Quick Reference Guide

Table of Contents | 3
Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction
Key Features and Capabilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Package Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Hardware Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Front Panel Ports, Slots, and LEDs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Back Panel Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Bottom Panel with Product Label. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
WC9500 Wireless Controller System Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
NETGEAR ProSAFE Access Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
What Can You Do with the WC9500 Wireless Controller? . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Maintenance and Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Chapter 2 System Planning and Deployment Scenarios
Basic and Advanced Setting Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Profile Group Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Basic Profile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Advanced Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
System Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Preinstallation Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Before You Configure a Wireless Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
High-Level Configuration Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Single Controller Configuration with Basic Profile Group . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Single Controller Configuration with Advanced Profile Groups . . . . . . . 27
Management VLAN and Data VLAN Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
High-Level Deployment Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Scenario Example 1: Network with Single VLAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Scenario Example 2: Advanced Network with VLANs and SSIDs. . . . . 31
Scenario Example 3: Advanced Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Chapter 3 Installation and Configuration Overview
Initial Set up and Log in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Web Management Interface Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Roadmap for Initial Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Roadmap for Configuring Management of Your Wireless Network. . . . . . 43
Choose a Location for the Wireless Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Deploy the Wireless Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45