CloudWLC Open Controller · Coming in three phases
Your Cambium access points. A controller with a future.
The CloudWLC Open Controller is our own wireless LAN controller, made by Optaro for hospitality networks, with Cambium access points as the first hardware it supports. It needs nothing from Cambium's cloud or licensing service, so adding, replacing and removing devices stays possible for as long as the hardware lasts. It arrives in three phases, and each one ships only when it has passed its release gate on real hardware.
The plan
Three phases. Each one earns its release.
No dates, and one price. Every phase has a published release gate: a list of checks it must pass on real hardware before we ship it. Basic gets a site running on our own control plane, Essentials makes it a day-to-day hospitality tool, and Advanced joins it to Optaro’s RF and assurance products.
- 1Phase 1
Basic
One complete site, running through our own control plane.
Sites, AP adoption, WLANs, VLANs, manual channel and power, and verified configuration
20 capabilities · see the detail ↓ - 2Phase 2
Essentials
What a hospitality estate needs day to day.
RADIUS and ePSK, roaming, client visibility, Auto RF, power policies, alarms and backups
23 capabilities · see the detail ↓ - 3Phase 3
Advanced
A hospitality-focused alternative, not only a replacement controller.
Optaro Assure, RF Survey, venue optimisation, automation and reporting
21 capabilities · see the detail ↓
One price.Basic, Essentials and Advanced are phases of delivery, not tiers you pay more for. There is one CloudWLC price, and each phase arrives as part of it.
See pricingWhy we are building it
The catch with every cnMaestro server.
Cambium's own guidance says that if its cloud licensing service, the Cloud Anchor, goes away, cnMaestro On-Premises keeps running but “you will not be able to add or delete any devices.” That is true of any cnMaestro server, wherever it is hosted, including ours. A failed access point you cannot replace is a network with an expiry date.
Cambium's guidance for cnMaestro Enterprise customersProven on real hardware so far
On Cambium hardware in our lab, an access point has been discovered and pointed at our controller, registered with it, had its configuration read, changed and acknowledged with the change verified on the device, and reconnected by itself after a reboot. No cnMaestro, no Anchor account and no Cambium login were involved.
Supported models and firmware are published as each one is tested, starting with the first release.
Add devices again
Adopt new and replacement access points with no Cambium cloud, Anchor account or licence server involved.
Built for hospitality
Designed by the team that has deployed more than 10,000 access points in hotels and venues, around how those networks are actually run.
Hosted like everything else here
A dedicated controller, trusted HTTPS, automatic backups, managed updates and monitoring, in the same account as your other controllers.
Independent by design
Your network's future stops depending on one vendor's cloud, licensing or balance sheet.
1Phase 1
CloudWLC Basic
One complete site, running through our own control plane.
Everything needed to bring a site across from Cambium Cloud and run it: accounts, sites, adoption, WLANs, VLANs and manual radio control, with every change verified on the device.
Basic release gate
We release only after:
- A clean AP adopts and reconnects after restart.
- A WLAN is created from the portal.
- A client connects and obtains the intended VLAN.
- Channel and power changes are independently read back.
- Failed delivery does not appear successful.
- Rollback works.
- Controller restart preserves ownership and desired state.
Customer and estate management
- Customer accounts, 2FA and tenant isolation
- Multiple sites under each customer
- AP discovery, reviewed adoption, release and re-adoption
- AP inventory, model, firmware and online state
- Import sites, APs and WLANs from Cambium Cloud
- Guided controller cutover
- AP-count tracking
WLAN management
- Create, edit, enable and disable WLANs
- Assign WLANs to whole sites
- Open and WPA2-PSK security
- VLAN assignment
- 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz or both bands
- Configuration version history
- Device acknowledgement and verified readback
- Roll back to the preceding configuration
Manual RF controls
- Enable or disable a radio
- Fixed channel
- Channel width
- Fixed transmit power
- Site-wide defaults with per-AP overrides
Initial compatibility
- E425 on the validated firmware
- Small, controlled hospitality sites
- Published model and firmware compatibility table
2Phase 2
CloudWLC Essentials
What a hospitality estate needs day to day.
Enterprise security and RADIUS, automatic RF within limits you set, and the operational tools for running many access points safely: canaries, batches, maintenance windows, alarms and backups.
Essentials release gate
We release only after:
- Multi-AP roaming works during real client testing.
- Channel and power automation does not create coverage holes.
- ePSK and dynamic VLAN behaviour survives AP restart.
- Canary, rollback and maintenance-window controls work.
- A multi-AP hotel-like pilot runs through a representative busy period.
WLAN and access control
- WPA2/WPA3 Enterprise
- External RADIUS
- RADIUS accounting
- Dynamic VLANs
- RADIUS-driven ePSK, after hardware proof
- Client isolation
- Captive portal integration
- WLAN schedules
RF management
- Permitted channel pools
- Automatic channel selection
- Minimum and maximum transmit-power policies
- Automatic power management
- 2.4 GHz radio reduction policies
- Interference and utilisation awareness
- Site-wide changes with canary APs and batch limits
- Maintenance windows and protected venue zones
Operations
- Client inventory and association history
- AP and WLAN alarms
- Configuration drift detection
- Bulk changes
- Audit history
- Controller and configuration backups
- Additional supported Cambium models and firmware
3Phase 3
CloudWLC Advanced
A hospitality-focused alternative, not only a replacement controller.
The controller joined to Optaro Assure and RF Survey: radio planning against the building, service health from the guest's point of view, and automation you approve before it acts.
RF optimisation
- RF Survey design and floor-plan integration
- Compare intended and observed coverage
- Venue-aware channel planning
- Automated transmit-power balancing
- Co-channel and adjacent-channel analysis
- Event and occupancy-aware RF policies
- Recommendation, approval and controlled automation modes
Optaro Assure integration
- Guest journey and service-health correlation
- Internet, DHCP, DNS, RADIUS and captive-portal checks
- Root-cause analysis across AP, switch, gateway and WAN
- Business-impact views by property, floor and service
- Experience-based rollback
- Proactive fault and degradation detection
Advanced operations
- Firmware orchestration and compatibility rings
- Configuration templates across hotel groups
- Change simulation and impact previews
- Cross-site benchmarking
- SLA and service reports
- Public API, webhooks and MSP integrations
- cnMatrix configuration and port visibility
- Dedicated and customer-hosted deployment options
Feature matrix
Everything, phase by phase.
Basic, Essentials and Advanced build on each other, at one price. The gold marker shows the phase a capability arrives in.
64 capabilities across three phases. Each phase builds on the one before it. One price throughout. arrives in this phase included
| Capability | BasicPhase 1 | EssentialsPhase 2 | AdvancedPhase 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer and estate management | |||
| Customer accounts, 2FA and tenant isolation | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| Multiple sites under each customer | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| AP discovery, reviewed adoption, release and re-adoption | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| AP inventory, model, firmware and online state | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| Import sites, APs and WLANs from Cambium Cloud | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| Guided controller cutover | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| AP-count tracking | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| WLAN management | |||
| Create, edit, enable and disable WLANs | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| Assign WLANs to whole sites | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| Open and WPA2-PSK security | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| VLAN assignment | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz or both bands | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| Configuration version history | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| Device acknowledgement and verified readback | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| Roll back to the preceding configuration | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| Manual RF controls | |||
| Enable or disable a radio | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| Fixed channel | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| Channel width | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| Fixed transmit power | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| Site-wide defaults with per-AP overrides | Arrives in Basic | Included | Included |
| WLAN and access control | |||
| WPA2/WPA3 Enterprise | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| External RADIUS | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| RADIUS accounting | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| Dynamic VLANs | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| RADIUS-driven ePSK, after hardware proof | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| Client isolation | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| Captive portal integration | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| WLAN schedules | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| RF management | |||
| Permitted channel pools | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| Automatic channel selection | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| Minimum and maximum transmit-power policies | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| Automatic power management | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| 2.4 GHz radio reduction policies | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| Interference and utilisation awareness | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| Site-wide changes with canary APs and batch limits | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| Maintenance windows and protected venue zones | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| Operations | |||
| Client inventory and association history | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| AP and WLAN alarms | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| Configuration drift detection | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| Bulk changes | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| Audit history | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| Controller and configuration backups | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| Additional supported Cambium models and firmware | – | Arrives in Essentials | Included |
| RF optimisation | |||
| RF Survey design and floor-plan integration | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Compare intended and observed coverage | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Venue-aware channel planning | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Automated transmit-power balancing | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Co-channel and adjacent-channel analysis | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Event and occupancy-aware RF policies | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Recommendation, approval and controlled automation modes | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Optaro Assure integration | |||
| Guest journey and service-health correlation | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Internet, DHCP, DNS, RADIUS and captive-portal checks | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Root-cause analysis across AP, switch, gateway and WAN | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Business-impact views by property, floor and service | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Experience-based rollback | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Proactive fault and degradation detection | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Advanced operations | |||
| Firmware orchestration and compatibility rings | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Configuration templates across hotel groups | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Change simulation and impact previews | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Cross-site benchmarking | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| SLA and service reports | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Public API, webhooks and MSP integrations | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| cnMatrix configuration and port visibility | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
| Dedicated and customer-hosted deployment options | – | – | Arrives in Advanced |
In the meantime
Don’t wait. Get your estate safe first.
Sign up now, while Cambium’s cloud is still running and your estate can be collected. Hosted cnMaestro and the Open Controller live in the same CloudWLC account, so you choose what suits each site.
| For Cambium access points | Hosted cnMaestro on CloudWLC | CloudWLC Open Controller |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | Opens with the portal | Phase 1 first, then Phases 2 and 3 |
| Keep your existing Cambium access points | Yes | Yes |
| Add, replace and remove devices | While Cambium's licensing service runs | Yes. No licence server involved |
| Depends on Cambium's cloud or Anchor | For adding and removing devices | No |
| Who develops the controller | Cambium Networks (in administration) | Optaro |
| Hosted, backed up and monitored for you | Yes | Yes |
| Same CloudWLC account and dashboard | Yes | Yes |
Questions
Straight answers.
CloudWLC is an independent service from Optaro. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or operated by Cambium Networks, HPE Aruba Networking, RUCKUS Networks, Ubiquiti or any other equipment vendor.
What is the CloudWLC Open Controller?
Our own wireless LAN controller, developed by Optaro. Cambium access points are the first hardware it supports. It is hosted and operated for you on CloudWLC in the same way as our other controllers.
When does it launch?
In three phases: Basic, then Essentials, then Advanced. We do not put dates on them. Each phase ships only when its release gate has passed on real hardware, and the gates are published on this page.
Do Essentials and Advanced cost more?
No. There is one CloudWLC price. Basic, Essentials and Advanced are the phases the controller is delivered in, not tiers you pay more for, so each phase arrives as part of what you already pay.
What is a release gate?
The list of checks a phase must pass before we release it, published on this page. For Basic that includes a clean access point adopting and reconnecting after a restart, a client connecting to a WLAN created from the portal and landing on the intended VLAN, failed deliveries never appearing successful, and rollback working. If a check fails, we do not ship.
What is in Phase 1?
CloudWLC Basic: customer accounts with 2FA and tenant isolation, multiple sites, reviewed AP adoption, inventory, import from Cambium Cloud and a guided cutover; creating, editing and assigning WLANs with open or WPA2-PSK security and VLANs; manual radio control of channel, width and power; and configuration history with verified readback and rollback. Enterprise security, RADIUS and automatic RF arrive in Essentials.
Which access points will it support?
Phase 1 supports the Cambium E425 on the firmware we have validated, for small, controlled hospitality sites. We publish a model and firmware compatibility table and add to it as each one is tested, rather than claim support we have not proven. More Cambium models and firmware arrive with Essentials.
Why does adding devices matter so much?
Cambium's guidance is that without its cloud licensing service, a cnMaestro On-Premises server cannot add or remove devices. That applies to every cnMaestro server, wherever it runs. The Open Controller does not use that service at all, so replacing a failed access point or expanding a site stays possible.
Should I wait for it instead of moving now?
No. Sign up now. Getting your estate collected and onto CloudWLC while Cambium's cloud is still running is the safe first step, and it puts you in the right place for the Open Controller the day it launches.
Is it connected to Cambium Networks?
No. It is an independent product from Optaro. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or developed with Cambium Networks.
Be first onto the Open Controller.
Register your interest with your early-access sign-up, and we will tell you as each phase passes its release gate.
30-day money-back guarantee · No server to install