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What is the AWC Plug-in

AWC Plug-in > Overview > What is the AWC Plug-in

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The AWC (Autonomous Wave Control) Plug-in is a wireless LAN controller. It lets you centrally and graphically manage wireless access points (APs) that are connected to an AMF network as guest nodes or are installed on the same subnet as the AWC Plug-in server.
The plug-in can use AWC to automatically adjust the channel and transmit power for each AP according to the surrounding radio environment.

The AWC Plug-in enables you to:

• Batch configure multiple APs in arbitrary groups
  
• Batch upgrade multiple AP's firmware
  
• View a graphical representation of your wireless network
  
• Automatically adjust the channel and power of each AP with the AWC feature
  
• Detect rogue APs
  

In addition, with Wireless Channel Blanket licenses, you can also configure and operate a hybrid wireless network, which combines blanket and multi-channel wireless networks. This is called AWC-CB (AWC-Channel Blanket).
Please refer to Operation Reference > Channel Blanket > Overview for more details on AWC-CB.

If you are planning to manage guest node APs, please make sure that your AMF network is working correctly before using this software.
Please refer to the AMF Feature Overview and Configuration Guide for AMF networking features.

Note

You can use the AWC Plug-in if your network doesn't use AMF (i.e. there's no AMF master or controller on your network). There are some limitations on the available features. For this to work, you have to install both Vista Manager EX and the AWC Plug-in and enable appropriate licenses. You cannot install and use the AWC Plug-in without Vista Manager EX.

Supported AP Models

The AWC Plug-in can manage the following AP models.

• TQ Series:
  TQ2450, TQ3200, TQ3400, TQ3600, TQ4400, TQ4400e, TQ4600
  Firmware Version 4.3.x Bxx
  Firmware Version 4.2.x Bxx (Limited Support)
  

  Note

  "Limited Support" means that the latest features added to this version of Vista Manager EX and the AWC Plug-in are not supported by this AP firmware version. Basic management and AWC calculation features are still available with the limited-support firmware version.

  Note

  Support for APs with the firmware version 4.1.x Bxx (4.1.1 B05 or later) is even more limited. The only operation the AWC Plug-in can perform on the AP is updating its firmware to version 4.2.x Bxx or 4.3.x Bxx.
  If your AP is running a firmware version earlier than 4.1.1 B05, update the AP to a supported version via its own web interface or by using the "AT-TQ Firmware Update Utility" before putting it under the management of the AWC Plug-in. See the "Uploading New Versions of the Management Software to the Access Point" section in your AP's User Guide.

  
  TQ1402, TQm1402
  Firmware Version 6.0.x
  
  TQ5403
  Firmware Version 5.4.x
  Firmware Version 5.2.x to 5.3.x (Limited Support)
  

  Note

  "Limited Support" means that the latest features added to this version of Vista Manager EX and the AWC Plug-in are not supported by this AP firmware version. Basic management and AWC calculation features are still available with the limited-support firmware version.

  Note

  Support for APs with the firmware version 5.0.x or 5.1.x is even more limited. The only operation the AWC Plug-in can perform on the AP is updating its firmware to version 5.2.x, 5.3.x or 5.4.x.
  If your AP is running an earlier firmware version, update the AP to a supported version via its own web interface before putting it under the management of the AWC Plug-in.

  
  TQ5403e, TQm5403
  Firmware Version 5.4.x
  Firmware Version 5.2.x to 5.3.x (Limited Support)
  

  Note

  "Limited Support" means that the latest features added to this version of Vista Manager EX and the AWC Plug-in are not supported by this AP firmware version. Basic management and AWC calculation features are still available with the limited-support firmware version.

  Note

  Support for AP with the firmware version 5.2.x is limited. The only operation the AWC Plug-in can perform on the AP is updating its firmware to version 5.3.x or 5.4.x.
  If your AP is running an earlier firmware version, update the AP to a supported version via its own web interface before putting it under the management of the AWC Plug-in.

  
  
• MWS AP Series
  MWS600AP, MWS2533AP
  Firmware Version 2.2.5
  

  Note

  Additionally, APs with the firmware version 2.2.3 (MWS2533AP) and 2.2.4 (MWS600AP) are partially supported. The only operation the AWC Plug-in can perform on the AP is updating its firmware to version 2.2.5.
  If your AP is running an earlier firmware version, update the AP to a supported version via its own web interface before putting it under the management of the AWC Plug-in.

  
  MWS1750AP
  Firmware Version 2.2.5 or later
  

  Note

  Support for AP with the firmware version 2.2.4 is limited. The only operation the AWC Plug-in can perform on the AP is updating its firmware to version 2.2.5 or later.
  If your AP is running an earlier firmware version, update the AP to a supported version via its own web interface before putting it under the management of the AWC Plug-in.

  
  
• SDN/OpenFlow-capable TQ Series
  TQ4400, TQ4600
  Firmware Version 4.1.x Sxx
  

  Note

  The AWC Plug-in distinguishes TQ Series with SDN/OpenFlow-capable firmware from APs with standard firmware.

  Note

  TQ Series with SDN/OpenFlow-capable firmware cannot use features added to Vista Manager EX version 2.4.0 or later. Basic management and AWC calculation features are still available with the limited-support firmware version.

  
  TQ5403, TQ5403e
  Firmware Version 5.4.x
  Firmware Version 5.2.x to 5.3.x (Limited Support)
  

  Note

  "Limited Support" means that the latest features added to this version of Vista Manager EX and the AWC Plug-in are not supported by this AP firmware version. Basic management and AWC calculation features are still available with the limited-support firmware version.

Support Limits

The number of APs, Clients and Floor Maps that can be managed by the AWC Plug-in are as follows.

Note

These are the maximum numbers that the AWC Plug-in can support. The actual limit varies depending on the AWC Plug-in licenses enabled on Vista Manager EX.

• Wireless AP
  3,000 units
  (The MWS series, TQm1402 and TQm5403 are limited to 100 or less units respectively)
  

  Note

  When you manage 101 to 3000 APs, the maximum numbers of Management Groups and AP profiles are 100 and 300 respectively.
  In this case, system requirements for servers are also different from the requirements for an environment with 100 or less APs. Refer to the Vista Manager EX Installation Guide for more details.
  When managing 601 or more wireless APs, set the Wireless Client Update Interval to 10 minutes.

• Wireless Client
  18,000 units
  
  
• Floor Map
  The number of APs that can be put on a single floor map is limited to 120 units.
  

Note

The actual maximum numbers may vary depending on the plug-ins used and the device configuration. Please refer to the Installation Guide and Release Notes available on our website.

Account Types

The AWC Plug-in shares the account database with Vista Manager EX and other plug-ins.

Table 1: Account Types

Type	Description
Admin	Can use all wireless management functions.
User	Can perform wireless management operations except the ones listed below. Create Management Group View the AWC Calculation Result Log Initialize the system and view version information Admin can permit Users to configure and view permissions per AMF area.

See the "Managing user accounts" section of the Vista Manager Windows-based User Guide (PDF) for more information.

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C613-04083-00 Rev B

13 Mar 2020 16:32