minimum 2-GB RAM 20-GB hard drive
The minimum client requirement is Internet Explorer 6.0
with SP1 or later.
Content 6.3
Managing WLANs 6.3.8 Cisco WCS User
Interface The Cisco WCS user interface enables the network
operator to create and configure Cisco WLAN solution coverage
area layouts, configure system operating parameters, monitor
real-time Cisco WLAN solution operation, and perform
troubleshooting tasks using an HTTPS web browser window. The
Cisco WCS user interface also enables the WCS administrator to
create, modify, and delete user accounts; change passwords;
assign permissions; and schedule periodic maintenance tasks.
The administrator creates new usernames and passwords and
assigns them to predefined permissions groups. Note
We recommend that you use Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or
later on a Windows workstation for full access to Cisco WCS
functionality. Menu Bar
There are four menus on each
screen. When you move the mouse over any of the menu items, a
drop-down menu appears: - Monitor: The Monitor
menu provides you with a top-level description of the devices
on your network.
- Configure: The Configure menu
allows you to configure templates, controllers, and access
points on your network.
- Location: The Location
menu allows you to configure Cisco Wireless Location
Appliances.
- Administration: The Administration
menu allows you to schedule tasks such as making a backup,
checking device status, auditing your network, synchronizing
the location server, and so on.
Example: Cisco
WCS Controller Network Summary Page
As an example of
the user interface, Figure shows the Cisco WCS Network Summary
Page. This page provides a top-level description of your
network and includes information about controllers, coverage
areas, access points, clients, and so on. Note
The
Location menu is displayed only with Cisco WCS Location.
Example: Cisco WCS Controller Summary Page
Cisco WCS
is designed to support 50 Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers and
1500 access points. The Controller Summary page provides access
to the controller summary details. Use the selector area to
access details for the respective controllers. Figure
represents an example of the Controller Summary page. The data
area of this screen contains a table with the following
information: - IP address: Local network IP
address of the controller management interface. Select the
title to toggle from ascending to descending order. Select an
IP address in the list to display Controllers > <IP
address> > Summary.
- Controller name:
Select the title to toggle from ascending to descending
order.
- Location: The geographical location
(such as a campus or building). Select the title to toggle from
ascending to descending order.
- Mobility group
name: Name of the controller mobility or Microsoft Wireless
Provisioning Services (WPS) group.
- Reachability
status: Reachable or unreachable. Select the title to
toggle from ascending to descending order.
Content 6.3 Managing WLANs
6.3.9 Cisco Wireless Location Appliance Cisco
Wireless Location Appliance Overview
The Cisco
Wireless Location Appliance is an innovative, easy-to-deploy
solution that uses advanced RF fingerprinting technology to
track thousands of 802.11 wireless devices simultaneously from
directly within a WLAN infrastructure, increasing asset
visibility and control of the airspace. Figure shows a Cisco
2710 Series Wireless Location Appliances which are servers that
enhance the high-accuracy built-in Cisco WCS location abilities
by computing, collecting, and storing historical location data
for up to 1500 laptop clients, palmtop clients, VoIP telephone
clients, radio frequency identifier (RFID) asset tags, rogue
access points, and rogue access point clients on a single
chassis. Additionally, the appliance provides location-based
alerts for business policy enforcement and records rich
historical location information that can be used for location
trending, rapid problem resolution, and RF capacity
management. By design, the Cisco 2710 Series Wireless Location
Appliance is integrated directly into the WLAN infrastructure
to lower total cost of ownership and extend the value and
security of the existing WLAN infrastructure by making the
appliance “location aware.” As a component of the Cisco Unified
Wireless Network, the Cisco Wireless Location Appliance uses
Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers and Cisco Aironet lightweight
access points to track the physical location of wireless
devices to within a few meters. Moreover, the centralized WLAN
management capabilities and intuitive GUI of Cisco WCS are
extended for managing and configuring the Cisco Wireless
Location Appliance, making setup fast and intuitive. Cisco
Wireless Location Appliance Architecture
Figure is a
representative deployment of the Cisco Wireless Location
appliance. A Cisco 2710 Series Wireless Location Appliance acts
as a server to one or more Cisco WCS devices, collecting,
storing, and passing on data from the appliance’s associated
Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers. The Cisco Wireless Location
Appliance uses the same Cisco lightweight access points that
deliver traffic as location “readers” for 802.11 wireless
clients and Wi-Fi tags. These access points collect RSSI
information from all Wi-Fi devices, including Wi-Fi-enabled
laptops, voice handsets, Wi-Fi tags, rogue devices and rogue
access points. The collected RSSI information is then sent
through Lightweight Access Point Protocol (LWAPP) to the Cisco
Wireless LAN Controllers or certain wireless integrated
switches or routers. Note
Wi-Fi tags, which transmit
wireless signals, are tags added to equipment to make tracking
easier. Access points can collect RSSI information that you can
use later for processing. The Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
then aggregate the RSSI information and send the information to
the Cisco Wireless Location Appliance through SNMP. The Cisco
Wireless Location Appliance performs location computations
based on the RSSI information that arrives from the Cisco
Wireless LAN Controllers. The Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers
that gather the RSSI information must be associated with the
Cisco Wireless Location Appliance. After network maps and
access points are added to the appliance, RF predictions and
heat maps can be generated to display the location of thousands
of devices on the site floor plans graphically. Cisco WCS
displays location information visually, providing an immediate
location application for customers that want to enhance their
RF capacity management, use location-based security, and
maintain asset visibility for WLAN devices. This location
information is also available to third-party applications
through a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) XML API on the
appliance, creating an extensible foundation for a host of rich
location-based applications. SOAP is a protocol specification
for invoking methods on servers, services, components, and
objects. Cisco WCS manages the Cisco Wireless Location
Appliance through an intuitive and visually rich GUI providing
centralized management and configuration. For greater
scalability, Cisco WCS can manage one or more Cisco Wireless
Location Appliances. The Cisco WCS view filters and flexible
search criteria make targeted viewing of location data easy and
adaptive to user needs. Cisco Wireless Location Appliance
Applications
After being configured, each location
server communicates directly with the Cisco Wireless LAN
Controllers that the server was assigned to in order to collect
operator-defined location data. You can then use the associated
Cisco WCS server to communicate with each location server to
transfer and display selected data. You can configure
appliances to collect data for Cisco WLAN solution clients,
access points, mobile stations, and RFID asset Wi-Fi tags at