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11.6 | Enterprise Management | ||
| 11.6.4 | |
Aironet Configuration Administration Tool (ACAT) |
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Besides managing access points and
bridges, which could scale to several thousand devices, the real task
resides in installing and managing the clients. So how does an
administrator manage tens of thousands of wireless users? In an
enterprise, the desktops and laptops may be managed by a program which
allows automatic distribution of software updates, installs, and
images. In other cases, the enterprise may require users to download
the software and perform a self installation. In the later case, the
task is simplified greatly by creating pre-configured installer which
automatically configures the wireless client settings during
installation. The program which allows this is the Cisco Aironet
Configuration Administration Tool (ACAT).
ACAT is a tool used by administrators to specify software installation options for client adapters located in PCs running a Windows operating system. The specified options are placed in a configuration file used by the Cisco Aironet Wireless LAN Client Adapter Installation Wizard (Install Wizard) to install the software components and client adapter configuration profiles. ACAT supports the Windows 98, ME, NT, 2K, and XP operating systems. Using ACAT, an administrator can
specify the following installation options as shown in Figure
To use ACAT, download and install on a PC. The latest ACAT software can be obtained from Cisco Software Center at the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/sw-wireless.shtml When ACAT activates, a graphical user
interface appears that allows the administrator to easily select and
specify installation options
ACAT creates a configuration file, CiscoAdminConfig.dat, using the specified installation options for a selected client adapter type. To operate, the ACAT configuration file must be placed in the Install Wizard folder. When a user activates the Install Wizard by clicking Setup.exe in the Install Wizard folder, the Install Wizard program uses the ACAT configuration file to specify the installation options. If the system uses different types of client adapters, multiple configuration files must be created, one for each adapter type. The ACAT configuration file is encrypted to protect sensitive security data such as SSID, WEP keys, and network security settings. Also, the client adapter profiles created by ACAT can be configured to support static WEP, LEAP, EAP-SIM, or PEAP network security options. The client adapter software (drivers, firmware, utilities, and the Install Wizard) are not part of the ACAT software package and must be obtained separately.
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.
. Typically,
the administrator selects a client adapter type, software component
installation options, global over-ride options, and then creates
client adapter profiles. To simplify the process, ACAT uses 3 major
screen tabs and a drop-down menu
. The ACAT
File menu provides the following selections
. The profile
settings tab is shown in Figure
. 
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