Getting Started Guide
Table Of Contents
- Cisco Aironet 1840 Series Access Points
- 1 About this Guide
- 2 About the Access Point
- 3 Safety Instructions
- 4 Unpacking
- 5 AP Views, Ports, and Connectors
- 6 Preparing the AP for Installation
- 7 Installation Overview
- 8 Performing a Pre-Installation Configuration
- 9 Mounting the Access Point
- 10 Powering the Access Point
- 11 Configuring and Deploying the Access Point
- 12 Checking the Access Point LEDs
- 13 Miscellaneous Usage and Configuration Guidelines
- 14 Related Documentation
- 15 Declarations of Conformity and Regulatory Information
- Manufacturers Federal Communication Commission Declaration of Conformity Statement
- VCCI Statement for Japan
- Guidelines for Operating Cisco Aironet Access Points in Japan
- Statement 371—Power Cable and AC Adapter
- Industry Canada
- Canadian Compliance Statement
- European Community, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein
- Declaration of Conformity for RF Exposure
- Generic Discussion on RF Exposure
- This Device Meets International Guidelines for Exposure to Radio Waves
- This Device Meets FCC Guidelines for Exposure to Radio Waves
- This Device Meets the Industry Canada Guidelines for Exposure to Radio Waves
- Cet appareil est conforme aux directives internationales en matière d'exposition aux fréquences radioélectriques
- Additional Information on RF Exposure
- Administrative Rules for Cisco Aironet Access Points in Taiwan
- Operation of Cisco Aironet Access Points in Brazil
- Declaration of Conformity Statements
- Communications, Services, and Additional Information
- Cisco Bug Search Tool
12
Cisco Aironet 1840 Series Access Points
CAPWAP is identical to the Lightweight Access Point Protocol (LWAPP) used with previous Cisco Aironet access points.
LWAPP-enabled access points are compatible with CAPWAP, and conversion to a CAPWAP controller is seamless.
Deployments can combine CAPWAP and LWAPP software on the controllers.
The functionality provided by the controller does not change except for customers who have Layer 2 deployments, which
CAPWAP does not support.
In a CAPWAP environment, a wireless access point discovers a controller by using CAPWAP discovery mechanisms and
then sends it a CAPWAP join request. The controller sends the access point a CAPWAP join response allowing the
access point to join the controller. When the access point joins the controller, the controller manages its configuration,
firmware, control transactions, and data transactions.
Note For additional information about the discovery process and CAPWAP, see the Cisco Wireless Controller
Software Configuration Guide. This document is available on Cisco.com.
Note CAPWAP support is provided in controller software release 5.2 or later. However, your controller must be
running the release that supports 1840 series access points, as specified in the access point data sheet.
Note You cannot edit or query any access point using the controller CLI if the name of the access point contains a
space.
Note Make sure that the controller is set to the current time. If the controller is set to a time that has already
occurred, the access point might not join the controller because its certificate may not be valid for that time.
Access points must be discovered by a controller before they can become an active part of the network. The access
point supports these controller discovery processes:
Layer 3 CAPWAP discovery—Can occur on different subnets than the access point and uses IP addresses and UDP
packets rather than MAC addresses used by Layer 2 discovery.
Locally stored controller IP address discovery—If the access point was previously joined to a controller, the IP
addresses of the primary, secondary, and tertiary controllers are stored in the access point non-volatile memory. This
process of storing controller IP addresses on an access point for later deployment is called priming the access point.
For more information about priming, see the “Performing a Pre-Installation Configuration” section on page 9.
DHCP server discovery—This feature uses DHCP option 43 to provide controller IP addresses to the access points.
Cisco switches support a DHCP server option that is typically used for this capability. For more information about
DHCP option 43, see the “Configuring DHCP Option 43” section on page 18.
DNS discovery—The access point can discover controllers through your domain name server (DNS). For the access
point to do so, you must configure your DNS to return controller IP addresses in response to
CISCO-CAPWAP-CONTROLLER.localdomain, where localdomain is the access point domain name. Configuring the
CISCO-CAPWAP-CONTROLLER provides backwards compatibility in an existing customer deployment. When an
access point receives an IP address and DNS information from a DHCP server, it contacts the DNS to resolve
CISCO-CAPWAP-CONTROLLER.localdomain. When the DNS sends a list of controller IP addresses, the access
point sends discovery requests to the controllers.