ZyXEL Introduces New All-in-one WLAN Controller

Jun 03, 2013; Hsinchu, Taiwan – ZyXEL Communications, a world-class broadband networking company that provides a wide range of Internet-enabled wired and wireless connectivity solutions for customers ranging from telecommunications service providers, small- and medium-sized businesses to home users, today introduces its new NXC2500 wireless LAN Controller. In combination with ZyXEL’s access points such as the NWA3000 Series and the newly launched NWA5120 Series, the function-rich WLAN solution allows, in particular, small- and medium-sized operations to effortlessly enjoy efficient Wi-Fi expansion and management to address the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend as more efmployees, visitors and guests use personal mobile devices to access the Internet wirelessly in offices and premises such as campuses, hotels, cafés and shopping malls.

As infrastructure availability takes the top priority in the trend of mobile networking, businesses planning to scale up connectivity or starting new services face challenges in terms of effective deployment and scaling, cost-effective management as well as the organisations with relatively insufficient resources. The new NXC2500 WLAN controller has not only a more compact design, but also the comprehensive functionalities and feature set that allow small and mid-sized organisations to plan, deploy and manage Wi-Fi network easily and effectively with minimal resource and effort.

The ZyXEL Wireless Optimizer, an innovative feature integrated into the NXC2500 WLAN Controller, allows WLAN Access Points to act as Wi-Fi sensors for coverage detection. This helps IT engineers to effectively and easily complete the pre-installation planning process; upon completion of the deployments, the AP Wi-Fi sensors with the Wireless Optimizer application will deliver a wireless quality index that can be visualized on the Wi-Fi quality MAP. The index allows the network map and wireless transmission quality to be monitored and maintained prominently and timely for performance optimization.

The ZyXEL WLAN Access Points such as the Unified Pro and Smart Managed Series requires no pre-configuration. In addition, the NXC2500 WLAN controller is also empowered by features such as multiple auto-discovery and auto-provisioning methods, the DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) option, Broadcast and DNS (Domain Name System) as well as IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) standard-based CAPWAP (Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points) to  ensure communication security between the controller and access points without altering the existing LAN infrastructure. The robustness and dynamics allow simplified deployments and provision of AP expansion within the network, and businesses are assured with uninterrupted, stable Wi-Fi services for sustained productivity, efficiency, security and customer satisfaction as temporary system shutdown can be avoided.

Authentication is critical in wireless networking environments to protect privacy and confidentiality from being breached. The new NXC2500 WLAN Controller applies sophisticated authentication methods to manage Wi-Fi accessibility for various modern mobile devices. Even without standalone RADIUS server available, the RADIUS server, captive portal server and DHCP server built into the NXC2500 Controller can provide businesses with secured access for employees and guests. It also features user-friendly customised portal pages for guest and employees account generation. 

Aside from designs that enhance simplicity and efficiency for Wi-Fi deployment and management, technical efforts were also invested on performance optimization. The auto-channel selection function enables continuous, automated RF optimization to relieve IT administrators from troubles setting and determining the right channels. When a large amount of Access Points are in use, load-balancing parameters can be activated to detect the number of users for effective management of traffic distribution for quality and efficiency.

The new NXC2500 WLAN Controller is the best-in-class choice developed specifically for small- and medium-sized organisations to plan, deploy and manage Wi-Fi networks. For complete features and application details, please visit the ZyXEL SMB WLAN Controller Web site or contact your local ZyXEL representatives.

ZyXEL Communications Corp.
ZyXEL Communications Corp., founded in 1989, is a world-class networking company providing innovative and reliable Internet solutions. As one of the early modem manufacturers, ZyXEL has gone through transformations in the fast-paced networking industry. Today, ZyXEL is one of the few companies in the world capable of offering complete networking solutions for Telcos, small to medium-sized businesses, and digital home users for a wide range of deployment scenarios. Telco solutions include Central Office Equipments, Customer Premises Equipments, Wired and Wireless Access Network Devices, and Carrier Switches. SMB and Enterprise solutions include Unified Security Gateways, LAN Switches, WLAN, and IP Telephony. Digital Home solutions include Network Connectivity Devices and Multimedia Solutions.