Cisco AIR-PI21AG-A-K9, AIR-PI21AG-E-K9, AIR-PI21AG-J-K9, AIR-PI21AG-W-K9, AIR-PI21AG-A-K9-10 Datasheet

DATA SHEET

CISCO AIRONET 802.11A/B/G
WIRELESS PCI ADAPTER

PRODUCT OVERVIEW
The Cisco Aironet® IEEE 802.11a/b/g Wireless PCI Adapter provides high-performance 54 Mbps connectivity in the 2.4 and
5 GHz bands. Whether configured to support single 802.11b coverage, single 802.11g coverage, single 802.11a coverage,
dual-mode 802.11a/g coverage or tri-mode 802.11a/b/g coverage, the Cisco Aironet 802.11a/b/g Wireless PCI Adapter is
Wi-Fi compliant and combines the freedom of wireless connectivity with the performance, security, and manageability that
businesses require (Figure 1).

The low-profile form factor and two-meter cable length provide significant flexibility for installation in low-profile devices,
such as slim desktops and point-of-sale (POS) devices. For versatility, both a low profile and a standard profile bracket frame
are included with the adapter. The attached dual-band 2.4/5 GHz 1 dBi effective gain antenna has a 2-meter cable allowing for
optimal placement to maximum performance.

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Figure 1. Client devices equipped with Cisco Aironet 802.11a/b/g wireless PCI adapters, such as desktop computers, POS devices, and information kiosks, can easily be

moved or roam freely throughout a facility via communications with multiple IEEE 802.11a/b/g access points.

Features include:

• Superior range and throughput

• Secure network communications with the Cisco Wireless Security Suite and support for Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)

• Comprehensive utilities for flexible, easy configuration and management

• World mode for international roaming

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ENTERPRISE-CLASS SECURITY SOLUTION

Designed with enterprise-class security requirements in mind, the Cisco Aironet 802.11a/b/g Wireless PCI Adapter is a key client-side component
of the award-winning Cisco Wireless Security Suite. Based on the 802.1X standard for port-based network access, the Cisco Wireless Security Suite
takes advantage of the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) framework for user-based authentication (Figure 2). This solution also supports
WPA, the Wi-Fi Alliance certification for interoperable, standards-based wireless LAN security.

The Cisco Aironet 802.11a/b/g Wireless PCI Adapter supports the most common 802.1X authentication types, including Cisco LEAP, Extensible
Authentication Protocol Transport Layer Security (EAP-TLS), Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol-Generic Token Card (PEAP-GTC), and
Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol-Microsoft Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol Version 2 (PEAP-MSCHAP V2). A wide
selection of RADIUS servers, such as the Cisco Secure Access Control Server (ACS) and Cisco Access Registrar (AR) server, can be used for
enterprise-class centralized security and management that includes:

• Strong, mutual authentication to ensure that only legitimate clients associate with legitimate and authorized network RADIUS servers via

authorized access points

• Dynamic per-user, per-session encryption keys that automatically change on a configurable basis to protect the privacy of transmitted data

• Stronger encryption, such as message integrity check (MIC), per-packet keys via initialization vector hashing, and broadcast key rotation,

provided by Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) enhancements

• RADIUS accounting records for all authentication attempts

• Ready for IEEE 802.11i/WPA2 Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) support

For more information on wireless security, visit:

Figure 2. The Cisco Wireless Security Suite is an enterprise-class security system based on the 802.1X architecture

http://www.cisco.com/go/aironet/security.

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CISCO STRUCTURED WIRELESS-AWARE NETWORK

The Cisco Aironet 802.11a/b/g Wireless PCI Adapter is a key component of the Cisco Structured Wireless-Aware Network (SWAN). Cisco SWAN
is a framework to integrate and extend wired and wireless networks to deliver the lowest possible total cost of ownership for companies deploying
WLANs. Cisco SWAN extends “wireless awareness” into important elements of the network infrastructure, providing the same level of security,
scalability, reliability, ease of deployment, and management for wireless LANs that organizations have come to expect from their wired LANs.

Wireless domain services (WDS) is introduced with the Cisco Structured Wireless-Aware Network. WDS is a collection of Cisco IOS Software
features that expand WLAN client mobility, simplify WLAN deployment and management and enhance WLAN security. These services—supported
on access points, client devices, and the Cisco Catalyst® 6500 Series Wireless LAN Services Module (WLSM) today and other Cisco LAN switches
and routers in 2005—include radio management aggregation, fast secure roaming, client tracking, and WAN link remote site survivability. WDS
radio management aggregation supports radio frequency (RF) managed services such as rogue access point detection for WLAN Intrusion Detection
System (IDS), interference detection, assisted site surveys and self-healing wireless LANs. For more information on Cisco SWAN, visit:

http://www.cisco.com/go/swan.

Fast secure roaming is supported by Cisco and Cisco Compatible client devices in conjunction with Cisco Aironet, Cisco IOS Software-based access
points. With fast secure roaming, authenticated client devices can roam securely from one access point to another, within or across subnets, without
any perceptible delay during reassociation. Fast secure roaming supports latency-sensitive applications such as wireless voice over IP (VoIP),
enterprise resource planning (ERP), or Citrix- based solutions (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Fast Secure Roaming

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© 2004 Cisco Systems, Inc. All right reserved.

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