Quick Reference Guide

System Planning and Deployment Scenarios

ProSAFE Wireless Controller WC9500

packets that are sent from the wireless controller do not carry the 802.1Q header, and all

untagged packets that are sent to the wireless controller are treated as management VLAN

traffic.

Note: Use a tagged VLAN or change the tagged VLAN ID only if the hubs and

switches on your LAN support 802.1Q. If they do not, and you have not

configured a tagged VLAN with the same VLAN ID on the hubs and

switches in your network, IP connectivity might be lost.

The wireless controller needs to have IP connectivity with the access points through the

management VLAN. If the wireless controller and the access points are on different

management VLANs, external VLAN routing needs to allow IP connectivity between the

wireless controller and the access points.

For information about how to configure management VLANs, see

IP and VLAN Settings on

page 49.

Client VLANs

Each authenticated wireless user is placed into a VLAN that determines the user’s DHCP

server, IP address, and Layer 2 connection. Although you could place all authenticated

wireless users into the single VLAN that is specified in the basic security profile, the wireless

controller allows you to group wireless users into separate VLANs based on the wireless

SSID to differentiate access to network resources. For example, you might place authorized

employee users into one VLAN, and itinerant users, such as contractors or guests, into a

separate VLAN. To use different VLANs, you need to create different security profiles.

For information about how to configure regular VLANs, see IP and VLAN Settings on

page 49.

DHCP Server

The wireless controller can function as a DHCP server and assign IP addresses to both

wireless and wired devices that are connected to it. You can add up to 64 DHCP server pools,

each assigned to a different VLAN.

Client Authentication and Data Encryption

A user needs to authenticate to the WLAN to be able to access WLAN resources. The

wireless controller supports several types of security methods, including those that require an

external RADIUS or LDAP authentication server.