3COM
®
WIRELESS LAN CONTROLLER WX4400 AND 3COM WIRELESS LAN SWITCH WX1200 DATA SHEET
2
Description
FLEXIBLE, SCALABLE MOBILITY ARCHITECTURE
Mobility Domains
Groups of 3Com wireless controllers and/or switches that share user information and authorizations as users
roam to support mobility and enforce security across the entire wireless network.
Topology independence
By providing a Layer 2 path for Layer 3 traffic, 3Com wireless controllers, switches and MAPs operate as an
integrated infrastructure separated by L2/L3 devices even in distributed remote networks, making it easy to
expand or modify the WLAN as needed.
Fast roaming
Quick handoff of user information and authorizations within the Mobility Domain enables seamless roaming
with session integrity and mobility robust enough to support voice traffic.
Multiple per-user queues
Class-based traffic queuing at the MAP helps ensure that voice and other real-time applications receive the
class of service and quality of service they need over the WLAN.
Pay-as you-go scalability
Upgrade licenses in 24-MAP increments for the WX4400 increase support to a total of 96 MAPs
(3Com Wireless LAN Controller WX4400)
per controller for flexible expansion.
PoE support
The WX1200 supplies both data and power to MAPs over Ethernet cabling for installation flexibility.
(3Com Wireless LAN Controller WX1200)
ENCRYPTION
Multiple encryption schemes
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Temporal Key Interchange Protocol (TKIP), and Wired Equivalent Privacy
(WEP) encryption performed at the MAP help protect all communications.
Per-user encryption assignment
Enforces different security policies on a per-user or per-group basis for flexible, in-depth security control
and management.
AAA SECURITY
Local or RADIUS server 802.1X authentication
Helps ensure that only authorized users access the network. Centralizes authentication control and
management of all network users.
Virtual Private Group
™
support
Enables IT staff to assign policies that control per-user or per-group network access throughout the WLAN
for secure seamless roaming, and keeps user traffic separate and secure.
Mobility Profile
™
Specifies which MAP or LAN authentication ports a user or group can use, allowing IT staff to dynamically
apply access permissions based on attributes returned by the AAA server.
AAA integration and RADIUS offloading
Wireless controllers and switches can shoulder backend encryption key generation and authentication tasks,
reducing the processing load and increasing the scale and efficiency of central AAA RADIUS servers while
reducing AAA traffic over the WLAN.
User, MAC, and VLAN “globbing”
Allows IT staff to assign AAA policies to user, subnet, or device groups for convenient, efficient,
cost-effective WLAN administration.
Bonded authentication
Makes sure only trusted users and client devices access the network, by bonding 802.1X machine
authentication with 802.1X user authentication.
Time-of-day/Day-of-week access
Lets IT staff control and restrict network resource access at predetermined times on an hourly, daily, or
weekly basis.
Location policy enforcement
Allows IT staff to assign to add or override AAA-defined access permissions based on user location,
providing a choice of centralized and location-specific policy implementation.
Features
Contains Equipment Expense and
Management Complexity, Adds Cost-
Effective Scalability
3Com’s versatile solution can be deployed
on any existing Layer 2 or Layer 3 LAN
topology with no backbone or hardware
reconfiguration required. Wireless
controllers or switches and associated MAPs
can reside anywhere in the network, sepa-
rated by L2/L3 devices, and can operate as
an integrated infrastructure, making it easy
to scale or change as business needs dictate.
The WX1200 supports up to 12 MAPs while
the WX4400 comes configured to support
24 MAPs and is expandable in increments of
24 MAPS to support up to 96 MAPs per
controller for “pay-as-you-grow” flexibility.
WX4400s and WX1200s can be mixed and
matched together within a Mobility Domain
to manage and control thousands of MAPs
for unparalleled scalability. 3Com wireless
controllers and switches already support
future wireless LAN capabilities, such as
wireless IP Telephony (VoIP), today, and
downloadable firmware upgrades will keep
your network current with developing
standards releases.
Key Benefits,
continued
