Wireless
The Wireless view presents the scaffolds associated with configuring the wireless distribution layer of your network, and monitoring/configuring the access points throughout your infrastructure.
WLAN Controllers
An entry in the WLAN controllers scaffold defines a piece of wireless equipment with which the rXg will communicate for the purpose of effecting dynamic VLAN changes when necessary due to a policy shift for a device on the network.
When a device's VLAN assignment has changed due to a policy shift, the rXg will connect to the WLAN controller associated with the device's RADIUS realm via the protocol specified in the configuration, and force a disconnect/reconnect, which will reinitiate the RADIUS authentication process, thereby resulting in the new VLAN assignment being applied to the client device.
The name field is an arbitrary string descriptor used only for administrative identification. Choose a name that reflects the purpose of the record. This field has no bearing on the configuration or settings determined by this scaffold.
The device field specifies the type of equipment being configured. Choose the appropriate option from the supported device types drop-down menu.
The enable telemetry boolean completely controls whether the rXg will attempt to receive and process telemetry data at all.
The Instrument from Telemetry checkbox results in the rXg using telemetry data to instrument the Access Points and Wireless Clients for this controller, instead of the regular API integration. If telemetry is enabled, the rXg will always instrument radio and client data, regardless of whether instrument from telemetry is enabled.
Enabling the Monitoring checkbox results in the rXg attempting to import and synchronize Access Points from the device, as well as perform ping monitoring of the Infrastructure Device itself, and collect CPU and Memory statistics, where possible.
The SNMP community field specifies the SNMP community string that will be used when attempting to gather CPU and/or Memory information, or Access Point data from WLAN controllers where an API is not available.
The NB portal password and NB portal usernames are used when executing API calls against RUCKUS's northbound portal interface. These must correlate with what is configured in the controller.
The Telemetry username and Telemetry password are used when authenticating an MQTT session with this WLAN Controller. These must correlate with what is configured in the controller's northbound data streaming subscriptions.
Vendor Specific Configuration Examples
For Infrastructure Devices which support configuration management, the Config sync status column contains a link that allows the operator to access bootstrap instructions and enable synchronization.
When enabling automatic WLAN controller configuration management, the operator should ensure that the timezone and country code set in the Device Options scaffold are accurate as they will be used when configuring wireless infrastructure.
After initial bootstrapping and network connectivity is established, the operator may download a running configuration backup or compare the current running configuration to the expected configuration, based on the associated configuration elements. If changes are needed, they may be pushed to the controller. After successfully synchronizing manually the first time, future configuration changes will be pushed to the device whenever relevant configuration changes are made in the database.
Vendor Specific Configuration Examples
The note field is a place for the administrator to enter a comment. This field is purely informational and has no bearing on the configuration settings.
Piglet Sensor
Piglets are small, low-cost, raspberry pi based, sensors that can be used for a variety of purposes. Adding a WLAN Controller with a device type of "Piglet" and a host address of "127.0.0.1" in this scaffold will allow the piglet sensors to discover the rXg for adoption. Click Here to access the piglet documentation.
WLANs
An entry in the WLANs scaffold defines a wireless network that you wish to deploy on a supported WLAN controller.
The SSID field specifies the WLAN SSID that will be broadcast and visible to users.
The Encryption selection specifies the encryption algorithm which will be used for this WLAN.
The Authentication selection specifies the type of authentication that should take place in order for users to join the network. In order for Dynamic VLANs to be assigned, authentication must utilize MAC Authentication Bypass or one of the 802.1X methods.
The Default VLAN field specifies the VLAN that users should be placed into, assuming it is not overriden by Dynamic VLAN behavior.
The Tunnel checkbox instructs access points to build a tunnel to the controller or some other location, depending on the vendor, instead of locally bridging the client traffic.
Application Examples: - RUCKUS SoftGRE Tunnel
The Enabled checkboxes allow the operator to enable or disable a WLAN for a particular radio across all profiles where it is utilized.
Dynamic VLANs require the association of at least one VLAN record which is tied to a RADIUS Realm.
The RADIUS Accounting checkbox instructs the Access Point to send accounting information to the RADIUS server as users join, use, and leave the network.
The Access Point Profiles selection specifies which Profiles should include this WLAN.
Access Point Profiles
An entry in the Access Point Profiles scaffold defines a set of common configuration parameters to be applied to a set of Access Points.
The Default checkbox indicates that this Profile will be the default Profile for this Infrastructure Device. Any Access Point which has not been explicitly assigned to a Profile will be placed into this Profile.
The WLANs association defines whoch WLANs will be broadcast on Access Points that fall into this Profile.
The Access Points association allows the operator to explicitly assign a profile to one or more Access Points. Selected Access Points which do not belong to the Infrastructure Device that the Profile is assigned to will be automatically deselected upon saving.
The Management VLAN field specifies which VLAN the Access Points in this profile will use to attempt to obtain an IP address via DHCP.
The 2.4GHz Data Rates and 5GHz Data Rates fields allow the operator to restrict the types of devices that may join the network to only those supporting a specific subset of data rates. By default, 802.11b rates are disabled to improve network performance.
The 2.4GHz Antenna Gain and 5GHz Antenna Gain fields allow the operator to specify antenna gain values (in dBi) that will be applied to Access Points which use external antennas.
The Outdoor APs checkbox instructs the system to enable or disable outdoor power and channel tables for the radios in order to be compliant with regulatory rules.
Access Points
Entries in the Access Points scaffold are created automatically by enabling the Monitoring checkbox on a supported wireless controller's Infrastructure Device. Status and statistics are gathered on an ongoing basis via API and/or SNMP.
After creation, the operator may reassign an Access Point's Access Point Profile in order to control the WLAN and radio settings applied to it. Access Point details are updated on a regular basis via background interaction with the Infrastructure Device.
Access Point Radios
Entries in the Access Point Radios scaffold are created automatically by enabling the Monitoring checkbox on a supported wireless controller's Infrastructure Device. Status and statistics are gathered on an ongoing basis via API and/or SNMP.
Access Point Radio Profiles
Entries in the Access Point Radio Profiles scaffold can be assigned to WLANS in the Access Point Profiles scaffold. The HW Mode Preference field ia a comma separated listing of supported radio type, 'A' (5 Ghz, 802.11 A and 802.11 AC), 'B' (2.4 Ghz 802.11 B), or 'G' (2.4 Ghz 802.11 G). The order matters, as HW Modes are preferred as listed, left to right. Selected Channels is a list of numbers associated with the HW Mode Preference. The list can be a comma separated list of individual channels, or ranges of channels (i.e. '1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10,11' can be represented as '1-11').
Access Point Zones
An entry in the Access Point Zones scaffold defines the configuration common throughout this site.
Entries in the Access Point Zones scaffold are populated automatically after enabling the monitoring checkbox for a supported WLAN controller Infrastructure Device.
The Enable DFS channels checkbox instructs the Access Points in this Access Point Zone to broadcast at the 5GHz frequencies that are generally reserved for radars. Disabling the Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) prevents the use of 5GHz channels 52 - 140.
The 5GHz Channel Width option allows the configuration of channel width for the 5GHz radio for Access Points in this Access Point Zone.
