Users Guide

Dell PowerConnect ArubaOS 5.0 | User Guide Secure Enterprise Mesh | 225
For all thin APs and mesh nodes, the AM identifies a mesh node from other packets monitored on the air, and the
AM will not trigger “wireless-bridging” events for packets transmitted between mesh nodes.
Verifying the Network
After provisioning the mesh APs, ensure that the mesh network is up and operating correctly.
To view your network via the WebUI, navigate to the one of the following windows:
z Monitoring > Network > All Mesh Nodes
z Monitoring > Network > controller> Mesh Nodes
To view your network via the command line interface, use the following commands:
z show ap mesh active
z show ap mesh topology
Remote Mesh Portals
You can deploy mesh portals to create a hybrid mesh/remote AP environment to extend network coverage to
remote locations; this feature is called remote mesh portal, or RMP. The RMP feature integrates the functions of
a remote AP (RAP) and the Mesh portal. As a RAP, it sets up a VPN tunnel back to the corporate switch that is
used to secure control traffic between the RAP and the switch.
The Remote Mesh Portal feature allows you to configure a remote AP at a branch office to operate as a mesh
portal for a mesh cluster. Other mesh points belonging to that cluster get their IP address and configuration
settings from the main office via an IPsec tunnel between the remote mesh portal and the main office controller.
This feature is useful for deploying an all-wireless branch office or creating a complete wireless network in
locations where there is no wired infrastructure in place.
When the client at the branch office associates to a a virtual AP in split-tunnel forwarding mode, the client’s
DHCP requests are forwarded over a GRE tunnel (split tunnel) to the corporate network. This communication is
done over a secure VPN tunnel. The IPs are assigned from the corporate pool based on the VLAN tag
information, which helps to determine the corresponding VLAN. The VLAN tag also determines the subnet from
which the DHCP address has assigned.
A mesh point sends the DHCP request with the mesh private VLAN (MPV) parameter. The mesh point learns
the MPV value from the response during the mesh association. When the split tunnel is setup for the RMP on the
controller, the VLAN of the tunnel should be the MPV.A DHCP pool for the MPV should be setup on the switch.
The use of MPV makes it easy for the RMP to decide which requests to forward over the split tunnel. All requests
tagged with the MPV are sent over the split tunnel. Hence the MPV should be different from any user VLAN that
is bridged using the mesh network.
The RMP configuration requires an AP license. For more information about Dell software licenses, see Chapter
27, “Software Licenses” on page527.”
How RMP Works
When a client at the branch office associates to a split VAP, the client’s DHCP requests are forwarded over a
GRE tunnel (split tunnel) to the corporate network. This communication is done over a secure VPN tunnel. The
IPs are assigned from the corporate pool based on the VLAN tag information, which helps to determine the
corresponding VLAN. The VLAN tag also determines the subnet from which the DHCP address has assigned.
A mesh point sends the DHCP request with the mesh private VLAN (MPV) parameter. The mesh point learns
the MPV value from the response during the mesh association. When the split tunnel is set up for the RMP on
the controller, the VLAN of the tunnel should be the MPV. A DHCP pool for the MPV should be set up on the
controller. The use of MPV makes it easy for the RMP to decide which requests to forward over the split tunnel.