Getting Started

To configure and manage System Director, you need Level 10 permission or better.

WLAN Infrastructure

In a typical System Director configuration, the transmitter/receiver (transceiver) device, called an access point, connects to the wired network from a fixed location using standard Ethernet cable. In an infrastructure WLAN, multiple access points link the WLAN to the wired network and allow users to share resources efficiently. The access points communicate with and are managed by the controller. The WLAN supports the IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n standard. The main managed entities of the WLAN are:

Controller	The network element providing the centralized management interface.
Access Points	The network elements providing the wireless interface to the wireless station using the 802.11a/b/g/n standard. They are connected directly to Layer 2 or Layer 3 devices.
Stations	Stations (also referred to as clients) are 802.11a/b/g/n wireless devices communicating with access points. Stations can roam between access points.

Security in WLAN Infrastructure

Data security is a major concern for wireless networks, due to the nature of the transmission mechanism. Authentication and encryption in the WLAN provide security, and can be configured using the following security options:

WPA2 and WPA2-PSK and CCMP-AES encryption for maximum security options.
WPA and WPA-PSK and TKIP encryption for very strong security options.
802.1X RADIUS-based authentication, where users are authenticated against a centralized RADIUS server, based on their MAC address or their username and password.
Captive Portal with WebAuth
WEP64 and WEP128 for minimum encryption

System Director Web UI Features

The Web UI provides configuration, maintenance, and monitoring of the WLAN, and features the following operations:

Provides support for configuring most all aspects of the controller and access points.
Provides support for configuring security settings for authenticating and authorizing WLAN users.
Provides support for configuring ESSes, Virtual Cells, VLANs, and Captive Portals.
Provides support for configuring QoS parameters for an ESS.
Provides support for configuring SNMP community and trap settings.
Provides real-time and historical information about alarms occurring on network elements in an easy to read centralized display.
Monitors the network elements, collects performance statistics, and reports threshold violations.
Provides support for implementing AP redirection and replacement.