Prioritize Business Applications in Wi-Fi Networks

As the BYOD trend grows, identifying and prioritizing business-critical applications in a Wi-Fi network is essential to any enterprise.

The Cisco AVC solution for wireless networks identifies more than 1000 business- or consumer-class applications using deep packet inspection (DPI). This extraordinary visibility into application traffic allows administrators to mark applications for further prioritization, or block them for security reasons or to conserve limited network bandwidth.

Cisco AVC Technologies and Products

Several Cisco technologies support AVC, some of which are highlighted below.

The first is next-generation DPI technology called Network-Based Application Recognition 2 (NBAR2). NBAR2 can identify more than 1000 applications and support application categorization, with the ability to update the protocol definition.

NetFlow version 9 selects and exports data of interest, allowing for easy consumption of application performance statistics by Cisco and third-party management tools.

Reporting and management tools also advance AVC. One example is Cisco Prime Infrastructure with Assurance module, an enterprise-grade network management and application monitoring tool that reports application and network performance across wired and wireless networks. Another example is Cisco Insight, which can provide up to 30 different reports for application visibility to help with capacity planning and troubleshooting.

Finally, quality of service facilitates the control of application performance.

Cisco AVC Benefits

• Improved quality of experience for all wireless users through application-level optimization and control
• Proactive monitoring and end-to-end application visibility to accelerate troubleshooting and minimize network downtime
• Network capacity management and planning through greater visibility of application usage and performance
• Prioritization of business-critical applications and sub-flows like Cisco Jabber voice or IM sessions