Cisco Cisco Aironet 3500p Access Point Libro blanco

 

 

© 2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. 

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White Paper 

Cisco CleanAir Technology: Intelligence in Action 

This white paper addresses the RF interference challenges that result from high 
usage of a shared spectrum

. With the introduction of the IEEE’s latest wireless 

standard, 802.11ac, with its 80-MHz-wide channel bandwidth, these challenges 
become more acute. It explores the limitations of standard Wi-Fi chip design and how 
this affects the ability of an IT organization to gather critical, actionable data about the 
wireless spectrum for effective troubleshooting. Finally, it introduces 

 which is part of our High Density Experience (HDX) and explains how, by 

integrating RF intelligence into the network, users gain tremendous insight into actual 
usage of the wireless spectrum. This insight is critical to proactively managing Wi-Fi 
networks so that they can support the mission-critical and latency-sensitive 
applications needed in today’s hospitals, distributed enterprises, manufacturing sites, 
retail stores, and offices. 

Wi-Fi Becomes Mission Critical 

The first enterprise Wi-Fi networks were an added convenience used for web surfing in enterprise lobbies or 

conference rooms. For these applications, a best-effort level of performance was acceptable. 

Now Wi-Fi has matured to the point that it is being deployed for many mission-critical applications. Hospitals use 

Wi-Fi for mobile access to patient files and to remotely monitor secondary bedside systems. In retail and 

manufacturing, Wi-Fi is used for logistics and business transactions. Small branch offices are beginning to use 

Wi-Fi as the exclusive network access method, forgoing wired connections. And increasingly, Wi-Fi is being used 

for voice and video, which is sensitive to the impact of interference. 

In all these examples, Wi-

Fi networks are expected to run with very high reliability. It’s no longer acceptable for 

Wi-Fi networks to have unexpected downtime due to interference. 

Defining the Solution 

Spectrum intelligence (SI) is data about RF spectrum activity derived from advanced interference identification 

algorithms similar to those used in the military. SI provides visibility into all the users of the shared spectrum - both 

Wi-Fi devices and non-Wi-Fi interferers. For every device operating in the unlicensed band, SI reveals: What is it? 

Where is it? How is it impacting the Wi-Fi network? 

Spectrum management is the active use of spectrum intelligence data to improve performance and lower the 

operational costs of Wi-Fi networks. Information about the severity and duration of interference can be used to 

calculate its impact on the network and to troubleshoot problems. This information can also be stored for 

back-in-time analysis and trending. Combined with contextual data such as physical location and systemwide 

correlation, spectrum management is a powerful, proactive tool that increases WLAN reliability, performance, 

and security.