Cisco Mobility Express Overview

With more devices attaching to the network and more bandwidth-intensive applications in use, mobile usage continues to rise. How do small and medium-sized businesses with little or no IT staff keep pace with unexpected growth?

The Cisco Mobility Express Solution is specifically designed to help small and medium-sized businesses easily and cost-effectively deliver enterprise-class wireless access to both employees and customers. It is a virtual Wireless LAN controller function embedded on Cisco Aironet® 1560, 1815W, 1815I,1830, 1850, 2800 and 3800 series 802.11ac Wave 2 Access Points. With the Cisco Mobility Express Solution, small and mid-sized networks can now enjoy the same quality user experiences as large enterprises.

Cisco Mobility Express Solution is an on-premise, managed Wi-Fi solution that:

  • Is ideal for small and medium-sized deployments of up to 100 access points.

  • Provides an easy, over-the-air deployment in under 10 minutes. In addition, one can use Network Plug and Play to bring up a new site.

  • Removes the need for a physical controller while supporting Cisco's advanced features.

  • Is supported on Cisco Aironet® 1560, 1815W, 1815I, 1815M, 1830, 1850, 2800 and 3800 Series 802.11ac Wave 2 Access Points.

  • Can control other Aironet® access points, such as the 1700, 2700, and 3700 Series.

  • Can be used to perform Site Survey.

  • Is the Next Generation Autonomous. 802.11ac Wave 2 Access Point do not support the legacy autonomous mode.

  • Industry-leading Cisco technology allows small and medium-sized networks to reduce the number of devices needed to enjoy enterprise-grade Wi-Fi. Advanced features such as Guest, BYOD and Cisco High Density Experience (HDX) are activated by default for compatible access points, making the deployment process even easier. CMX can be added to gain presence-based services and deep analytics.

Supported Cisco Aironet® Access Points

Cisco Mobility Express solution consists of the following components:

  • Master Access Point - Cisco Aironet® 1560, 1815W, 1815I, 1815M,1830, 1850, 2800 and 3800 Series 802.11ac Wave 2 Access Points running the virtual Wireless LAN Controller function.

  • Subordinate Access Points - Cisco Aironet® Access Points which are managed by Master Access Point similar to how a Wireless LAN Controller manages Access Points.


Note

Master Access Point functions as Wireless LAN Controller, manages Subordinate Access Points and also serves clients at the same time.

Master Access Points

Cisco Aironet® Access Points which support the Wireless LAN Controller function and operate as Master Access points are listed in the table below:

Table 1. Cisco Aironet® Access Points capable of operating as Master Access Points
Master Access Points Supported Model Numbers
Cisco Aironet® 1540 Series

AIR-AP1540I-x-K9

AIR-AP1540D-x-K9

Cisco Aironet® 1560 Series

AIR-AP1562I-x-K9

AIR-AP1562E-x-K9

AIR-AP1562D-x-K9

Cisco Aironet® 1815I Series AIR-AP1815I-x-K9C
Cisco Aironet® 1815M Series AIR-AP1815M-x-K9C
Cisco Aironet® 1815W Series

AIR-AP1815W-x-K9C

Cisco Aironet® 1830 Series

AIR-AP1832I-x-K9C

Cisco Aironet® 1850 Series

AIR-AP1852I-x-K9C

AIR-AP1852E-x-K9C

Cisco Aironet® 2800 Series

AIR-AP2802I-x-K9C

AIR-AP2802E-x-K9C

Cisco Aironet® 3800Series

AIR-AP3802I-x-K9C

AIR-AP3802E-x-K9C


Note

The -x- in the other model numbers is a placeholder for the actual letter indicating the model's regulatory domain. For information on regulatory domains, see http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/assets/prod/wireless/wireless-compliance-tool/index.html

Subordinate Access Points

Cisco Aironet® Access Points which operate as Subordinate Access Points and serve clients are listed in the table below:

Table 2. Cisco Aironet® Access Points capable of operating as Subordinate Access Points
Subordinate Access Points Supported Model Numbers
Cisco Aironet® 700i Series AIR-CAP702I-x-K9
Cisco Aironet® 700w Series AIR-CAP702W-x-K9
Cisco Aironet® 1540 Series

AIR-AP1540I-x-K9

AIR-AP1540D-x-K9

Cisco Aironet® 1560Series

AIR-AP1562I-x-K9

AIR-AP1562E-x-K9

AIR-AP1562D-x-K9

Cisco Aironet® 1700 Series AIR-CAP1702I-x-K9
Cisco Aironet® 1810 Series AIR-AP1810W-x-K9
Cisco Aironet® 1815I Series AIR-AP1815I-x-K9C
Cisco Aironet® 1815M Series AIR-AP1815M-x-K9C
Cisco Aironet® 1815W Series AIR-AP1815W-x-K9C
Cisco Aironet® 1830 Series

AIR-AP1832I-x-K9C

Cisco Aironet® 1850 Series

AIR-AP1852I-x-K9C

AIR-AP1852E-x-K9C

Cisco Aironet® 2700 Series

AIR-CAP2702I-x-K9

AIR-CAP2702E-x-K9

Cisco Aironet® 2800 Series

AIR-AP2802I-x-K9C

AIR-AP2802E-x-K9C

Cisco Aironet® 3700 Series

AIR-CAP3702I-x-K9

AIR-CAP3702E-x-K9

Cisco Aironet® 3800 Series

AIR-AP3802I-x-K9C

AIR-AP3802E-x-K9C


Note

The -x- in the other model numbers is a placeholder for the actual letter indicating the model's regulatory domain. For information on regulatory domains, see http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/assets/prod/wireless/wireless-compliance-tool/index.html

Cisco Mobility Express Scale Limits

Cisco Mobility Express supports up to 100 Access Points and 2000 Clients in a single deployment. Given below are the scale limits per Master Access Point.

Table 3. Cisco Mobility Express Scale Limits
Master Access Points # of Access Points Supported # of Clients Supported
Cisco Aironet® 1540 Series 50 1000
Cisco Aironet® 1560 Series 100 2000
Cisco Aironet® 1815I Series 50 1000
Cisco Aironet® 1815M Series 50 1000
Cisco Aironet® 1815W Series 50 1000
Cisco Aironet® 1830 Series 50 1000
Cisco Aironet® 1850 Series 50 1000
Cisco Aironet® 2800 Series 100 2000
Cisco Aironet® 3800 Series 100 2000

Note

If there are more than 50 Access Points in a Mobility Express network, the Master AP(running the Wireless LAN controller function) can service a maximum of 20 clients. This limit only applies to Master AP and not any other Access Point in the Mobility Express network.