Edgecore Networks EWS5207 | Wireless LAN Controller

The Edgecore EWS5207 is an enterprise-grade wireless LAN controller that provides establishments such as hotels, universities, or even complete municipalities with a comprehensive set of managed Wi-Fi features at a competitive license-free price point. With AP management, user authentication, policy assignment, traffic shaping, firewall features, and much more all packaged into a single box, the EWS5207 provides network administrators with a reliable, easy-to-use, and centralized management console for an entire organization’s wireless network infrastructure.

The EWS5207 is capable of managing up to 3,000 ECW/ECWO-series Wireless Access Points and can be directly integrated with Edgecore’s Switches, all of which can be deployed and configured easily by anyone, including non-wireless savvy users. For example, automated AP discovery prevents network administrators from having to go through the hassle of individually adding and configuring each access point. Access points as well as connected Wi-Fi devices can then be monitored and managed from a centralized point, with extensive logging & reporting features to assist in troubleshooting and maintenance.

As Wi-Fi enabled handheld devices such as smartphones and tablets become ever so prevalent in our daily lives, businesses and network operators alike are faced with a mind-boggling dilemma – how to simultaneously address the needs of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), manage Wi-Fi users, and maintain network service quality for mission critical applications. The EWS5207 is designed exactly with these requirements in mind, and with a total cost of ownership that satisfies even the most price conscious, organizations are guaranteed to receive an unmatched ROI on their wireless LAN infrastructure.

AP Management Simplified. Edgecore EWS-series gateway-controllers come with a complete suite of AP management functionality to simplify the deployment and management of complex Wi-Fi networks. Template-based configuration allows network administrators to quickly update multiple APs’ settings from a single interface, while detailed information about each AP’s statistics and real-time email notifications helps increase troubleshooting efficiency. Finally, by grouping APs for load balancing and detecting rogue APs, organizations can ensure the performance of their wireless networks.

Hybrid Gateway-Controller Architecture. As a hybrid architecture integrating both access gateway and WLAN controller functionality in one box, network administrators are able to easily correlate user traffic logs, user policies, and AP statistics for more intelligent allocation of overall network resources. Traditional AP management solutions offer only limited user management capability, and are unable to directly meet the increasing demand in public and enterprise Wi-Fi networks for detailed user access control and monitoring. Furthermore, when compared to separated controller the gateway architectures, Edgecore provides much simpler single interface management and greatly reduced overall cost of deployment.

Multiple Customizable Captive Portals. With Edgecore’s Service Zone design, a single deployment site can be segmented into multiple virtual deployments, each with its own captive portal, authentication options, and network configuration. For retail locations such as shopping malls, this mechanism can be used to enable location-based advertising by directing the traffic from different access points to different Service Zones. Additionally, venues such as conference centers or exhibition halls can also utilize Service Zones easily create ad hoc networks without changing existing network architecture.

Guest Wi-Fi with Self-Registration. The integrated guest Wi-Fi platform within Edgecore’s gateway supports a wide-array of methods for guests to authenticate and obtain Wi-Fi access. Guests can register and login by themselves using e-mail, SMS, or popular social media platforms such as Facebook, and also have the option to pay for premium access directly via their own PayPal accounts. Businesses can also opt to use Edgecore’s ticket printer to create user accounts on-demand, or integrate Edgecore Wi-Fi with their own kiosks and POS systems via the on-demand API.