Cisco AIR-CT2504-25-K9 Full English Product Description
1. Short Official Part & License Label
AIR-CT2504-25-K9: Cisco 2504 Wireless LAN Controller, Factory Pre-Licensed for 25 Lightweight Aironet Access Points, Compact Desktop Form Factor with Optional 1U Rack Mount Kit, 4×10/100/1000BASE-T Gigabit Ports (2 Ports 802.3af PoE), 1 Gbps System Total Throughput, CUWN Unified Wireless Architecture, Supports 802.11n/ac APs, CleanAir RF Spectrum Intelligence, FlexConnect Local Switching, AVC Layer7 Application Control, WPA2/WPA3 Enterprise Security, N+1 HA Redundancy, End-of-Sale Legacy Mid-Branch WLC
2. Full Product Overview
Cisco AIR-CT2504-25-K9 is a mid-capacity wireless LAN controller within the discontinued Cisco 2500 Series platform, designed for large enterprise remote branches, multi-unit retail chains, mid-size school campuses, medium hospitality venues and dense SMB offices that require centralized CAPWAP lightweight AP management with higher AP scale than the entry AIR-CT2504-8-K9 variantCisco. As a core component of Cisco Unified Wireless Network (CUWN), it terminates DTLS-encrypted CAPWAP tunnels from all joined thin APs to deliver unified RF management, enterprise wireless security, seamless Layer 2/3 client mobility, integrated guest services, and VoWLAN voice QoS.
This unit ships with a permanent built-in license enabling management of up to 25 lightweight APs; additional AP license add-ons can expand capacity up to the hardware maximum of 75 APs. It integrates four Gigabit Ethernet ports, with ports 3 and 4 delivering native IEEE 802.3af PoE power output to directly power connected APs and eliminate external PoE injectors for on-site deployments. It includes full enterprise feature sets such as Cisco CleanAir spectrum analysis, FlexConnect remote branch local switching to reduce WAN bandwidth consumption, Application Visibility and Control (AVC), wireless intrusion prevention (wIPS), and device profiling for zero-trust access enforcement.
The 2504 platform reached Cisco End-of-Sale (EoS) April 18, 2018 and End-of-Support (EoL) April 30, 2023; all available inventory consists of surplus, used, or certified refurbished hardwareCisco. It fully interoperates with all Aironet 802.11n / 802.11ac Wave 1/2 lightweight access points. Administrators can configure standalone instances via local HTTPS web GUI, serial/SSH CLI, or centrally orchestrate multi-controller fleets through Cisco Prime Infrastructure. It supports basic N+1 high availability but lacks AP and client Stateful Switchover (SSO) session synchronization.
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 standard 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)
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Cooling: Single internal cooling fan (no redundant fan support)
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Power Supply: External universal AC power adapter (PWR-2504-AC=)
Rear Panel Interface Layout
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4× 10/100/1000 Mbps RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet ports (Ports 3 & 4 supply 802.3af PoE output for lightweight APs)
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RJ45 RS-232 serial console port for out-of-band initial configuration and recovery
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Physical security lock slot for anti-theft cable attachment
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DC power input jack for external AC power brick
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Reserved USB port for local firmware upload, config backup and restore
Front Panel LED Status Indicators
Global status LEDs: Power, System Health, Critical Alarm
Per-port Link/Activity LEDs for all four Gigabit Ethernet interfaces
Power & Environmental Parameters
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Input AC Range: 100–240 VAC, 50/60 Hz universal external power supply
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PoE Power Budget: Limited capacity to power up to two PoE lightweight APs via ports 3 and 4
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Maximum Power Consumption: 80 W
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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 safety, CE, FCC Class B EMC, ICES-003, VCCI
4. Official Capacity & Performance Benchmarks
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Factory Licensed AP Count: 25 lightweight APs (expandable up to hardware maximum 75 APs via incremental AP licenses)
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Maximum Concurrent Wireless Client Stations: 1,000 total across all managed APs
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System-Wide Total Throughput Cap: 1 Gbps (enforced platform limit)
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Supported Unique WLAN SSIDs: Up to 16 broadcast/hidden SSIDs
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Maximum VLAN Interfaces: 16 VLANs with 802.1Q trunk tagging
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Roaming Capabilities: Intra-controller Layer 2 seamless roaming, Layer 3 inter-VLAN mobility, 802.11r fast secure roaming
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Supported Wireless Standards: 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, WMM, 802.11k/r/u/w/h
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Max AP Groups for Segmented Policy Control: 30 independent AP groups
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Max FlexConnect Remote Branch Groups: 30
5. Core Wireless & Security Feature Suite
1. Centralized Lightweight AP Lifecycle Management
DTLS encrypted CAPWAP tunnel termination for all joined APs; zero-touch AP auto-discovery via DHCP Option 43; bulk AP firmware upgrades, unified RF and global policy deployment across all managed access points. Supports FlexConnect local switching for remote branches, wireless mesh networks, and OfficeExtend teleworker APs to eliminate backhaul traffic over WAN links.
2. Cisco CleanAir Intelligent RF Spectrum Management
Continuous real-time 2.4GHz/5GHz interference monitoring, dynamic transmit power & auto-channel selection, wireless coverage hole detection, rogue AP detection, classification and active wireless containment, persistent historical RF reporting for capacity planning.
3. Enterprise-Grade Wireless Security Stack
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Authentication: IEEE 802.1X EAP-TLS/PEAP/EAP-FAST, local internal user database, external RADIUS/TACACS+ AAA integration
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Encryption Protocols: WEP, WPA2-PSK/Enterprise, WPA3, AES-CCMP, TKIP
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Threat Mitigation: Built-in wIPS wireless intrusion prevention, rogue AP containment, wireless client isolation, MAC address filtering, dynamic per-SSID VLAN assignment
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Compliance: PCI DSS validated architecture for retail wireless POS payment deployments
4. Mobility, Voice & Video QoS
Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) traffic prioritization, Call Admission Control (CAC) for VoWLAN VoIP handsets, Cisco VideoStream multicast optimization for wireless IPTV, configurable bidirectional per-client bandwidth policing, fast secure roaming via 802.11r to avoid voice call drops.
5. Application Visibility and Control (AVC)
Layer 7 deep application identification for thousands of enterprise, SaaS, social media and cloud applications; application-based traffic filtering, QoS marking, rate limiting and traffic reporting for policy optimization.
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