John, I think there are excellent applications for AMP in University environments, especially those that have to manage multiple generations of AP's or AP's from multiple vendors. Clearly, it's possible to implement and run a very large .edu network without buying into one of the new controller-based WLAN systems and AMP helps you do that. However, I think it will be impossible for a 3rd-party management system to leverage the full range of services offered by Cisco's own management platform. It's like the old days of network management frameworks that couldn't keep pace with change. I think AMP is a good solution for managing Cisco IOS-based AP's, but if you plan to implement Cisco's newest LWAPP-based architecture and track with their future developments, I'd be inclined to stick with a pure-Cisco solution. Based on your e-mail, it looks like you are interested in location-services and outdoor mesh but I'm kind of reading into your comments.
If you go with the pure-Cisco solution, get the check-book out because it isn't going to be cheap, even with healthy University discounts. The cost of all those controllers (especially WISM modules on the Cat65K) adds up pretty quickly. But if your organization thinks the the ROI is there, go for it and share your experiences with the rest of us! dm > -----Original Message----- > From: John Watters [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2006 5:20 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [WIRELESS-LAN] Cisco Airespace APs with AIrwave AMP > Management > > I am preparing to rollout a large deployment of Cisco Airespace APs to > cover our entire 1,000 acre campus with 120+ buildings, inside and > out. > My estimate of the number of APs needed approaches 3,000. My Cisco > folks recommend using their WCS product along with their Location > Appliances. > Since each pair of these will only handle up to 100 APs each, that is > lot of money to be spent on WCS+Location Appliance pairs. My Airwave > tech person visited yesterday and said that their AMP product (which I > already have managing my fat APs) can easily take the place of the > Cisco > WCS+Location Appliance pairs. He went on to say that Cisco even > recommends the Airwave management solution for "large deployments". > > My questions to the list are: > > 1) Is the Airwave person correct that the AMP product can do all (or > almost all) of what the Cisco WCS+Location Appliance pairs do when > managing an Airespace environment? > > 2) Is anyone running an Airspace deployment anywhere close to this > size (in a single location) and satisfactorily using the Airwave AMP > product instead of the Cisco WCS+Location Appliance pairs to manage > it? > > Thanks. > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > John Watters UA: Office of Information Technology 205-348-3992 > > ********** > Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE > Constituent Group discussion list can be found at > http://www.educause.edu/groups/. > ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/. ********** Participation and subscription information for this EDUCAUSE Constituent Group discussion list can be found at http://www.educause.edu/groups/.
