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FlexConnect: This deployment mode supports wireless access points in a branch or remote office from the

corporate office through a wide area network (WAN) link without requiring a controller in each branch office.

Access points in this deployment mode can switch client data traffic locally and perform client authentication

locally if desired. Traffic can also be sent back to the centrally located wireless controller on a dynamic

basis based on the business requirements.

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Centralized: This deployment mode allows a centrally managed wireless infrastructure in which all wireless

endpoint association or authentication tasks are handled by a WLC. It is traditionally deployed in medium to

large-sized campus or branch environments. The access point configurations are also managed by the

WLC. Access points download the entire configuration from the WLC and act as a wireless interface to the

clients. All the management and data packets are tunneled to the WLCs, which then switch the packets

between wireless clients and the wired portion of the network. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. Comparison of Various Wireless Deployment Modes

Table 1 lists feature comparisons among these deployment modes.

Table 1. Deployment Mode Feature Comparison

Functionality

Autonomous

FlexConnect

Centralized

Converged

Converged LAN and WLAN operating system

Yes

Traffic visibility at every network layer

Yes

Single point of policy enforcement for LAN/WLAN

Yes

Advanced functionality: high scalability

Yes

High resiliency: subsecond failover

Yes

One policy: ISE

Yes

One management: Prime infrastructure

Yes

Best-in-class RF

Yes

Cisco Unified Access Technology Advantage

Cisco Unified Access enables new connected experiences with the following unique functionalities that are shared

across the entire Cisco wired and wireless infrastructure.

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Single platform for wired and wireless: Converged access uses one common set of context-aware

intelligence and network capabilities across the entire wired-wireless infrastructure, based on one Cisco IOS

Software operating system and one ASIC design for the Cisco Catalyst 3850 switch and the 5760 wireless

controller to deliver operational consistency and simplicity. The benefits of this single platform approach are

business efficiency and a consistent, high-quality user experience.