In This Chapter - Brocade Communications Systems RFS6000 System Reference Manual

Overview

In this chapter

A Brocade Wireless Controller is a centralized management solution for wireless networking. It
connects to non-legacy Access Ports through Layer 2 or Layer 3 (Layer 2 is preferable, if the
situation allows it).
Access ports function as radio antennas for data traffic management and routing. System
configuration and intelligence for the wireless network resides with the switch. The switch uses
Access Ports to bridge data to and from wireless devices. The wireless switch applies appropriate
policies to data packets before forwarding them to their destination.
All data packets to and from wireless devices are processed by the switch, where appropriate
policies are applied before they are decapsulated and sent to their destination.
Access port configuration is managed by the switch through a Web UI Graphical User Interface
(GUI), SNMP or the switch Command Line Interface (CLI).
NOTE
The discussion of the switch GUI within this guide is presented generically, making it equally relevant
to the Brocade Mobility RFS4000, Brocade Mobility RFS6000, and Brocade Mobility RFS7000
switch platforms. However, some subtle differences do exist amongst these baselines. These
differences are noted within the specific GUI elements impacted. When these differences are noted,
the options available to each switch baseline are described in detail.
Hardware Overview
The Brocade Mobility RFS4000, Brocade Mobility RFS6000 and Brocade Mobility RFS7000 are
rack-mountable devices that manage all inbound and outbound traffic on the wireless network.
They provide security, network service and system management applications.
Unlike traditional wireless infrastructure devices that reside at the edge of a network, the switch
uses centralized, policy-based management to apply sets of rules or actions to all devices on the
wireless network. The switch collects management "intelligence" from individual Access
Ports/Points and moves the collected information to the centralized switch.
Access ports (APs) are 48V Power-over-Ethernet devices connected to the switch by an Ethernet
cable. An Access Port receives 802.11x data from clients and forwards the data to the switch which
applies the appropriate policies and routes the packets to their destinations.
Brocade Mobility RFS4000, RFS6000, and RFS7000 System Reference Guide
53-1002515-01
•
Hardware Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
•
Software Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
•
IEEE Standards Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
•
Standards Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter
1
1