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INTRODUCTION
This chapter provides a brief introduction to the 700wl Series system™ and its primary features. The
topics covered in this chapter include:
700wl Series Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
700wl Series Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
700wl Series Overview
The 700wl Series system’s industry-leading cost-performance and uniquely flexible and scalable
deployment architecture provides the foundation for a secure, scalable, mission-critical 802.11 wireless
network. At the core of the wireless LAN (WLAN) the 700wl Series system provides key services
including centralized management and control, role-based fine-grained access policy enforcement, secure
Layer 3 roaming, and tiered layers of security, which enables companies to deploy and manage 802.11
networks ranging from tens to thousands of access points (APs).
A 700wl Series system consists of a central Access Control Server 740wl that provides services such as
authentication, roaming, and policy management, and one or more Access Controller 720wl units. Access
Controllers are gateway devices deployed at the edge of the network in the user data path enforcing
network authorization and business policy.
The Access Controller (the HP ProCurve Access Controller 720wl) is a low cost, high-performance
appliance with modular connectivity options that require minimal configuration, and are deployed in
conjunction with an HP ProCurve Access Control Server 740wl. The Access Controller sits between the
Wireless Access Points and the network, and implements a powerful Packet Inspection Engine (Layer 2-
7) that can rewrite and redirect client traffic based on an Access Policy received from the Access Control
Server. Each Access Policy is tailored to the individual client based on who the client is (per a successful
authentication) and where and when the client has connected to the network.
The Access Control Server (the HP ProCurve Access Control Server 740wl) is a centralized resource on
the network that provides services to the connected Access Controllers such as authentication
management, mobility management (roaming support), policy management, and system monitoring and
reporting. The Access Control Server is deployed as a dedicated control function and does not sit in the
user data path. A second Access Control Server can be deployed in a redundant configuration to support
stateful failover.
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