EWS5203

WIRELESS LAN CONTROLLERINTRODUCTION
The EWS5203 is an enterprise-grade wireless LAN controller that provides establishments
such as hotels, universities, or even complete municipalities with a comprehensive set ofmanaged Wi-Fi features at a competitive license-free price point. With AP management,user authentication, policy assignment, traffic shaping, firewall features, and much more all
packaged into a single box, the EWS5203 provides network administrators with a reliable,easy-to-use, and centralized management console for an entire organization’s wirelessnetwork infrastructure.
The EWS5203 is capable of managing up to 300 ECW/ECWO-series Wireless Access Points
and can be directly integrated with unified access switches, all of which can be deployed andconfigured easily by anyone, including non-wireless savvy users. For example, automatedAP discovery prevents network administrators from having to go through the hassle ofindividually adding and configuring each access point. Access points as well as connected
Wi-Fi devices can then be monitored and managed from a centralized point, with extensive
logging & reporting features to assist in troubleshooting and maintenance.
As Wi-Fi enabled handheld devices such as smartphones and tablets become ever soprevalent in our daily lives, businesses and network operators alike are faced with a mindboggling dilemma – how to simultaneously address the needs of BYOD (Bring Your OwnDevice), manage Wi-Fi users, and maintain network service quality for mission criticalapplications. The EWS5203 is designed exactly with these requirements in mind, and witha total cost of ownership that satisfies even the most price conscious, organizations areguaranteed to receive an unmatched ROI on their wireless LAN infrastructure.
2.4G

5G

EWS5203APSWRADIUS

5GAP

5G

2.4G

5G

AP

For a world always connected…

ENTERPRISE-GRADE WIRELESS LAN CONTROLLER

EWS5203

FEATURESSECURITY
Security is often one of the most important concerns whenit comes to enterprise wireless networks. From the mostbasic need of preventing network access by unauthorizedusers to performing rogue AP detection and enforcing
network isolation, the Edgecore Controllers provide acomplex set of features that prevent malicious activities inan organization's network.
For deployment flexibility, the Edgecore Controllers
support user authentication via both the industry
standard 802.1X as well as web-based captive portals. The
highly customizable captive portals with integrated walled
garden capability can be adapted to suit the needs ofhotels, schools, and other public venues. For unregisteredusers without an account, guest access can be provided bysimply entering an e-mail address, logging in with social
media accounts, or purchasing a data plan through PayPal.
With various account generation methods, the Edgecore
Controllers are able to identify users and track user
activities, ensuring network security in public Wi-Fi.
The Edgecore Controllers also support remote access via
VPN, which is crucial for travelling businessmen. At thesame time, site-to-site VPN establishes secure connections
between corporate headquarters and branch offices.

USER SECURITY
802.1XUAM (browser-based)◈ IP or MAC-based◈ Local◈ On-Demand◈ Guest◈ RADIUS◈ LDAP◈ NT Domain◈ SIP◈ POP3◈Authentication Types

Authentication Servers◈

Customizable Captive Portal◈

Yes

Customizable Wild Card
Walled Garden◈

Yes

User Blacklisting◈Yes

ACCOUNT GENERATIONSMS registration◈ Purchase via PayPal◈ Hotel PMS integration◈ Selectable Billing Plans◈ Account Ticket Printer◈ Customizable BillingPlans◈ Account Credentials◈ Access Codes◈ Smart Login◈

On-demand AccountOn-demand Account
Flexibility

2Guest Wi-Fi Account

Limitation by durationand volume◈ Configurable
reactivation time
◈ E-mail registration andactivation

Social Media Login

◈

◈

Yes

NETWORK SECURITY
VPN
Tunneling Protocols
Network Isolation

RemoteSite-to-Site◈ IPSec◈ PPTP◈ Intra-VLAN or Port◈ Inter-VLAN or Port◈◈Rogue AP Detection◈Yes

Certificates◈

Built-in Root CA

MOBILITY
The advent of the era of smartphones and tablets has
opened a chasm between how the Internet is used andhow organizations provide Internet connectivity. Wirelessnetworks have transformed from a luxury to a necessity,in order to support devices that don't have legacy wired
capability. Furthermore, additional features need to beprovided in order to address the rapidly changing usage
behavior.
The Edgecore Controllers support a variety of mobility
features that aim to make enterprise Wi-Fi both easier touse and simpler to manage. For example, by supporting
fast roaming, users on mobile devices can be on-thego without worrying about interrupted connections. Itis also not uncommon to see a single user with multiple
handheld devices - with the Edgecore Controller all of
the devices can login to Wi-Fi using the same username
and password. Finally, mobile-optimized captive portals
and ticket-printed QR code automatic login are both easy
methods for a user to get online from their mobile device.

DEVICE MOBILITY
Fast Roaming Between Access Points◈Yes

Cross Gateway Roaming◈Yes

WISPr Smart Client◈

Yes

Mobile Device Recognition forOptimized Captive Portal◈

Yes

Multiple Device Logins Per Account◈Yes

QR Code Automatic Login◈

Yes

Device Plug-and-Play◈

Yes

On-Demand Smart Login without
Re-Authentication◈

Yes

ENTERPRISE-GRADE WIRELESS LAN CONTROLLER

EWS5203

MANAGEMENT
In a wireless LAN, the Edgecore Controller is the central
point of management for network administrators, whether
it is monitoring current online users or troubleshooting
network connectivity issues. The management consoleof the Edgecore Controller is a browser-based GUI thatis simple and intuitive to operate. From this interface,
network administrators can configure traffic shaping
profiles, track previous network usage, perform system
backup and restore, and much more.
From the user management perspective, one of thecore benefits of the Edgecore Controller is its ability
to enforce different traffic profiles based on both thelocation (Service Zone) of the user and the time of access.
For example, the profiles applied during work hours canbe different from that of during after-work hours. Frombandwidth limitations to specific routing rules, network
administrators gain fine-grained control over Wi-Fi users.
For access points, the Edgecore Controller support
automatic discovery and provisioning, eliminating many
repetitive and cumbersome tasks often faced during initialnetwork deployment. Centralized AP configuration andmonitoring also greatly reduces maintenance overhead
for IT staff.

SYSTEM MANAGEMENT
Browser-Based Configuration◈Yes

Multiple tiered accessprivileges◈ Monitor each admin’s
current accessed page
◈ NTP synchronization◈ Manually configured◈

Administrator Accounts

System TimeSystem Backup & Restore◈YesSNMP◈Yes; v2c

Network Utilities◈Yes; built-in packet
captureAP MANAGEMENT◈Yes

Switch Power Scheduling◈Yes

USER MANAGEMENT
User Policy Assignment

Bandwidth Limitation
Traffic Classification /Remarking

Yes

Concurrent Session Limit◈

Yes◈

IP Address Reassignment

Allow clients to obtain
different IP addresses
after authentication

SERVICES
As wireless networks increasingly become the primary
network used by organizations, it is crucial to take into
consideration fundamental network services, such as
DHCP, NAT, and routing. In addition to providing thesefunctions, the Edgecore Controller also implements theconcept of a "Service Zone", which essentially segments
the controller into multiple virtual controllers, eachwith its own associated network services, user policies,authentication settings, etc.
On the reliability end, the Edgecore Controller supports
WAN port failover, which helps businesses reducethe chance of network downtime and prevents lost
productivity and revenue. Furthermore, load balancing
between the WAN ports increases overall performance by
alleviating congestion and distributing traffic between thetwo outgoing links.

Yes; template-based

AP Configuration Backup &Restore◈Yes

AP Firmware Batch Upgrade◈

Yes

Tunneled AP Management◈

Yes; both L2 & L3 APs

NETWORK SERVICES

AP Load Balancing◈Yes◈

YesRedundancy(High Availability)◈Yes

Automatic Switch Provisioning ◈ Yes; template-based

Yes; each rule withindividual enforcement
schedules

◈

Yes

Yes

Yes; 802.1p / DSCP

Static Route Assignment◈◈◈Stateful Firewall

Automatic AP Provisioning

Automatic Switch Discovery◈◈◈

SWITCH MANAGEMENT

Role-based
Time & location
dependent◈ User-based◈ Group-based◈ Bandwidth throttling◈

Automatic AP Discovery

Automatic AP Firmware
UpgradeAutomatic Periodically APBackup

3

Switch Configuration Backup& Restore

Finally, the Edgecore Controller provides unique valueadded capabilities, such as a direct integration withMicros Opera PMS that greatly simplifies the overhead ofproviding managed Wi-Fi in hotels.

Internet Protocols Supported

N+1 with automaticsynchronization◈ IPv4◈ IPv6◈

DHCP Server / DHCP Relay◈

Yes

Network Address Translation◈

Yes

Built-in HTTP Proxy Server◈

Yes

WAN Port Load Balancing◈

Yes

ENTERPRISE-GRADE WIRELESS LAN CONTROLLER

EWS5203

Dynamic Routing◈Yes

RADIUS Server Log◈Yes

Local DNS Records◈

Yes

User Events Log

◈

Yes

◈

User HTTP Web Log

◈

Yes

◈

Firewall Log◈Yes

DHCP Server/Lease Log◈

Yes

PMS Interface Log◈Yes

On-Demand Billing Report◈Yes

AP Status E-mail Notification◈

Yes

AP Management Event Log◈

Yes

Logging to External FTP◈

Yes

Configurable Logs &Reporting Intervals◈

Yes

Hotel PMS Integration
Integrated Billing &Accounting System
Billing Quota Types

Innkey PMS
Oracle Hospitality
OPERA◈ IDS Next◈Yes

By duration◈ By traffic volume◈

REPORTING
Whether it is real-time monitoring of network activity
or tracking the usage of previous Wi-Fi users, network
administrators need the appropriate tools at their disposal
to increase efficiency and reduce workload. The Edgecore
Controllers have an extensive set of logging and reporting
features that allow network administrators to easily findany information related to the wireless network.
The built-in system dashboard provides a quick overview
of the current system status, along with graphical reportsof network traffic and system performance. In addition,
there is a simple interface for viewing online devices
and their associated detailed statistics, including but notlimited to the roles they belong to, enforced network
policies, and packets transferred.
Alongside network monitoring, the Edgecore Controller
also performs detailed logging of all network activity.
For example, the User HTTP Web Log allows network
administrators to track users who visited malicious
websites, while the DHCP Lease Log can assist introubleshooting clients who cannot receive an IP address.
Lastly, the Configuration Change Log shows administrators
which settings have been modified in the past, in casethere are configuration errors that need to be reverted.

SPECIFICATIONSSYSTEM CAPACITY*1
Managed APs◈

Up to 300

Local Accounts◈

Up to 10,000

On-DemandAccounts◈

Up to 10,000

Managed Switches◈

80

Max. Number ofOnline Users◈

3,000; Switchable

HARDWARE SPECIFICATIONSForm Factor◈

Yes

Graphical System
Performance Reports◈

Yes

Traffic Volume Reports◈Yes

System Process Monitor◈

Yes

Online Device Monitoring◈

Yes

Active Sessions List◈

Yes

Configurable SYSLOG Severity◈Yes

SMTP (E-mail) Notifications◈Multiple Concurrent E-mailNotification Receivers◈

Yes

System Log (SYSLOG)◈Yes

CAPWAP Log◈Yes

Configuration Change Log◈YesYesNETWORK ACTIVITY LOGS

4

TEL: 886-3-5638888 FAX: 886-3-6686111
1, Creation Rd. III, Hsinchu Science Park, Taiwan 30077
sales@edge-core.com
www.edge-core.com

19” (1U) Rack Mount (Mountingbracket included)

Dimensions(W x D x H)◈

42.6 cm x 27.0 cm x 4.4 cm

Weight◈2.64 kg (5.81 lbs)

Power

SYSTEM & NETWORK STATUS
System Dashboard◈

Interfaces

LED Indicators

Input: 100-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz(Power cord included)◈ WAN: 2 x 10/100/1000Base-T
Ethernet, Auto-MDIX, RJ-45;
or 2 x SFP◈ LAN: 8 x 10/100/1000Base-T
Ethernet, Auto-MDIX, RJ-45◈ Console: 1 x RJ-45◈ USB: 1 x USB3.0◈ Power◈ Status◈

Buttons◈

ResetLCD Display◈

Yes

Operating Temperature: 0°C(32°F) to 40°C (104°F)◈ Operating Humidity: 10% to 90%
non-condensing◈

EnvironmentalConditions*1: Capacity limits may vary depending on configuration parameters© Copyright 2020 Edgecore Networks Corporation.

EC_DS_220208