Cisco AIR-CT2504-8-K9 Full English Product Description
1. Short Official Part & License Label
AIR-CT2504-8-K9: Cisco 2504 Wireless LAN Controller, Base Licensed for 8 Lightweight Aironet Access Points, Desktop / Optional 1U Rack-Mountable Entry-Level CUWN WLC, 4×10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ethernet Ports (2 PoE Ports), Max 1 Gbps Total Throughput, Supports 802.11a/b/g/n/ac APs, CleanAir RF Management, FlexConnect, AVC, WPA2/WPA3 Enterprise Security, N+1 HA, End-of-Sale Legacy Branch/SMB Wireless Controller
2. Full Product Overview
Cisco AIR-CT2504-8-K9 belongs to the Cisco 2500 Series compact wireless LAN controller family, designed for small branch offices, satellite retail stores, small clinics, classroom pods and SMB deployments requiring centralized CAPWAP lightweight AP management with a small AP footprint. As a core component of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network (CUWN) architecture, it centralizes RF control, wireless security policies, client mobility, QoS and guest services for all joined Aironet thin access points.
This unit ships with a permanent built-in license supporting up to 8 APs; additional AP capacity licenses can be purchased to expand up to the hardware maximum of 75 APs. It features four integrated Gigabit Ethernet ports, two of which provide IEEE 802.3af PoE output to directly power connected APs without external injectors. It delivers full enterprise unified wireless capabilities including Cisco CleanAir spectrum intelligence, FlexConnect local switching for remote WAN branches, Application Visibility and Control (AVC), seamless Layer 2/3 client roaming, and VoWLAN voice prioritization.
The 2504 platform is officially End-of-Sale (EoS) and End-of-Support (EoL). All available stock consists of new surplus, used or certified refurbished hardware. It fully interoperates with all 802.11n / 802.11ac Wave 1/2 lightweight Aironet APs, and supports standalone local management or centralized fleet orchestration via Cisco Prime Infrastructure / WCS. It supports N+1 high availability but lacks AP/Client Stateful Switchover (SSO).
3. Complete Hardware Physical & Interface Specifications
Form Factor & Mechanical
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Base Form Factor: Compact desktop chassis; optional rack-mount kit (AIR-CT2504-RMNT=) converts to 1U 19-inch rack unit
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Dimensions: 43.9 mm (H) × 203.2 mm (W) × 271.5 mm (D) / 1.73 × 8.00 × 6.75 inches
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Unit Weight: 3.5 lbs (1.59 kg) with external AC power adapter
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Cooling: Single built-in internal cooling fan; no redundant fan support
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Power Supply: External universal AC power brick (PWR-2504-AC=)
Rear Panel Interfaces
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4× 10/100/1000 Mbps RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet ports (Ports 3 & 4 support 802.3af PoE power output for APs)
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RJ45 serial console port for out-of-band CLI configuration
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Lock slot for physical security cable
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DC power input jack for external AC adapter
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Reserved USB port for local config backup and firmware upload
Front Panel LED Indicators
Global status LEDs: Power, System Health, Critical Alarm
Per-port Link/Activity LEDs for all four GE interfaces
Power & Environmental Parameters
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Input AC: 100–240 VAC, 50/60 Hz universal external power supply
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PoE Power Budget: Limited capacity to power two lightweight APs via ports 3/4
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Heat Dissipation: 72 BTU/hour
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Operating Temperature: 0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F)
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Storage Temperature: -25°C to 70°C (-13°F to 158°F)
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Humidity: 10%–95% non-condensing (operating & storage)
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Regulatory Certifications: UL 60950-1, CE, FCC Class B, ICES-003, VCCI
4. Official Capacity & Performance Benchmarks
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Factory Licensed AP Count: 8 lightweight APs (upgradeable up to hardware max 75 APs via add-on licenses)
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Maximum Concurrent Wireless Clients: 1,000 total across all managed APs
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Total Wired Throughput Cap: 1 Gbps system-wide (FW version 7.4+)
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Supported Unique WLAN SSIDs: Up to 16 broadcast/hidden SSIDs
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Max VLAN Interfaces: 16 VLANs with 802.1Q trunk tagging
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Roaming Support: Intra-controller Layer 2 seamless roaming; Layer 3 inter-VLAN mobility; 802.11r fast roaming
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CAPWAP Tunnel: DTLS encrypted control/data tunnels for remote FlexConnect APs
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Supported Wireless Standards: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, WMM, 802.11k/r/u/w/h
5. Core Wireless & Security Feature Suite
1. Centralized Lightweight AP Orchestration
CAPWAP tunnel termination, zero-touch AP discovery via DHCP Option 43, bulk AP firmware upgrades, unified RF and policy deployment across all managed APs; AP grouping for segmented policy control (max 30 AP groups). Supports FlexConnect local switching for remote branch WAN bandwidth optimization, wireless mesh and OfficeExtend teleworker APs.
2. Cisco CleanAir RF Spectrum Management
Continuous 2.4GHz/5GHz interference monitoring, dynamic transmit power & channel auto-selection, coverage hole detection, rogue AP detection, classification and wireless containment, real-time RF historical reporting.
3. Enterprise-Grade Wireless Security Stack
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Authentication: 802.1X EAP-TLS/PEAP/EAP-FAST, local user database, external RADIUS AAA integration
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Encryption: WEP, WPA2-PSK/Enterprise, WPA3, AES-CCMP, TKIP
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Threat Defense: Rogue AP containment, client isolation, MAC filtering, dynamic VLAN assignment per SSID, wIPS wireless intrusion prevention
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Compliance: PCI DSS validated architecture for retail wireless POS deployments
4. Mobility, Voice & Video QoS
Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) QoS prioritization, Call Admission Control (CAC) for VoWLAN VoIP handsets, VideoStream multicast optimization for wireless IPTV, per-client bidirectional bandwidth policing, fast secure roaming (802.11r).
5. Application Visibility and Control (AVC)
Layer 7 application identification for thousands of SaaS, social media, enterprise and cloud applications, application-based traffic filtering, QoS marking and rate limiting.
6. Guest Wireless Services
Isolated guest SSID segmentation, customizable web splash authentication, time-limited guest access credentials, dedicated guest VLANs, guest anchor tunneling for multi-controller deployments.
7. High Availability & Link Aggregation
N+1 controller redundancy (no AP/Client SSO session sync); LAG EtherChannel link aggregation supported on all four GE ports (FW 7.4+).
8. Multi-Mode Management Access
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Local HTTPS web GUI for standalone monitoring and configuration
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CLI via SSH v2, Telnet or RJ45 serial console
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SNMP v1/v2c/v3, secure syslog, NetFlow export to SIEM platforms
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Centralized multi-controller management via Cisco Prime Infrastructure
6. Typical Deployment Scenarios
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Small remote branch offices requiring up to 8 wireless access points
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Small retail locations, independent clinics and single classroom education satellite sites
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SMB office wireless consolidation with built-in PoE ports to eliminate external power injectors
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Lab, training and low-density temporary event wireless networks
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Small-scale FlexConnect remote branch deployments with local traffic switching to save WAN bandwidth
7. Short Sales Listing Tagline
Cisco AIR-CT2504-8-K9 2500 Series Compact Wireless LAN Controller, Factory Licensed for Max 8 Lightweight Aironet APs, 4×Gigabit Ethernet Ports with Dual 802.3af PoE, Desktop / Optional 1U Rack Mount, 1Gbps Total Throughput, CleanAir RF Management, FlexConnect Local Switching, AVC Layer7 Application Control, WPA2/WPA3 Enterprise Security, N+1 HA Supported, Managed via Web GUI/SSH/Prime Infrastructure, EoS Entry-Level CUWN WLC for Small Branches & SMB Retail Deployments
