C H A P T E R
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Cisco Aironet 1552 Series for Hazardous Locations Installation Guide
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Overview
The Cisco Aironet 1552 Series Outdoor Mesh Access Point for Hazardous Locations (hereafter called
the
access point
or
AP
) is a modularized wireless outdoor access point designed for use in a mesh
network. The access point also supports wireless client access, point-to-point bridging,
point-to-multipoint bridging, and point-to-multipoint mesh wireless connectivity.
About the Cisco 1552 Access Point
The 1552 access point supports two radios (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) and provides client access without the
need for a license. Depending on the radio, the access point can support 1 to 300 Mb/s data rates (for
specific data rates, refer to
Appendix D, “Access Point Specifications”
The 1552 access point supports the modularity of the 1520 series and allows flexibility in radio
configuration. In addition to full interoperability with 802.11n clients, the 1552 access point
interoperates with legacy clients and offers enhanced backhaul performance. The 1552 access point can
also be configured with an integrated ISA100 Wireless and WirelessHART Multiprotocol Radio or
WirelessHART Gateway.
The access point is a standalone unit that can be attached with a bracket or pole mounted with an optional
kit. The access point can also operate as a relay node for other access points not directly connected to a
wired network. Intelligent wireless routing is provided by the patented Cisco Adaptive Wireless Path
Protocol (AWPP). This enables each access point to identify its neighbors and intelligently choose the
optimal path to the wired network by calculating the cost of each path in terms of signal strength and the
number of hops required to get to a controller.
The access point is configured, monitored, and operated through a Cisco wireless LAN controller
(hereafter called a
controller
) as described in the
Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Configuration Guide.
The
Cisco Wireless Mesh Access Points, Design and Deployment Guide
describes how to plan and
initially configure the Cisco mesh network, which supports wireless point-to-point, point-to-multipoint,
and mesh deployments. The controllers use a browser-based management system, a command-line
interface (CLI), or the Cisco Prime Network Management tool to manage the controller and the
associated access points. The access point supports hardware-based advanced encryption standard
(AES) encryption between wireless nodes to provide end-to-end security.
This chapter provides information on the following topics:
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