Cisco Cisco Aironet 3500e Access Point Libro blanco
Copyright 2010 CWNP Inc.
Page 1
The Cisco Premium
By Marcus Burton—April 2010
In the vendor scramble towards low-priced commoditized 802.11n hardware, one vendor is drawing a
line in the sand and bucking the trend. Perhaps the only vendor that could stand resolute with this
decision, Cisco is foregoing the sprint to status quo (low priced 2x2) by introducing the antithesis of
commodity, something that fits by itself in a category called “premium.”
line in the sand and bucking the trend. Perhaps the only vendor that could stand resolute with this
decision, Cisco is foregoing the sprint to status quo (low priced 2x2) by introducing the antithesis of
commodity, something that fits by itself in a category called “premium.”
Since the Cognio acquisition back in 2007, Cisco stands as the only vendor with the unique position and
opportunity to seamlessly embed their own true spectrum analysis chipset into the Wi-Fi chipset. And
capitalizing on this unique position is exactly what they’ve done by integrating the spectrum analysis
hardware from Cognio into the Marvell radio. This integrated feature set is available in their new 3500-
series APs, which are beautiful to behold. The 3501i and 3502i (that “i” is for integrated antennas) look
similar to the 1142s, with some subtle updates. The 3501e and 3502e (betcha can’t guess what the “e”
is for) also took their styling cues from the 1142, again with some subtle updates and well-designed,
recessed antenna connectors on top. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of added logic gates in
the Wi-Fi radio, I should also mention that Cisco took advantage of this radio update to improve other
features as well, such as RRM and ClientLink.
opportunity to seamlessly embed their own true spectrum analysis chipset into the Wi-Fi chipset. And
capitalizing on this unique position is exactly what they’ve done by integrating the spectrum analysis
hardware from Cognio into the Marvell radio. This integrated feature set is available in their new 3500-
series APs, which are beautiful to behold. The 3501i and 3502i (that “i” is for integrated antennas) look
similar to the 1142s, with some subtle updates. The 3501e and 3502e (betcha can’t guess what the “e”
is for) also took their styling cues from the 1142, again with some subtle updates and well-designed,
recessed antenna connectors on top. In addition to the hundreds of thousands of added logic gates in
the Wi-Fi radio, I should also mention that Cisco took advantage of this radio update to improve other
features as well, such as RRM and ClientLink.
As for compatibility with other components of the CUWN, all WLCs are supported (even the lowly 2106)
with new v7 firmware. The WCS also got a bump to v7, and has several new enhancements. You’ll also
notice that Cisco Spectrum Expert got a major code revision (up to 4.x) to support remote sensor
connectivity. More on that later. After releasing the 1142 AP a while back, Cisco has been an advocate
of marrying 802.11n with 802.3af, a trend they’re continuing with the 3500 APs. Yes, this means the
Marvell chipset is still 2x3, a fact that doesn’t surprise me. Another transmitter doesn’t give you much
in this case, other than a higher power budget. I should also note that they updated their 1252 AP to a
1260-series AP, which is also 802.3af compatible.
with new v7 firmware. The WCS also got a bump to v7, and has several new enhancements. You’ll also
notice that Cisco Spectrum Expert got a major code revision (up to 4.x) to support remote sensor
connectivity. More on that later. After releasing the 1142 AP a while back, Cisco has been an advocate
of marrying 802.11n with 802.3af, a trend they’re continuing with the 3500 APs. Yes, this means the
Marvell chipset is still 2x3, a fact that doesn’t surprise me. Another transmitter doesn’t give you much
in this case, other than a higher power budget. I should also note that they updated their 1252 AP to a
1260-series AP, which is also 802.3af compatible.
While other vendors have previously claimed spectrum-level visibility in their APs, they suffer from the
unfortunate effect of ill-advised marketing. What is billed by some as “spectrum analysis” is nothing
unfortunate effect of ill-advised marketing. What is billed by some as “spectrum analysis” is nothing