Optimized for 802.11ac Wave 2 performance, the intent-driven Cisco DNA^™ ready Cisco^® 3504 Wireless Controller with Cisco Multigigabit Ethernet technology is a compact, highly scalable, service-rich, resilient, and flexible platform that enables next-generation wireless networks for small to medium-sized enterprises and branch office deployments.

Product Overview

The Cisco 3504 Wireless Controller provides centralized control, management, and troubleshooting for small to medium-sized enterprises and branch offices. It offers flexibility to support multiple deployment modes in the same controller—a centralized mode for campus environments, Cisco FlexConnect^® mode for lean branches managed over the WAN, and a mesh (bridge) mode for deployments in which full Ethernet cabling is unavailable. As a component of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, the 3504 controller provides real-time communications between Cisco Aironet^® access points, Cisco Prime^® Infrastructure, and the Cisco Mobility Services Engine, and is interoperable with the Cisco 5520 and 8540 Wireless Controllers.

The Cisco Digital Network Architecture (Cisco DNA) is an open and extensible, software-driven architecture that accelerates and simplifies your enterprise network operations. The programmable architecture frees your IT staff from time-consuming, repetitive network configuration tasks so they can focus instead on innovation that positively transforms your business. SD-Access, as part of Cisco DNA, enables policy-based automation from edge to cloud with foundational capabilities. Cisco DNA Assurance, also part of Cisco DNA, provides a single source to monitor, modify, and manage your network and application data.

Features and Benefits

The Cisco 3504 Wireless Controller with Cisco Multigigabit 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 Multigigabit Ethernet technology to support next-generation 802.11ac Wave 2 deployments using existing cabling infrastructure.

●   Subsecond 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 can optionally export the flows to Cisco Prime Infrastructure or a third-party NetFlow collector.

●   An embedded wireless Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) policy classification engine that allows classification of client devices and application of user group policies.

●   Guest access and Bonjour and Chromecast services in centralized deployments.

●   Software-defined segmentation with Cisco TrustSec^® technology, reducing Access Control List (ACL) maintenance, complexity, and overhead.

●   Integrated Cisco CleanAir^® 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.

Table 1 lists the features and benefits of the 3504 wireless controller.