Introduction To The Access Point - Cisco Aironet 1530 Getting Started Manual

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Introduction to the Access Point

The Cisco Aironet 1530 Series Outdoor Access Point (hereafter called the access point or AP) is a
rugged outdoor access point designed for service in outdoor and mesh networks. The 1530 series
leverages 802.11n technology with integrated radio and internal/external antennas.
The 1530 contains a 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz radio with an option to configure in centralized,
Flexconnect, or mesh mode. The 2.4-GHz radios are used primarily for local access, and the 5-GHz
radios can be configured for both local access and/or wireless backhaul in the Mesh mode.
The access point is a standalone unit that can be wall, pole or tower mounted. 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 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 (WLC), referred to as a controller in this document. The WLC is described in
the appropriate Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Configuration Guide. The Cisco Mesh Networking
Solution Deployment Guide describes how to plan and initially configure the Cisco mesh network,
which supports wireless point-to-point and point-to-multipoint mesh deployments. The controllers use
a browser-based management system, a command-line interface (CLI), or the Cisco Prime
Infrastructure (CIP) network management system to manage the controller and the associated access
points.
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