Understanding Wireless LAN Controllers And Their Key Functions

In simple terms, wireless LAN controllers are a type of network device that provides a centralized platform for controlling, configuring, and management of a lot of wireless access points within a WLAN. Basically, the centralized wireless controllers work as the brain of large-scale WLANs. They oversee the distribution of data, manage network security protocols and authentication, and improve the overall performance of the network.

In business networks in which there are a lot of access points, the wireless LAN controllers intelligently balance the load and distribute the client connections across the access points. This improves the performance of the whole network and prevents any single AP from getting overloaded. Apart from this, the wireless network controllers also perform a variety of functions that helps in network optimization such as roaming facilitation, traffic prioritization through QoS, and overall monitoring and troubleshooting of the network system. 

Types of Reliable Wireless Network Controllers

When you are out in the market to buy wireless network controllers you will most likely come across the following two types:

Centralized Wireless Controllers: In network architectures where central controllers are used, the complete intelligence and control of the network are governed by the central controller. This controller manages, configures, and controls all of the access points in the network, and in cases of any issue, all the troubleshooting is also performed through them. They are very efficient in handling large-scale networks, however, they are also a one-point failure, which means that if the centralized wireless controller fails the whole network will stop functioning. 

Distributed Wireless Controllers: Distributed wireless controllers create a very different type of network architecture. In this type, instead of gathering all the control and intelligence in a single point, it is distributed across multiple access points. This means that each AP is responsible for managing, controlling and configuring its traffic. This provides an efficient opportunity for scalability. Distributed controllers are a good option only for small-scale networks because with the increasing network size the complexity of monitoring APs also increases.

If you want to buy wireless LAN controller solutions for your business network then you can find all the best WLAN controllers for sale at BulkDevices. We are among the largest supplier of IT hardware products such as SSDs, motherboards, and processors in the UK and have products from all the best brands like HP, Cisco, and Dell. If you need any help in selecting the right products for your network then contact our expert online advisors to get the required details.