Data Sheet

ProSAFE
®
WC7500 Wireless Controller Data Sheet
WC7500
Page 3 of 9
Scalable Architecture
The NETGEAR WC7500 Premium Wireless
Controller supports up to 15 APs with base
support of 10 AP’s and optional license to
support additional 5 AP’s.
Centralized Management
Deployed as an overlay on the existing
wired network infrastructure, the
NETGEAR ProSAFE WC7500 Premium
Wireless Controller simplifies the network
management by providing a single point
of management for the entire wireless
network. Easy to set up, the WC7500
Controller discovers all supported access
points in the network, even across VLANs
and subnets. Once identified, the access
points are provisioned in minutes. The
discovery process follows an ecient and
fast protocol in Ufast
™
.
Robust Security
With identity-based security features
such as support for RADIUS, Active
Directory and internal or external
AAA server, the NETGEAR ProSAFE
WC7500 Premium Wireless Controller
truly unifies wired and wireless access
without compromising on security.
Management VLAN is configurable
and up to 8 security configuration
profiles (SSID, 802.11i security, VLAN,
ACLs, radio parameters) can be active.
Rogue AP detection permits rogue
APs classification (friendly or hostile).
Standard RADIUS compliance enables
support for third-party authentication
and billing system implementation.
Scheduled wireless on/o times permits
the wireless network to be completely
unavailable during specified non-
business hours.
Guest Access, Captive Portal and
Logging
Guest access allows restricted access to
the network, using an integrated captive
portal. Two methods of entry are provided,
either assisted or self-certified. In the
assisted model, the receptionist can create
a user name and password for guests
in the GUI and the NETGEAR ProSAFE
WC7500 Premium Wireless Controller
hosts a captive portal where guests can
enter their pre-configured credentials to
gain access to the network. Alternatively,
the NETGEAR ProSAFE WC7500 Premium
Wireless Controller hosts a guest portal
where guests can register themselves
before entering the network. Backend
VLAN policies ensure restricted access to
guests, prohibiting them any access to the
sensitive data on the corporate network.
Guest activity logs are available.
RF Management and Hole Detection
Automatic control of AP transmit power
and channel allocation ensures coverage
by minimizing interferences. Automatic
WLAN healing aer loss of AP or due to
RF interferences adapts the power and
channel of the other APs around the area.
Scheduled automatic channel allocation
authorizes an enterprise-class reliable
wireless experience.
UFast™
Ufast is an innovative approach to expedite
the communication between the AP
and the Controller during the discovery
process. Typical AP to controller discovery
can take multiple seconds and depending
on the number of AP’s in the network, the
discovery process can take minutes. With
the Ufast protocol, the AP discovery is
nearly instantaneous, and resulting in an
fast and easy set up stage.
Features
Load Balancing and Rate Limiting
Automatic load balancing of clients across
APs is provided based on number of clients
per AP and signal strength threshold/data
rate threshold of clients on the BSS. Rate
limiting is provided by SSID. Load balancing
and rate limiting ensure fair bandwidth
allocation among all clients for robust
wireless connectivity.
Bandsteering
Bandsteeering provides the capability to
automatically direct dual band clients to
the most desired frequency band (2.4
or 5 GHz) to improve client’s experience
and maximize over the air resources.
Fast Roaming and Voice over WiFi
The NETGEAR ProSAFE WC7500 Premium
Wireless Controller supports rapid mobility
across VLANs and subnets including
802.11i pre-authentication and fast
roaming support (FRS). Seamless L2 and
L3 roaming provides support for latency-
sensitive applications such as video, audio
and voice over wireless. WiFi Multimedia
(WMM) advanced prioritization extends
WiFi’s high-quality end-user experience to
voice applications (VoWi-Fi).
Monitoring and Reporting
The WC7500 uses a heartbeat mechanism
between the controller and the AP. It is
monitored based on several factors, such
as RF interference, clients, error levels, etc.
Each AP is constantly monitored (number
of clients, trac load, RF interference,
packet error levels and retransmission
statistics). Statistics provide reliable metrics
per AP, per client, per floor and for the
entire wireless network.