Overview:
Wireless Management System
Fortinet provides the industry’s leading Wi-Fi solutions addressing today’s most pressing ultrahigh density (UHD) challenges, such as high user engagement, high network capacity, fast throughput, and low total cost of ownership (TCO). Our solutions leverage the FortiAP High Density (FortiAP-HD) Wi-Fi platform, designed and built specifically for UHD venues such as stadiums, arenas, convention centers, shopping malls, transport hubs, auditoriums, campuses, and smart cities.
An Industry First
A foundational component of the Fortinet platform is the FortiAP-HD WLAN controller, a fully-featured controller and wireless management system for WLAN networks. Available as a software-suite, the FortiAP-HD WLAN controller is specifically designed for UHD networks with speed, simplicity, and efficiency in mind. The FortiAP-HD WLAN controller prominent benefits such as quick and ease of network deployment, effortless access point (AP) configuration, efficient network management, effective performance monitoring and tracking, and real-time network visualization, allow it to handle the smallest to the largest networks with 1000 APs and 100 000 users.
Built From The Ground Up
For a speedy network deployment, the FortiAP-HD WLAN controller enables APs to be auto-discovered and configured either automatically, in bulk, or using importable custom configurations, so that even the largest networks are operational in a few minutes.
For an effortless network configuration and management, the FortiAP-HD WLAN controller features a simple browser-based single pane of glass interface, available on multiple platform including mobile devices. The FortiAP-HD WLAN controller also provides an intuitive, clear, and tidy interface while integrating simple and efficient workflows.
For an effective network performance monitoring and tracking, the FortiAP-HD WLAN controller provides a visually appealing and customizable dashboard for a real-time view of the network analytics in a pre-configured, chart-based, and time-trending manner. Additionally, the FortiAP-HD WLAN controller provides drill-down statistics from a network-level to the devicelevel for deep RF and data metrics analysis, and user-defined event-specific data archiving.
For real-time network visualization, the FortiAP-HD WLAN controller includes a dynamic multifloor maps view showing AP locations and key parameters, real-time network metrics using heat maps, and threshold-based AP color-coding for fault analysis.
Empowered by the FortiAP-HD WLAN controller software architecture for fast, agile, and lagfree operation, the FortiAP-HD WLAN controller provides all the necessary tools and data to manage, monitor, and optimize the network performance via a clean and easy-to-navigate user interface.
Highlights
- Web based intuitive ‘Single pane of glass’ management interface
- Auto discovery and configuration of FortiAPHD Wi-Fi access points
- Bulk tools to configure and manage access points and software upgrades
- Customizable dashboard with pre-defined network reports and analytics
- Client performance data and analytics
- Stacked multi-floor providing direct view of AP status and metrics, and direct access to configuration and monitoring
- Customizable alerts and event notification
- Advanced ‘Event Analytics’ for UHD environments such as stadiums, arenas, and concert halls
- Automatic event report generation with userselectable time-based graphs such as network users, throughput, and total data
- Advanced features such as client load balancing, fast roaming, and carrier Wi‑Fi offload
- RESTful APIs for third party integration
- Compatible with TR-069 and TR-181 standards
Features:
Simple And Intuitive User Interface
The FortiAP-HD WLAN controller, a browser-based wireless management system available as a software suite, offers a clean, modern, and sleek single pane of glass interface for managing FortiAP-HD-based WLAN systems. In addition, the FortiAPHD WLAN controller simplifies the deployment and management of APs for both small (1 to 64 APs) and large networks (64 to 100 APs). Furthermore, network administrators can quickly configure all system, network, security and radio parameters, including transmit power, channel assignment, and antenna settings. Configurations for events requiring different network and radio parameters can also be conveniently stored and retrieved or archived for auditing and historical tracking.
System Dashboard
The FortiAP-HD WLAN controller provides a rich, intuitive, and visually appealing dashboard for network administrators to get an overall and comprehensive view of the entire wireless network. The dashboard displays a variety of pre-defined and customizable reports and analytics which can be easily re-arranged on the dashboard based on user preferences. Predefined dashboard chart-based and time-trending reports include, for example, AP and client health, concurrent clients and visitors over time, throughputs and data transferred over time.
Split Architecture
The FortiAP-HD WLAN controller integrates seamlessly within the existing network in the venue. Furthermore, a split control plane architecture is employed where all user traffic is switched locally at the access points allowing APs to serve users even in the event of losing connectivity with the FortiAP-HD WLAN controller. Since only management and control traffic are sent to the FortiAP-HD WLAN controller via a secure and encrypted tunnel, the split architecture provides significant scalability, flexibility, and reliability in deployment options.
Scalability
A single FortiAP-HD WLAN controller management system supports up to 1000 access points and 100 000 clients while also supporting up to 256 wireless networks.
Maps
The FortiAP-HD WLAN controller offers an exceptional maps feature providing a visual layer for users to efficiently manage and monitor a large number of APs.
Users can upload custom floor plans and directly import APs onto a map. The maps view provides a quick overview of the operational APs status via a color-coded system allowing users to quickly identify areas of concern.
The FortiAP-HD WLAN controller maps view also provides an intuitive and comprehensive visualization of the most important network performance metrics in real-time, such as client load and AP throughput, either on a per-AP basis for a detailed view or using heat maps for a broader view. In addition, the FortiAP-HD WLAN controller maps feature also simplifies monitoring a large set of APs by clustering nearby APs together with the ability to zoom in and out of each cluster to quickly identify APs that might require attention. When critical action is required, an APs configuration parameters and performance data are seamlessly accessible in a single pane of glass within the maps avoiding multiple navigation transitions and thus saving valuable time. Finally, the maps view provides a timeline and historical visibility into network performance for a powerful and fast behavioral analysis.
Alerts
The FortiAP-HD WLAN controller Alerts feature allows users to track alarms and events. The Alert visualization interface allows network managers to historically view the type and frequency of configured alarms and events.
Real-Time Client Monitoring
The FortiAP-HD WLAN controller provides detailed client information in real-time including, device type, association time, signal strength, and throughput. The FortiAP-HD WLAN controller also provides operators the ability to track particular clients and gather their data analytics such as recent AP associations, time stamps, and roaming analysis.
Events Analytics
The FortiAP-HD WLAN controller introduces a novel and powerful Event Analytics feature, built specifically for venues hosting events such as stadiums, convention centers and arenas. Administrators can upload events calendar once, and let The FortiAPHD WLAN controller track, analyze, report, and store analytics for each event. At the end of each event, a dashboard and detailed reports are instantly available for review, analysis, comparison, and report generation.
Client Load Balancing
The FortiAP-HD WLAN controller integrates, together with the access points, an advanced client load balancing solution to optimize network performance and ensure best quality of experience to each user. The solution features dynamic discovery of neighboring access points to optimize client connectivity and AP load.
Carrier Offload
The FortiAP-HD WLAN controller provides a Carrier Offload feature that allows traffic to be offloaded to the Wi-Fi network from the MNO anchor network. The mobile device in the carrier network automatically detects the presence of carrier-specific SSID, then connects to the Wi-Fi network, and gets authenticated by the carrier authentication infrastructure. Finally, various metering reports are provided for the carrier.
Northbound APIs
The FortiAP-HD WLAN controller provides a well-defined RESTful API set for third party applications to integrate. The APIs provide detailed information on network-wide status, statistics, and analytics, and can be used to build or integrate with powerful third-party reporting and alerting applications. The payloads are encoded in JSON, and APIs offer a compressed payload version as well to optimize network bandwidth consumption when fetching statistics in large deployments.
