Cloud Controlled Wireless and Cloud Managed Wi-Fi: What’s the Difference?
Organizations can either choose to monitor an on-premise Wi-Fi architecture from the cloud or run a completely cloud-managed Wi-Fi network. Let’s look at the difference between these architectures.
One of the most essential components of an organization’s IT setup is its wireless network infrastructure. Every organization today operates innumerable wireless devices, such as mobiles, laptops, tablets, IoT devices, etc., which means a robust wireless network infrastructure is needed to enable these devices to function optimally. To maintain a reliable and high-speed wireless infrastructure, organizations have to choose an architecture that meets their needs the best. They can choose either on-premise WLAN architecture, an architecture that is completely controlled via the cloud, or an on-premise Wi-FI architecture that is monitored through the cloud. Let’s look at the key differences between cloud controlled wireless and cloud managed Wi-Fi and their respective pros and cons.
If your organization employs hundreds of people working at a facility in the San Francisco Bay Area, hundreds more in New York, and the rest in Elk Grove Village, your primary consideration will be choosing a state-of-the-art distributed WLAN architecture that can handle high traffic loads with ease, support voice over IP, and offer connectivity at warehouses, production sites, and all local units spread over the country.
While many organizations initially chose to deploy multiple access points to enable efficient networking, it isn’t an ideal choice as access points don’t coordinate with each other, resulting in an unstable network. The solution to this was to deploy WLAN controllers that give IT admins the flexibility to manage each access point, ensure optimal load balancing, monitor the network, and troubleshoot issues.
With cloud adoption booming across sectors, enterprises have begun adopting cloud-managed wireless infrastructures, in various shapes and forms, to meet their networking needs the best and to address the disadvantages of purely on-premise WI-Fi networks that are limited in scope and scale. Let’s look at what cloud-controlled and cloud-managed Wi-Fi networks are, and which of these suit organizations the best.
Learn More: Extreme Networks Acquires Aerohive Networks; Optimizes Cloud and On-Premises Wired and Wireless Technology
What is a Cloud-Controlled Wi-Fi Network?
If you choose a cloud-controlled Wi-Fi architecture, it means you will not have to worry about running an on-premise wireless network. Your Wi-Fi network will be managed and monitored by a third-party managed services provider who will use a Wi-Fi controller to manage, monitor, and configure all access points.
If you choose the right managed services provider to suit your needs, you will save additional costs on procuring expensive equipment, such as commercial Wi-Fi controllers, access points, boosters, and wireless network adapters as well as on hiring additional IT staff to manage and monitor your WI-Fi network.
Another benefit of using a cloud-controlled WI-Fi network is that the vendor takes up the responsibility of obsolescence management, firmware updates, 24×7 support, and security updates, thereby ensuring that the Wi-Fi equipment is running optimally at all times. The running of the network from a single interface also ensures that access points for all your sites have the same configuration.
What is a Cloud-Managed Wi-Fi Network?
As opposed to a cloud-controlled network, a cloud-managed Wi-Fi network is one where your organization will have to procure and run access points and all networking equipment on-site, but the monitoring of the Wi-Fi network will be taken up by a cloud-based service provider.
What this means is that the running of a Wi-Fi network is managed and monitored partly on-premises and partly on the cloud. While the ownership of the on-site equipment rests with the organization, the cloud vendor will configure, manage and monitor access points, and will also connect to all access points across locations through a virtual controller on the cloud.
The concept of a cloud-managed Wi-Fi network may seem ideal for most organizations as they have real control over their Wi-Fi equipment and access points while assigning diagnostics, utilization monitoring, firmware updates, and visualization of the RF to the managed services provider.
Learn More: Why Managed Wi-Fi Services Meet the Needs of SMBs
Which of These Suits Organizations the Best?
What really works for cloud-controlled Wi-Fi services is that they enable organizations to conduct high-speed and seamless networking across sites. The managed service provider can continuously monitor all access points from a centralized plane, update device firmware, and monitor network performance, giving organizations the space to devote resources to enhance productivity and operational efficiency.
For example, Aruba controllers and gateways offer dynamic segregation, high-performance traffic, role-based access, zero-trust security, always-on connectivity, and seamless roaming to enable high-speed networking at all times. Similar services offered by the likes of Aerohive ensures that organizations will enjoy seamless networking even if Internet connectivity is hampered for long periods.
Until recently, many enterprise-scale organizations and critical services providers preferred on-premises Wi-Fi architecture, as opposed to cloud-based ones, as only the former could function optimally when Internet connection was down. However, modern cloud controllers such as Aruba and Aerohive offer new solutions to address this issue.
Aside from enabling round-the-clock connectivity, cloud-managed Wi-Fi services also help in greatly reducing the cost of network management, configurations, and diagnostics, especially for small and medium-sized businesses who may not be able to afford to set up a high-speed network infrastructure on their own. The subscription-based model these services come with enables businesses to choose the right service based on affordability and feature sets.
As businesses grow in size and diversify to new locations, they can get their cloud-managed network infrastructure to scale as per business needs, and also include enhanced security, better network analysis tools, and monitor additional access points that are added to their infrastructure. They can also add content filtering services and advanced threat protection services to make Wi-Fi networks more secure and user-friendly.
Today, there are cloud-controlled and cloud-managed Wi-Fi networking services available for businesses of all sizes and for every sector. Organizations such as healthcare providers, pipeline operators, nuclear power plant operators, or government agencies that provide round-the-clock essential services to the public can also use cloud-managed networks to keep their operations running at all times instead of having to operate a network on their own.
It ultimately depends on your organization on whether it wants a complete on-premise wireless infrastructure, a completely cloud-controlled one where the managed services provider handles the running of the network, its maintenance and analysis, or a cloud-managed service where the wireless infrastructure is located on-premise but whose performance is monitored from the cloud by a managed service provider. While each of these have their respective pros and cons, your organization needs to consider the long-term cost, ease of managing networks, and the level of control before making the ultimate decision.
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