Chapter 7 Management Mode

Note: The NWA3000-N series AP can be a standalone AP (default), a CAPWAP managed AP, or a CAPWAP AP controller.

7.2.1 CAPWAP Discovery and Management

The link between CAPWAP-enabled access points proceeds as follows:

1An AP in managed AP mode joins a wired network (receives a dynamic IP address).

2The AP sends out a discovery request, looking for an AP in CAPWAP AP controller mode.

3If there is an AP controller on the network, it receives the discovery request. If the AP controller is in Manual mode it adds the details of the AP to its Unmanaged Access Points list, and you decide which available APs to manage. If the AP is in Always Accept mode, it automatically adds the AP to its Managed Access Points list and provides the managed AP with default configuration information, as well as securely transmitting the DTLS pre-shared key. The managed AP is ready for association with wireless clients.

7.2.2Managed AP Finds the Controller

A managed NWA3000-N series AP can find the controller in one of the following ways:

•Manually specify the controller’s IP address using the commands. See the NWA3000-N series AP CLI Reference Guide for details.

•Get the controller’s IP address from a DHCP server with the controller’s IP address configured as option 138.

•Broadcasting to discover the controller within the broadcast domain.

The AP controller must have a static IP address; it cannot be a DHCP client.

7.2.3 CAPWAP and IP Subnets

By default, CAPWAP works only between devices with IP addresses in the same subnet (see the appendices for information on IP addresses and subnetting).

However, you can configure CAPWAP to operate between devices with IP addresses in different subnets by doing the following.

•Activate DHCP. Your network’s DHCP server must support option 138 defined in RFC 5415.

104

 

NWA3000-N Series User’s Guide