisco Configuration Assistant.
**Cisco 500 Series Wireless Express Access Points can use LWAPP technology for a controller-based deployment but these access points can not be used in a Cisco Unified Wireless Network.

Technical Specifications:

Documentation:

Download the Cisco 526 Wireless Express Mobility Controller Datasheet (PDF).