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: 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:
    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