User Guide: Vista Manager AWC Plug-in version 3.15.0

What is the AWC Plug-in

Overview > What is the AWC Plug-in

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. These devices include guest devices, or are devices installed on the same subnet as the AWC Plug-in server.
The AWC plugin can automatically adjust the wireless channel and transmit power for each AP according to the surrounding environment.
The AWC Plug-in enables you to:
In addition, with Wireless Channel Blanket licenses, you can also configure and operate a hybrid wireless network. A hybrid wireless network combines an AWC-CB (AWC-Channel Blanket) blanket setup with multi-channel wireless networks.
Please refer to Operation Reference > Channel Blanket > Overview for more details on AWC-CB.
If you are planning to manage guest device 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.

Identification of Individual Access Points

The AWC Plug-in uses both IP And MAC addresses as unique identifiers for each Wireless AP.
When manually registering an AP, both its IP address and MAC address are required. When selecting from AMF guest nodes, or obtaining IP addresses from a DHCP server, you do not need to input the IP and MAC address. Tthe system automatically retrieves the IP and MAC addresses from each respective service and associates them within the internal database.

For this reason, the AWC Plug-in does not allow duplicate IP or MAC addresses during the registration of access points. Please make sure to register unique IP addresses.
If you use an IP address already registered to another AP (for example: when relocating or reconfigurating existing APs), the internal database may become inconsistent, and updates may fail to apply correctly.
For example, when switching the static IP-MAC bindings for multiple APs on a DHCP server, care must be taken to avoid assigning the same IP address to more than one AP, even temporarily. To prevent this,only remove one AP first, and bring each AP online one at a time. After the DHCP lease is updated for the first AP, it should be disconnected before bringing the next AP online. This ensures that no overlap occurs between the old and new DHCP leases for the same IP address.

Client Connection History Management and Client Packet Analysis

The AWC Plug-in can monitor detailed client behavior and store connection history by logging. The AWC plug-in can log every time a wireless client connects to a managed AP, or has connected and disconnected in the past, etc.

◼ Configuration
You can enable the history logging function by setting "Wireless Client" to "Set" in the Screen Reference > System Settings screen's History Data Retention Period Setting.
Note
When this feature is enabled, device management functions other than the AWC Plug-in, such as the Vista Manager EX, cannot be used.
  • Do not configure the Vista Manager EX to manage the AMF network.
  • Do not install the SNMP Plug-in.
  • Do not associate the AWC Plug-in with Vista Appliance Storage.
In addition, it is recommended that the "Wireless Device Topology Data Update-Interval" to be set to "Don't Set" in the Screen Reference > System Settings.

If you wish to use Vista Manager EX and/or the SNMP Plug-in together with the AWC Plug-in, please disable "Client Packet Analysis" and set the retention period for "Wireless Client" to 14 days or less.
Additionally, by enabling “Client Packet Analysis,” you can analyze the communications of connected clients and obtain information such as the hostname and operating system used by wireless clients.
The AMF network under management must be unconfigured and operated without registering any plug-ins other than the AWC plug-in.
The following conditions must be met for effective use of Client Packet Analysis:
Refer to Operation Reference > Wireless Configuration > Configure AP Profiles for the supported models.
Note
When you enable this feature, logs about the network connection will be displayed when the wireless client is connected. For more information on logging, see Screen Reference > Wireless Monitor > Log Management.

Supported AP Models

The AWC Plug-in can manage the following AP models.
Note
Software versions listed below refer to those of AWC Plug-ins.
Note
As a general rule, when managing wireless APs with the AWC plug-in, initialize the APs before adding them to management. Please refer to Operation Reference > Miscellaneous Settings > Configure AP through Its Own Web Interface for items that can be set before adding the AP to management.

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 server environment and the AWC Plug-in licenses enabled on Vista Manager EX.
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.
Note
The more units managed, the longer each page may take to display.

Account Types

The AWC Plug-in shares the account database with Vista Manager EX and other plug-ins.
Table 2: Account Types
Type Overview
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 management group.
See the "Managing user accounts" section of the Vista Manager EX User Guide for more information.

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C613-04208-00 Rev A

10 Nov 2025 11:46