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Table Of Contents
Release Notes for Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers and Lightweight Access Points for Release 18.104.22.168
Cisco Unified Wireless Network Solution Components
Online Certificate Status Protocol
Band Select and Load Balancing Support on Cisco Aironet 1040 Access Point
Special Rules for Upgrading to Controller Software Release 126.96.36.199
Software Release Support for Access Points
Interoperability With Other Clients in 126.96.36.199
Special Rules for Upgrading to Controller Software 126.96.36.199 in Mesh Networks
Upgrading to a New Software Release
FCC Safety Compliance Statement
Using the Cisco 5500 Series Controller USB Console Port
Important Notes for Controllers and Nonmesh Access Points
Controllers Unreacheable from WCS when Upgrading from 184.108.40.206 to 188.8.131.52
WPlus License Features Included in Base License
Additive Licenses Available for 5500 Series Controllers
One-Time Password (OTP) Support
RADIUS Called-station-id and Calling-station-id Attributes
Using Access Points in Sniffer Mode
Inter-Release Controller Mobility
802.11g Controller and 802.11b Clients
CAPWAP Problems with Firewalls and ACLs
Messages Appearing Upon Controller Bootup
Crash Files for Cisco Aironet 1250 Series Access Points
Configuration File Stored in XML
Issues with APs That Transmit Multicast Frames at Highest Configured Basic Rate and Management Frames with Lowest Basic Rates
802.11a Channels 120, 124, and 128 Disabled
Impact of External Antenna Gain on Transmit Power
Supporting Oversized Access Point Images
MAC Filtering for WGB Wired Clients
CKIP Not Supported with Dynamic WEP
Setting the Date and Time on the Controller
Synchronizing the Controller and Location Appliance
FCC DFS Support on 1130 Series Access Points
Inaccurate Transmit Power Display
Setting the Retransmit Timeout Value for TACACS+ Servers
Configuring an Access Point's Prestandard Power Setting
Controller Functions that Require a Reboot
Rate-Limiting on the Controller
Pings Supported to the Management Interface of the Controller
Pinging from a Network Device to a Controller Dynamic Interface
4400 Series Controllers Do Not Forward Subnet Broadcasts through the Guest Tunnel
Connecting 1100 and 1300 Series Access Points
Preventing Clients from Accessing the Management Network on a Controller
Voice Wireless LAN Configuration
Enabling/Disabling Band Selection and Client Load Balancing
Changing the IOS LWAPP Access Point Password
Exclusion List (Blacklist) Client Feature
RADIUS Servers and the Management VLAN
Management Usernames and Local Netuser Names
Home Page Retains Web Authentication Login with IE 5.x
Changing the Default Values of SNMP Community Strings
Changing the Default Values for SNMP v3 Users
DirectStream Feature Is Not Supported With WGB
Enforce a minimum configured data rate
Features Not Supported on Cisco 2100 Series Controllers
Features Not Supported on Cisco 2500 Series Controllers
Features Not Supported on Cisco 5500 Series Controllers
Features Not Supported on Cisco Flex 7500 Series Controllers
Some Clients See Only 64 Access Point MAC Addresses (BSSIDs) at a Time
Upgrading External Web Authentication
Switch Port and Controller Port
Unsupported mac-address Command for Unified and Autonomous Access Points
Fast Roaming and Authentication/Key Management for CCKM Clients
Errors When Using AAA with an Active RADIUS Fallback
Roaming Clients When Access Points are in Standalone Mode
Using Lightweight Access Points with NAT
Important Notes for Controllers and Mesh Access Points
Features Not Supported on Mesh Networks
Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request
Release Notes for Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers and Lightweight Access Points for Release 220.127.116.11
First Published: October 25, 2011OL-19342-06
These release notes describe open and resolved caveats for release 126.96.36.199 for Cisco 2100, 2500, 4400, 5500, and Cisco Flex 7500 Series Wireless LAN Controllers; Cisco Wireless Services Modules (WiSMs), Cisco Wireless Services Module (WiSM2); Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Network Modules; Catalyst 3750G Integrated Wireless LAN Controller Switches; Cisco 3201 Wireless Mobile Interface Cards (WMICs); Cisco Aironet 1100, 1130, 1140, 1200, 1230AG, 1240, 1250, 1300, 1522, 1524, 1550, 1552S, AP3500, AP1260, AP 1040, AP801, and AP 802 Series Lightweight Access Points; Cisco OEAP 600 Series Access Points; Cisco Aironet 1130AG, 1240AG, 1522, and 1524 Mesh Access Points, which comprise part of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network (UWN) Solution.
Note Unless otherwise noted, all of the Cisco Wireless LAN controllers are referred to as controllers, and all of the Cisco lightweight access points are referred to as access points.
These release notes contain the following sections:
•Cisco Unified Wireless Network Solution Components
•Upgrading to a New Software Release
•Using the Cisco 5500 Series Controller USB Console Port
•Important Notes for Controllers and Nonmesh Access Points
•Important Notes for Controllers and Mesh Access Points
•Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request
Cisco Unified Wireless Network Solution Components
The following components are part of the Cisco UWN Solution and are compatible in this release:
•Software release 18.104.22.168 for all Cisco controllers and lightweight access points
•Cisco IOS version 12.4(23c)JA3
•Cisco autonomous to lightweight mode upgrade tool release 3.0
•Cisco Wireless Control System (WCS) software release 184.108.40.206
•Cisco WCS Navigator 184.108.40.206
•Mobility services engine software release 188.8.131.52 and Context-Aware Software
Note Client and tag licenses are required in order to retrieve contextual (such as location) information within the Context-Aware Software. See the Release Notes for Cisco 3350 Mobility Services Engine for Software Release 7.0 for more information.
•Cisco 3350, 3310 Mobility Services Engines
•Cisco 2100 Series Wireless LAN Controllers
•Cisco 2500 Series Wireless LAN Controllers
•Cisco 4400 Series Wireless LAN Controllers
•Cisco 5500 Series Wireless LAN Controllers
•Cisco Flex 7500 Series Wireless LAN Controllers
•Cisco Wireless Services Module (WiSM) for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches and Cisco 7600 Series Routers
•Cisco Wireless Services Module 2 (WiSM2) for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches
•Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Network Module for Cisco Integrated Services Routers
Note The 188.8.131.52 release does not support the NM-AIR-WLC6 platform. The NME-AIR-WLC platform is supported.
•Catalyst 3750G Wireless LAN Controller Switches
•Cisco 3201 Wireless Mobile Interface Cards (WMICs)
•Cisco Aironet 1130AG, 1240AG, AP 1550, 1522, 1552S, and 1524 Mesh Access Points
•Cisco Aironet 1100, 1130, 1140, 1200, 1230AG, 1240, 1250, AP1260, 1300, AP3500, AP 1040, OEAP 600 Series Access Points, 1522, 1552S, 1524, 1550, 3500p, AP801, and AP802 Series Lightweight Access Points
Note Controller software release 126.96.36.199 or later is not compatible with Cisco Aironet 1010, 1020, 1030, and 1510 Series Access Points.
The AP801 is an integrated access point on the Cisco 800 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs). For more information on the SKUs for the access points and the ISRs, refer to the following data sheets:
Note The AP802 is an integrated access point on the Next Generation Cisco 880 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs).
Note Only Cisco Aironet 1200 Series Access Points that contain 802.11g (AIR-MP21G) or second-generation 802.11a radios (AIR-RM21A or AIR-RM22A) are supported for use with controller software releases. The AIR-RM20A radio, which was included in early 1200 series access point models, is not supported. To see the type of radio module installed in your access point, enter this command on the access point: show controller dot11radio n, where n is the number of the radio (0 or 1).
Controller Requirements
The controller GUI requires the following operating system and web browser:
•Windows XP SP1 (or later) or Windows 2000 SP4 (or later)
•Internet Explorer 6.0 SP1 (or later) or Mozilla Firefox 18.104.22.168 (or later)
MIB Files
Cisco controllers support standard SNMP Management Information Base (MIB) files. MIBs can be downloaded from the Software Center on Cisco.com. Only one MIB is posted per major release (18.104.22.168, 188.8.131.52, 184.108.40.206, 6.0, 5.2, 5.1, and so on). If an updated MIB becomes available, the previous version is removed from the Software Center and replaced by the new version.
New Features
The following new features are available in controller software release 184.108.40.206.
Online Certificate Status Protocol
The Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) feature provides certificate revocation in environments where loading Certificate Revocation Lists (CRL) is not feasible because of the size of the CRL. When a management user accesses the controller GUI through HTTPS, OCSP is used by the controller to get the revocation status of the management user's certificate from an OCSP responder. When OCSP is enabled on the controller, it is mandatory for the management users to have a certificate while accessing the GUI through HTTPS. If a certificate is not present or has been revoked by the Certification Authority, then the management user will not be able to login.
OCSP is supported on the following platforms: Cisco 5508 Controller, Cisco 4400 Controller, WiSM-2, and WiSM.
Configuring OCSP(CLI)
To configure OCSP using the CLI, follow these steps:
Step 1 Configure an OCSP responder by entering this command:
•config network secureweb ocsp responder-url url-path
The URL must be in the http://<IP_address>/<path> format. Do not use DNS names.
Step 2 Enable or disable OCSP by entering the following command:
•config network secureweb ocsp {enable | disable}
View the OCSP parameters by entering the following command:
show network summary
View debug logs by entering the following command:
debug emweb server enable
Note If you enable debugging, then the controller response time is affected. The controller GUI login page might take longer than usual. As a workaround, you must refresh the page to log on into the controller GUI.
Note You must reboot the controller after enabling or disabling the OCSP feature.
Viewing Available AP Images
In controller release 188.8.131.52, a new show command is added to the controller image. The following show command can be used to list the available AP images in the primary and secondary (backup) version of the image, and their sizes in KiloBytes in the primary or secondary (backup) version of the image.
show ap bundle {all | primary | secondary}
•all—Displays the list of AP images in the primary and secondary controller images.
•primary—Displays the list of AP images in the primary controller image.
•secondary—Displays the list of AP images in the secondary controller image.
The following example shows how to display the AP images in the primary and secondary controller:
>show ap bundle allPrimary AP Image Size---------------- ----ap3g1 5792ap801 5192ap802 5224c1100 3084c1130 4972c1140 4992c1200 3364c1240 4812c1250 5504c1310 3136c1520 6404c3201 4324Secondary AP Image Size------------------ ----ap3g1 5792ap801 5192ap802 5224c1100 3084c1130 4972c1140 4992c1200 3364c1240 4812c1250 5504c1310 3136c1520 6404c3201 4324
Configuring NAT Discovery
The following command controls which address(es) are sent in CAPWAP discovery responses when NAT is enabled on the Management Interface:
config network ap-discovery nat-ip-only {enable | disable}
•enable— Enables use of NAT IP only in Discovery response. This is the default. Use this command if all APs are outside of the NAT gateway.
•disable—Enables use of both NAT IP and non-NAT IP in discovery response. Use this command if APs are on the inside and outside of the NAT gateway; for example, Local Mode and OfficeExtend APs on the same controller.
Note To avoid stranding APs, you must disable AP link-latency (if enabled) before you use the disable option for the config network ap-discovery nat-ip-only command. To disable AP link-latency, use the config ap link-latency disable all command.
Band Select and Load Balancing Support on Cisco Aironet 1040 Access Point
Controller software release 220.127.116.11 now provides band select and load balancing support on Cisco Aironet 1040 Series Access Points.
See the Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Configuration Guide, Release 22.214.171.124, for configuration instructions on configuring band select and load balancing.
Software Release Information
The software is factory installed on your controller and automatically downloaded to the access points after a release upgrade and whenever an access point joins a controller. We recommend that you install the latest software version available for maximum operational benefit.
Guidelines and Limitations
•The Cisco WiSM requires software release SWISMK9-32 or later releases. The Supervisor 720 12.2(18)SXF2 supports the Cisco WiSM software release 22.214.171.124 or later, and the Supervisor 720 12.2(18)SXF5 (Cisco IOS Software Modularity) supports the Cisco WiSM software release 126.96.36.199 (with Cisco IOS Software Modularity).
•To use the Cisco WiSM in the Cisco 7609 and 7613 Series Routers, the routers must be installed with Cisco IOS Release 12.2(18)SXF5 or later.
•The Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Network Module is supported on Cisco 2800/3700/3800 Series Integrated Services Routers running Cisco IOS Release 12.4(15)T, 15.0(1)M or later, and on 2900/3900 ISRs running 15.0(1)M and later.
•To use the controller in the Catalyst 3750G Wireless LAN Controller Switch, the switch must be running Cisco IOS Release 12.2(25)FZ, 12.2(35)SE or later, 12.2(37)SE or later, 12.2(44)SE or later, or 12.2(46)SE or later. The following Cisco IOS Releases and any variants are not supported: 12.2(25)SEC, 12.2(25)SED, 12.2(25)SEE, 12.2(25)SEF, and 12.2(25)SEG. All Catalyst 3750 software feature sets (IP Base, IP Service, and Advanced IP Services) are supported for use with the controller.
•You can use the Cisco 2112 and 2125 Series Controllers only with software release 220.127.116.11 or later.
•The Cisco 526 Wireless Express Mobility Controller is supported only on the Cisco Wireless LAN Controller, Release 18.104.22.168 and earlier releases. The later releases do not support the Cisco 526 Wireless Express Mobility Controller.
Finding the Software Release
To find the software release running on your controller, click Monitor and look at the Software Version field under Controller Summary on the controller GUI, or enter show sysinfo on the controller CLI.
Special Rules for Upgrading to Controller Software Release 184.108.40.206
Before upgrading your controller to software release 22.214.171.124, you must comply with the following rules:
•Before you download a software image or an ER.aes file to a 2100 series controller or a controller network module, use the show memory statistics CLI command to see the current amount of free memory. If the controller has less than 90 MB of free memory, you need to reboot it before downloading the file.
•Cisco 860 ISR is not supported as an access point in a unified wireless deployment.
•If you are using a Cisco 880 ISR, you must use Cisco IOS 12.4(20)T or later with an advanced IP services license.
•If you are using a Cisco 890 ISR, you must use Cisco IOS 12.4(22)YB. The advanced IP service license is enabled by default on Cisco 890 ISR.
•Make sure that you have a TFTP or FTP server available for the software upgrade. Follow these guidelines when setting up a TFTP or FTP server:
–Controller software release 126.96.36.199 is larger than 32 MB; therefore, you must make sure that your TFTP server supports files that are larger than 32 MB. Some TFTP servers that support files of this size are tftpd and the TFTP server within the WCS. If you attempt to download the 18.104.22.168 controller software and your TFTP server does not support files of this size, the following error message appears: "TFTP failure while storing in flash."
–If you are upgrading through the service port, the TFTP or FTP server must be on the same subnet as the service port because the service port is not routable; or you must create static routes on the controller.
–If you are upgrading through the distribution system network port, the TFTP or FTP server can be on the same or a different subnet because the distribution system port is routable.
–A third-party TFTP or FTP server cannot run on the same computer as WCS because the WCS built-in TFTP or FTP server and the third-party TFTP or FTP server require the same communication port.
•You can upgrade or downgrade the controller software only between certain releases. In some instances, you must first install an intermediate release prior to upgrading to software release 126.96.36.199. Table 1-1 shows the upgrade path that you must follow before downloading software release 22.214.171.124.
•Before you use an AP802 series lightweight access point with controller software release 126.96.36.199, you must upgrade the software in the Next Generation Cisco 880 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISRs) to Cisco IOS 151-4.M or later releases.
•When you upgrade the controller to an intermediate software release, wait until all of the access points joined to the controller are upgraded to the intermediate release before you install the 184.108.40.206 software. In large networks, it can take some time to download the software on each access point.
•You cannot install the Cisco Unified Wireless Network Controller Boot Software 22.214.171.124 ER.aes file on the Cisco 5500 Controller platform.
•If you upgrade to the controller software release 184.108.40.206 from an earlier release, you must also upgrade WCS to 188.8.131.52 and MSE to 184.108.40.206.
•The ER
.aesfiles are independent from the controller software files. You can run any controller software file with any ER.aes file. However, installing the latest boot software file (22.214.171.124 ER.aes) ensures that the boot software modifications in all of the previous and current boot software ER.aes files are installed.
•It is not possible to upgrade or downgrade a new image if FIPS is enabled.
•Consider a network deployment scenario where an OfficeExtend Access Point is configured with the Least Latency Join option enabled and the controller is configured with NAT enabled. The Least Latency Join feature enables the access point to choose a controller with the least latency when joining, that is, when the feature is enabled, the access point calculates the time between the discovery request and the response and joins the controller that responds first. NAT enables a device such as a router to act as an agent between the Internet and the local network. NAT enables you to map the intranet IP address of a controller to a corresponding external address.
When an OfficeExtend Access Point that is configured with the Least Latency Join option and is upgraded to the controller release 18.104.22.168 tries to associate to the controller with NAT enabled, the access point fails to join the controller. Due to an update to the software code of 220.127.116.11, the OEAP tries to join the non-NAT IP address, fails to join, and tries a rediscovery that fails again. The OEAP can never connect to the controller.
The issue can be resolved by setting the access point mode to local mode on the controller and let the access point join the controller. On joining, you must disable least latency join and upgrade to 126.96.36.199 release.
•If you require a downgrade from one release to another, you might lose the configuration from your current release. The workaround is to reload the previous controller configuration files saved on the backup server or to reconfigure the controller.
•If you upgrade from 188.8.131.52 to 18.104.22.168, and if an old image is present in the
/mnt/imagesdirectory in the controller, the upgrade fails for the first time. The upgrade failure could have occurred based on one of the following reasons:
–If the image files are renamed manually in the controller.
–The files
initrd.bak, and
initrd.priare files that are shipped with the 4.2 release and over time these filenames have changed resulting in a failed upgrade.
You can upgrade from 126.96.36.199 to 22.214.171.124 only if you first upgrade to 184.108.40.206 and then to 188.8.131.52.
Table 1-1 Upgrade Path to Controller Software Release 18.104.22.168
Current Software Release Upgrade Path to 188.8.131.52 Software
22.214.171.124 or later 3.2 release
Upgrade to 188.8.131.52 or later 4.0 release, then upgrade to 220.127.116.11, before upgrading to 220.127.116.11.
188.8.131.52 or later 4.0 release
Upgrade to 184.108.40.206 before upgrading to 22.214.171.124.
220.127.116.11 or later 4.1 release
Upgrade to 188.8.131.52 before upgrading to 18.104.22.168.
Upgrade to 220.127.116.11M and then to 22.214.171.124 before upgrading to 184.108.40.206.
126.96.36.199M or 18.104.22.168M
Upgrade to 188.8.131.52 before upgrading to 220.127.116.11.
220.127.116.11 or earlier 4.2 release
Upgrade to 184.108.40.206 before upgrading to 22.214.171.124.
184.108.40.206 or earlier 4.2 release
Upgrade to 220.127.116.11 before upgrading to 188.8.131.52.
126.96.36.199 or later 4.2 release
You can upgrade directly to 126.96.36.199.
126.96.36.199 or later 5.0 release
You can upgrade directly to 126.96.36.199.
184.108.40.206 or later 5.1 release
Upgrade to a 5.2 or a 6.0 release and then upgrade to 22.214.171.124.
188.8.131.52 or later 5.2 release
You can upgrade directly to 22.214.171.124.
188.8.131.52 or later 6.0 release
You can upgrade directly to 18.104.22.168.
184.108.40.206 or later 6.0 release
You can upgrade directly to 18.104.22.168.
You can upgrade directly to 188.8.131.52.
You can upgrade directly to 188.8.131.52.
Software Release Support for Access Points
Table 1-2 lists the controller software releases that support specific Cisco access points. The First Support column lists the earliest controller software release that supports the access point. For access points that are not supported in ongoing releases, the Last Support column lists the last release that supports the access point.
Table 1-2 Software Support for Access Points
Access Points First Support Last Support
1000 Series
Airespace AS1200
1100 Series
1220 Series
1230 Series
1240 Series
1250 Series
1260 Series
1300 Series
1400 Series
Standalone Only
3500 Series
1500 Mesh Series
1520 Mesh Series
-A and N: 22.214.171.124 or 5.2 or later1
All other reg. domains: 18.104.22.168M or 5.2 or later1
-A and N: 18.104.22.168 or 5.2 or later1
All other reg. domains: 184.108.40.206M or 5.2 or later1
-A and N: 220.127.116.11 or 5.2 or later1
All other reg. domains: 184.108.40.206M or 5.2 or later1
188.8.131.52 or later.
-A, C and N: 6.0 or later
All other reg. domains: 188.8.131.52 or later.
-A: 18.104.22.168M or 5.2 or later1
1 These access points are supported in the separate 4.1.19x.x mesh software release or with release 5.2 or later releases. These access points are not supported in the 4.2, 5.0, or 5.1 Releases.
Interoperability With Other Clients in 188.8.131.52
This section describes the interoperability of the version of controller software with other client devices.
Table 1-3 describes the configuration used for testing the clients.
Table 1-3 Test Bed Configuration for Interoperability
Hardware/Software Parameter Hardware/Software Configuration Type
Cisco 4400 Series Controller and Cisco 5500 Series Controller
Access points
1131, 1142, 1242, 1252, AP 3500e and AP3500i
802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11n2, 802.11n5
Open, WEP, PSK (WPA and WPA2), 802.1X (WPA-TKIP and WPA2-AES) (LEAP, PEAP, EAP-FAST, EAP-TLS)
Types of tests
Connectivity, traffic, and roaming between two access points
Table 1-4 lists the versions of the clients. The traffic tests included data or voice. The clients included laptops, handheld devices, phones, and printers.
Table 1-4 Client Type
Client Type and Name Version Laptop
Intel 3945/4965
22.214.171.124 or 18.104.22.168
Intel 5100/5300/6200/6300
Dell 1395/1397/Broadcom 4312HMG(L)
XP/Vista: 188.8.131.52 Win7: 188.8.131.52
Dell 1505/1510/Broadcom 4321MCAG/4322HM
Dell 1520/Broadcom 43224HMS
Atheros HB92/HB97
Atheros HB95
MacBook Pro (Broadcom)
Handheld Devices
Falcon 4200/WinCE 4.2
Intermec CK31/WinCE 4.2:
Intermec CN3/Windows Mobile 5.0
Psion 7535/WinCE 5.0
Psion WAP/WinCE 5.0
Symbol 8846/Pocket PC 4.20
Symbol MC70 /Windows Mobile 5.0
Symbol MC9060/Pocket PC 4.2
Symbol MC9090/WinCE 5.0
Phones and Printers
Ascom i75
Nokia e61
Spectralink 8030
Spectralink e340/PTE110
Spectralink i640/PTX110
Vocera B1000A
Vocera B2000
Zebra QL320
Monarch 9855
Cisco 7921G
Cisco 7925G
Special Rules for Upgrading to Controller Software 188.8.131.52 in Mesh Networks
Before upgrading your controller to software release 18.104.22.168 in a mesh network, you must comply with the following rules.
Upgrade Compatibility Matrix
Table 1-5 outlines the upgrade compatibility of controller mesh and nonmesh releases and indicates the intermediate software releases required as part of the upgrade path.
Software Upgrade Notes
The software upgrade notes are as follows:
•You can upgrade from 188.8.131.52M and 126.96.36.199M to 220.127.116.11 without any configuration file loss. See Table 1-5 for the available upgrade paths.
Note If you downgrade to a mesh release, you must then reconfigure the controller. We recommend that you save the configuration from the mesh release before upgrading to release 22.214.171.124 for the first time. Then, you can reapply the configuration if you need to downgrade.
•It is not possible to downgrade from controller software release 220.127.116.11 to a mesh release (for example, 126.96.36.199, 188.8.131.52M, or 4.1.192.xM) without losing your configuration settings.
•Configuration files are in the binary state immediately after an upgrade from a mesh release to controller software release 184.108.40.206. After a reset, the XML configuration file is selected.
•Do not edit XML files.
•Any field with an invalid value is filtered out and set to default by the XML validation engine. Validation occurs during bootup.
•If you upgrade the controller from software release 4.1.191.xM to 4.1.192.xM and then to software release 184.108.40.206, the controller might reboot without a crash file. To work around this problem, manually reset the controller without saving the configuration after you upgrade the controller to software release 22.214.171.124. Also, make sure to check the RRM configuration settings after the reset to verify that they are correct (CSCsv50357).
Table 1-5 Upgrade Compatibility Matrix for Controller Mesh and Nonmesh Releases from
126.96.36.199 Release and later
Upgrade to 126.96.36.199 126.96.36.199 188.8.131.52 220.127.116.11
Upgrade from
1 You can upgrade directly from software release 22.214.171.124 to 22.214.171.124M; however, upgrading to 126.96.36.199M before upgrading to 22.214.171.124M is highly recommended.
2 Customers who require dynamic frequency selection (DFS) functionality should not use this release. This release does not provide DFS functionality fixes found in release 188.8.131.52. Additionally, this release is not supported in ETSI-compliant countries or Singapore.
3 Release 220.127.116.11 provides fixes for DFS on 1510 series access points. This functionality is needed only in countries where DFS rules apply.
Upgrading to a New Software Release
When you upgrade to the latest software release, the software on the access points associated with the controller is also automatically upgraded. When an access point is loading software, each of its LEDs blinks in succession. Up to 10 access points can be concurrently upgraded from the controller.
Guidelines and Limitations
•The Cisco 5500 Series Controllers can download the 22.214.171.124 software to 500 access points simultaneously.
•Do not power down the controller or any access point during the upgrade process; otherwise, you might corrupt the software image. Upgrading a controller with a large number of access points can take as long as 30 minutes, depending on the size of your network. However, with the increased number of concurrent access point upgrades supported in software release 126.96.36.199 and later, the upgrade time should be significantly reduced. The access points must remain powered, and the controller must not be reset during this time.
•In controller software release 5.2 or later, the WLAN override feature has been removed from both the controller GUI and CLI. If your controller is configured for WLAN override and you upgrade to controller software release 126.96.36.199, the controller deletes the WLAN configuration and broadcasts all WLANs. You can specify that only certain WLANs be transmitted by configuring access point groups. Each access point advertises only the enabled WLANs that belong to its access point group.
•If a WiSM controller is heavily loaded with access points and clients and is running heavy traffic, a software upgrade sometimes causes an Ethernet receive-path lockup and the hardware watchdog sometimes trips. You might need to reset the controller to return to normal operation.
•Do not install the 126.96.36.199 controller software file and the 188.8.131.52 ER.aes boot software file at the same time. Install one file and reboot the controller; then install the other file and reboot the controller.
•When upgrading from 220.127.116.11 to 22.214.171.124 release, access points with names that contain spaces will lose their configured name. For example, if an access point was named "APTestName 12," after upgrade, when the access point rejoins the controller, the name is truncated to "APTestName."
•If you want to downgrade from 18.104.22.168 release to a previous release, do either of the following:
–Delete all WLANs that are mapped to interface groups and create new ones.
–Ensure that all WLANs are mapped to interfaces rather than interface groups.
•If you are using controller software release 188.8.131.52 and if you have configured multicast interfaces, do not use the same configuration file for the 188.8.131.52 release. Using the 188.8.131.52 configuration file with multicast interfaces in the 18.104.22.168 release might cause the controller to be unresponsive.
To upgrade the controller software using the controller GUI, follow these steps.
Step 1 Upload your controller configuration files to a server to back them up.
Note We highly recommend that you back up your controller's configuration files prior to upgrading the controller software. Otherwise, you must manually reconfigure the controller.
Step 2 Follow these steps to obtain the 18.104.22.168 controller software and the Cisco Unified Wireless Network Controller Boot Software 126.96.36.199 ER.aes file from the Software Center on Cisco.com:
a. Click this URL to go to the Software Center:
b. Click Wireless Software.
c. Click Wireless LAN Controllers.
d. Click Standalone Controllers or Integrated Controllers and Controller Modules.
e. Click a controller series.
f. If necessary, click a controller model.
g. If you chose Standalone Controllers in Step d., click Wireless LAN Controller Software.
h. If you chose Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series/7600 Series Wireless Services Module (WiSM) in Step e., click Wireless Services Modules (WiSM) Software.
i. Click a controller software release. The software releases are labeled as follows to help you determine which release to download:
•Early Deployment (ED)—These software releases provide new features and new hardware platform support as well as bug fixes.
•Maintenance Deployment (MD)—These software releases provide bug fixes and ongoing software maintenance.
•Deferred (DF)—These software releases have been deferred. We recommend that you migrate to an upgraded release.
j. Click a software release number.
k. Click the filename (filename.aes).
l. Click Download.
m. Read Cisco's End User Software License Agreement and then click Agree.
n. Save the file to your hard drive.
o. Repeat steps a. through n. to download the remaining file (either the 22.214.171.124 controller software or the Cisco Unified Wireless Network Controller Boot Software 126.96.36.199 ER.aes file).
Step 3 Copy the controller software file (filename.aes) and the Cisco Unified Wireless Network Controller Boot Software 22.214.171.124 ER.aes file to the default directory on your TFTP or FTP server.
Step 4 (Optional) Disable the controller 802.11a and 802.11b/g networks.
Note For busy networks, controllers on high utilization, or small controller platforms it is advisable to disable the 802.11a/b/g networks as a precautionary measure.
Step 5 Disable any WLANs on the controller.
Step 6 Click Commands > Download File to open the Download File to Controller page.
Step 7 From the File Type drop-down list, choose Code.
Step 8 From the Transfer Mode drop-down list, choose TFTP or FTP.
Step 9 In the IP Address text box, enter the IP address of the TFTP or FTP server.
Step 10 If you are using a TFTP server, the default values of 10 retries for the Maximum Retries text field, and 6 seconds for the Timeout text field should work fine without any adjustment. However, you can change these values if desired. To do so, enter the maximum number of times that the TFTP server attempts to download the software in the Maximum Retries text box and the amount of time (in seconds) that the TFTP server attempts to download the software in the Timeout text box.
Step 11 In the File Path text box, enter the directory path of the software.
Step 12 In the File Name text box, enter the name of the software file (filename.aes).
Step 13 If you are using an FTP server, follow these steps:
a. In the Server Login Username text box, enter the username to log on to the FTP server.
b. In the Server Login Password text box, enter the password to log on to the FTP server.
c. In the Server Port Number text box, enter the port number on the FTP server through which the download occurs. The default value is 21.
Step 14 Click Download to download the software to the controller. A message appears indicating the status of the download.
Step 15 After the download is complete, click Reboot.
Step 16 If prompted to save your changes, click Save and Reboot.
Step 17 Click OK to confirm your decision to reboot the controller.
Step 18 After the controller reboots, repeat Step 6 to Step 17 to install the remaining file (either the 22.214.171.124 controller software or the Cisco Unified Wireless Network Controller Boot Software 220.127.116.11 ER.aes file).
Step 19 Reenable the WLANs.
Step 20 For Cisco WiSMs, reenable the controller port channel on the Catalyst switch.
Step 21 If you have disabled the 802.11a/b/g networks in Step 4, reenable them.
Step 22 If desired, reload your latest configuration file to the controller.
Step 23 To verify that the 22.214.171.124 controller software is installed on your controller, click Monitor on the controller GUI and look at the Software Version field under Controller Summary.
Step 24 To verify that the Cisco Unified Wireless Network Controller Boot Software 126.96.36.199 ER.aes file is installed on your controller, enter the show sysinfo command on the controller CLI and look at the Emergency Image Version field.
Note If you do not install the 184.108.40.206 ER.aes file, the Emergency Image Version field shows "N/A."
Installation Notes
This section contains important information to keep in mind when installing controllers and access points.
Warning This warning means danger. You are in a situation that could cause bodily injury. Before you work on any equipment, be aware of the hazards involved with electrical circuitry and be familiar with standard practices for preventing accidents. Use the statement number provided at the end of each warning to locate its translation in the translated safety warnings that accompanied this device. Statement 1071
Warning Only trained and qualified personnel should be allowed to install, replace, or service this equipment. Statement 1030
Warning Do not locate the antenna near overhead power lines or other electric light or power circuits, or where it can come into contact with such circuits. When installing the antenna, take extreme care not to come into contact with such circuits, as they may cause serious injury or death. For proper installation and grounding of the antenna, please refer to national and local codes (e.g. U.S.: NFPA 70, National Electrical Code, Article 810, Canada: Canadian Electrical Code, Section 54). Statement 280
Warning This product relies on the building's installation for short-circuit (overcurrent) protection. Ensure that a fuse or circuit breaker no larger than 120 VAC, 15A U.S. (240 VAC, 10A international) is used on the phase conductors (all current-carrying conductors). Statement 13
Warning This equipment must be grounded. Never defeat the ground conductor or operate the equipment in the absence of a suitably installed ground connector. Contact the appropriate electrical inspection authority or an electrician if you are uncertain that suitable grounding is available. Statement 1024
Warning Read the installation instructions before you connect the system to its power source. Statement 10
Warning Do not work on the system or connect or disconnect any cables (Ethernet, cable, or power) during periods of lightning activity. The possibility of serious physical injury exists if lightning should strike and travel through those cables. In addition, the equipment could be damaged by the higher levels of static electricity present in the atmosphere. Statement 276
Warning Do not operate the unit near unshielded blasting caps or in an explosive environment unless the device has been modified to be especially qualified for such use. Statement 364
Warning In order to comply with radio frequency (RF) exposure limits, the antennas for this product should be positioned no less than 6.56 ft. (2 m) from your body or nearby persons. Statement 339
Warning This unit is intended for installation in restricted access areas. A restricted access area can be accessed only through the use of a special tool, lock and key, or other means of security. Statement 1017
Safety Information
Follow the guidelines in this section to ensure proper operation and safe use of the controllers and access points.
FCC Safety Compliance Statement
FCC Compliance with its action in ET Docket 96-8, has adopted a safety standard for human exposure to RF electromagnetic energy emitted by FCC-certified equipment. When used with approved Cisco Aironet antennas, Cisco Aironet products meet the uncontrolled environmental limits found in OET-65 and ANSI C95.1, 1991. Proper operation of this radio device according to the instructions in this publication results in user exposure substantially below the FCC recommended limits.
Safety Precautions
For your safety, and to help you achieve a good installation, read and follow these safety precautions. They might save your life!
1. If you are installing an antenna for the first time, for your own safety as well as others, seek professional assistance. Your Cisco sales representative can explain which mounting method to use for the size and type of antenna you are about to install.
2. Select your installation site with safety as well as performance in mind. Electric power lines and phone lines look alike. For your safety, assume that any overhead line can kill you.
3. Call your electric power company. Tell them your plans and ask them to come look at your proposed installation. This is a small inconvenience considering your life is at stake.
4. Plan your installation carefully and completely before you begin. Successfully raising a mast or tower is largely a matter of coordination. Each person should be assigned to a specific task and should know what to do and when to do it. One person should be in charge of the operation to issue instructions and watch for signs of trouble.
5. When installing an antenna, remember:
a. Do not use a metal ladder.
b. Do not work on a wet or windy day.
c. Do dress properly—shoes with rubber soles and heels, rubber gloves, long-sleeved shirt or jacket.
6. If the assembly starts to drop, get away from it and let it fall. Remember that the antenna, mast, cable, and metal guy wires are all excellent conductors of electrical current. Even the slightest touch of any of these parts to a power line completes an electrical path through the antenna and the installer: you!
7. If any part of an antenna system should come in contact with a power line, do not touch it or try to remove it yourself. Call your local power company. They will remove it safely.
8. If an accident should occur with the power lines, call for qualified emergency help immediately.
Installation Instructions
Refer to the appropriate quick start guide or hardware installation guide for instructions on installing controllers and access points.
Note To meet regulatory restrictions, all external antenna configurations must be installed by experts.
Personnel installing the controllers and access points must understand wireless techniques and grounding methods. Access points with internal antennas can be installed by an experienced IT professional.
The controller must be installed by a network administrator or qualified IT professional, and the proper country code must be selected. Following installation, access to the controller should be password protected by the installer to maintain compliance with regulatory requirements and ensure proper unit functionality.
Using the Cisco 5500 Series Controller USB Console Port
The USB console port on the Cisco 5500 Series Controllers connects directly to the USB connector of a PC using a USB Type A-to-5-pin mini Type B cable.
Note The 4-pin mini Type B connector is easily confused with the 5-pin mini Type B connector. They are not compatible. Only the 5-pin mini Type B connector can be used.
For operation with Microsoft Windows, the Cisco Windows USB console driver must be installed on any PC connected to the console port. With this driver, you can plug and unplug the USB cable into and from the console port without affecting Windows HyperTerminal operations.
Note Only one console port can be active at a time. When a cable is plugged into the USB console port, the RJ-45 port becomes inactive. Conversely, when the USB cable is removed from the USB port, the RJ-45 port becomes active.
USB Console OS Compatibility
•Microsoft Windows 2000, XP, Vista (Cisco Windows USB console driver required)
•Apple Mac OS X 10.5.2 (no driver required)
•Linux (no driver required)
To install the Cisco Windows USB console driver, follow these steps:
Step 1 Follow these steps to download the USB_Console.inf driver file:
a. Click this URL to go to the Software Center:
b. Click Wireless LAN Controllers.
c. Click Standalone Controllers.
d. Click Cisco 5500 Series Wireless LAN Controllers.
e. Click Cisco 5508 Wireless LAN Controller.
f. Choose the USB driver file.
g. Save the file to your hard drive.
Step 2 Connect the Type A connector to a USB port on your PC.
Step 3 Connect the mini Type B connector to the USB console port on the controller.
Step 4 When prompted for a driver, browse to the USB_Console.inf file on your PC. Follow the prompts to install the USB driver.
Note Some systems might also require an additional system file. You can download the Usbser.sys file from this URL:
The USB driver is mapped to COM port 6. Some terminal emulation programs do not recognize a port higher than COM 4. If necessary, change the Cisco USB systems management console COM port to an unused port of COM 4 or lower. To do so, follow these steps:
Step 1 From your Windows desktop, right-click My Computer and choose Manage.
Step 2 From the list on the left side, choose Device Manager.
Step 3 From the device list on the right side, double-click Ports (COM & LPT).
Step 4 Right-click Cisco USB System Management Console 0108 and choose Properties.
Step 5 Click the Port Settings tab and click the Advanced button.
Step 6 From the COM Port Number drop-down list, choose an unused COM port of 4 or lower.
Step 7 Click OK to save and then close the Advanced Settings dialog box.
Step 8 Click OK to save and then close the Communications Port Properties dialog box.
Important Notes for Controllers and Nonmesh Access Points
This section describes important information about controllers and nonmesh lightweight access points.
Controllers Unreacheable from WCS when Upgrading from 220.127.116.11 to 126.96.36.199
When upgrading the controller software from release 188.8.131.52 to 18.104.22.168, it is found that the controllers that were previously reachable from WCS with SNMPv3 authentication were now unreachable.
Use any of the following workarounds to correct this:
•In WCS, momentarily change the SNMP credentials for this controller to v2C and then back to V3.
•Stop and start the WCS.
•Add the controller to the WCS.
Note When a config XML is downloaded, the SNMP engine ID is reset to default value. If the SNMP engine ID is configured, it has to be reconfigured after applying the newly downloaded configuration.
WPlus License Features Included in Base License
All features included in a Wireless LAN Controller WPlus license are now included in the base license; this change is introduced in release 18.104.22.168. There are no changes to WCS BASE and PLUS licensing.
These WPlus license features are included in the base license:
•Office Extend AP
•Enterprise Mesh
•CAPWAP Data Encryption
The licensing change can affect features on your wireless LAN when you upgrade or downgrade software releases, so you should be aware of these guidelines:
•If you have a WPlus license and you upgrade from 6.0.18x to 18.104.22.168, your license file contains both Basic and WPlus license features. You will not see any disruption in feature availability and operation.
•If you have a WPlus license and you downgrade from 18.104.22.168 to 220.127.116.11, 6.0.188 or 6.0.182, the license file in 184.108.40.206 contains both Basic and WPlus license features, so you will not see any disruption in feature availability and operation.
•If you have a base license and you downgrade from 188.8.131.52, 188.8.131.52, 126.96.36.199 or 184.108.40.206, you lose all WPlus features.
Note Some references to Wireless LAN Controller WPlus licenses remain in WCS and in the controller CLI and GUI in release 126.96.36.199. However, WLC WPlus license features have been included in the Base license, so you can ignore those references.
Additive Licenses Available for 5500 Series Controllers
You can now purchase licenses to support additional access points on Cisco 5500 Series Controllers. The new additive licenses (for 25, 50, or 100 access points) can be upgraded from all license tiers (12, 25, 50, 100, and 250 access points). The additive licenses are supported through both rehosting and RMAs.
One-Time Password (OTP) Support
One Time Passwords (OTPs) are supported on the Wireless Lan Controller (WLC) using TACACS and RADIUS. In this configuration, the controller acts as a transparent passthrough device. The controller forwards all client requests to the TACACS/RADIUS server without inspecting the client behavior. When using OTP, the client must establish a single connection to the controller to function properly. The controller currently does not have any intelligence or checks to correct a client that is trying to establish multiple connections.
RADIUS Called-station-id and Calling-station-id Attributes
In software releases prior to 6.0, the controller sends uppercase alphabetic characters in the MAC address. In software release 6.0 or later, the controller sends lowercase alphabetic characters in the MAC address for the RADIUS called-station-id and calling-station-id attributes. If you enabled these attributes for 802.1X authentication in previous releases and upgrade to software release 6.0, client authentication fails. Therefore, you must change the MAC addresses to lowercase characters on the RADIUS server before upgrading to software release 6.0.
Access Point Groups
You can create up to 50 access point groups for Cisco 2100 Series Controllers and controller network modules and up to 300 access point groups for Cisco 4400 Series Controllers, 500 AP Groups on 5500 Series Controllers, and 192 access point groups for the Cisco WiSM, and the 3750G wireless LAN controller switch.
Using Access Points in Sniffer Mode
You must disable IP-MAC address binding in order to use an access point in sniffer mode if the access point is joined to a 5500 series controller, a 2100 series controller, or a controller network module running software release 6.0. To disable IP-MAC address binding, enter this command using the controller CLI: config network ip-mac-binding disable.
WLAN 1 must be enabled in order to use an access point in sniffer mode if the access point is joined to a 5500 series controller, a 2100 series controller, or a controller network module running software release 6.0. If WLAN 1 is disabled, the access point cannot send packets.
Inter-Release Controller Mobility
Learn more about inter-release controller mobility compatibility across releases at this URL http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/wireless/controller/5500/tech_notes/Wireless_Software_Compatibility_Matrix.html#wp80877.
RLDP Limitations
The Rogue Location Discovery Protocol (RLDP) is a controller feature that detects the presence of rogue access points that are connected to your wired network. RLDP operates with these limitations:
•RLDP detects rogue access points that are configured for open authentication.
•RLDP detects rogue access points that use a broadcast BSSID (that is, the access point broadcasts its SSID in beacons).
•RLDP detects only rogue access points that are on the same network. In other words, if an access list in the network prevents the sending of RLDP traffic from the rogue access point to the controller, RLDP does not work.
•RLDP does not work on 5-GHz dynamic frequency selection (DFS) channels. However, RLDP works when the managed access point is a monitor mode AP on a DFS channel.
Internal DHCP Server
When clients use the internal DHCP server of the controller, IP addresses are not preserved across reboots. As a result, multiple clients can be assigned with the same IP address. To resolve any IP address conflicts, clients must release their existing IP address and request a new one.
Bootloader Menu
When you plug a controller into an AC power source, the bootup script and power-on self-test run to initialize the system. During this time, you can press Esc to display the bootloader Boot Options Menu. The menu options for the 5500 and Flex 7500 series controllers are different than for other controller platforms.
Bootloader Menu for 5500 Series Controllers:
Boot Options
Please choose an option from below:
1. Run primary image
2. Run backup image
3. Change active boot image
4. Clear Configuration
5. Format FLASH Drive
6. Manually update images
Please enter your choice:
Bootloader Menu for Other Controller Platforms:
Boot Options
Please choose an option from below:
1. Run primary image
2. Run backup image
3. Manually update images
4. Change active boot image
5. Clear Configuration
Please enter your choice:
Enter 1 to run the current software, enter 2 to run the previous software, or enter 4 (on a 5500 series controller) or 5 (on another controller platform) to run the current software and set the controller configuration to factory defaults. Do not choose the other options unless directed to do so.
Note See the Installation Guide or Quick Start Guide for your controller for more details on running the bootup script and power-on self-test.
Fragmented Pings
Cisco 5500 series controllers do not support fragmented pings on any interface. Similarly, Cisco 4400 series controllers, the Cisco WiSM, and the Catalyst 3750G Integrated Wireless LAN Controller Switch do not support fragmented pings on the AP-manager interface.
802.11g Controller and 802.11b Clients
When a controller is configured to allow only 802.11g traffic, 802.11b client devices are able to successfully connect to an access point but cannot pass traffic. When you configure the controller for 802.11g traffic only, you must mark 11g rates as mandatory.
CAPWAP Problems with Firewalls and ACLs
If you have a firewall or Access Control List (ACL) between the controller and its access points that allows LWAPP traffic, before upgrading to software release 5.2 or later and CAPWAP, you should allow CAPWAP traffic from the access points to the controller by opening the following destination ports:
The access points use a random UDP source port to reach these destination ports on the controller. In controller software release 5.2, LWAPP was removed and replaced by CAPWAP, but if you have a new out-of-the-box access point, it could try to use LWAPP to contact the controller before downloading the CAPWAP image from the controller. Once the access point downloads the CAPWAP image from the controller, it uses only CAPWAP to communicate with the controller.
Note After 60 seconds of trying to join a controller with CAPWAP, the access point falls back to using LWAPP. If it cannot find a controller using LWAPP within 60 seconds, it tries again to join a controller using CAPWAP. The access point repeats this cycle of switching from CAPWAP to LWAPP and back again every 60 seconds until it joins a controller.
Note An access point with the LWAPP recovery image (an access point converted from autonomous mode or an out-of-the-box access point) uses only LWAPP to try to join a controller before downloading the CAPWAP image from the controller.
Messages Appearing Upon Controller Bootup
Several messages might flood the message logs when the controller boots up. These messages appear because of a failure to read or delete several different configuration files. These are low-severity messages that can safely be ignored. They do not affect controller functionality. These are some examples:Mar 18 16:05:56.753 osapi_file.c:274 OSAPI-5-FILE_DEL_FAILED: Failed to delete the file : sshpmInitParms.cfg. file removal failed.-Process: Name:fp_main_task, Id:11ca7618Mar 18 16:05:56.753 osapi_file.c:274 OSAPI-5-FILE_DEL_FAILED: Failed to delete the file : bcastInitParms.cfg. file removal failed.-Process: Name:fp_main_task, Id:11ca7618
Web Authentication Redirects
The controller supports web authentication redirects only to HTTP (HTTP over TCP) servers. It does not support web authentication redirects to HTTPS (HTTP over SSL) servers.
Note For Cisco 5500 Series Controllers, Cisco 2100 Series Controllers, and controller network modules, you must configure a preauthentication access control list (ACL) on the WLAN for the external web server and then choose this ACL as the WLAN preauthentication ACL under Security Policies > Web Policy on the WLANs > Edit page.
Crash Files for Cisco Aironet 1250 Series Access Points
The 1250 series access points might contain a bootloader older than version 12.4(10b)JA. Units with old bootloaders do not generate a crash log when a crash occurs. The crash log is disabled so that a crash does not corrupt the flash file system. Units with bootloader versions 12.4(10b)JA or later generate a crash log if the access point is associated to a controller running software release 220.127.116.11 or later.
New 1250 series access points shipped from the factory contain new bootloader images, which fix the flash file system after it is corrupted during a crash (without losing files). This new bootloader automatically sets a new CRASH_LOG environment variable to "yes," which enables a crash log to be generated following a crash but only on controllers running software release 18.104.22.168 or later. Therefore, no user configuration is needed to enable a crash log on new 1250 series access points shipped from the factory.
These examples show the output from the CLI commands (in bold) that you use to check the bootloader version on lightweight and autonomous 1250 series access points:
Commands entered on the controller CLI:
debug ap enable AP001b.d513.1754
debug ap command "show version | include BOOTLDR" AP001b.d513.1754Thu Apr 23 09:31:38 2009: AP001b.d513.1754: BOOTLDR: C1250 Boot Loader(C1250-BOOT-M) Version 12.4(10b)JA, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Command entered on the access point CLI:
show version | include BOOTLDRBOOTLDR: C1250 Boot Loader (C1250-BOOT-M) Version 12.4(10b)JA, RELEASE SOFTWARE (fc1)
Configuration File Stored in XML
In controller software release 18.104.22.168 and later, the controller's bootup configuration file is stored in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) format rather than in binary format. When you upgrade a controller to 188.8.131.52 or a later software release, the binary configuration file is migrated and converted to XML.
Note You cannot download a binary configuration file onto a controller running software release 22.214.171.124. Also, do not attempt to make changes to the configuration file. If you do so and then download the file to a controller, the controller displays a cyclic redundancy checksum (CRC) error while it is rebooting and returns the configuration parameters to their default values.
Note You cannot modify the configuration files for 2000, 4000, and 4100 series controllers. The ability to modify configuration files is available in controller software release 5.2 or later, and these controllers support only earlier software releases (up to the 4.2 release for 2000 series controllers and up to the 3.2 release for 4000 and 4100 series controllers).
LWAPP Mode Changes
When you upgrade to controller software release 188.8.131.52 or later, the LWAPP mode changes to Layer 3 if it was previously configured for Layer 2.
If you downgrade from controller software release 220.127.116.11, 22.214.171.124, 18.104.22.168, 22.214.171.124, 22.214.171.124, 126.96.36.199, or 220.127.116.11 to 22.214.171.124 or an earlier release, the LWAPP mode changes from Layer 3 to Layer 2. Access points might not join the controller, and you must manually reset the controller to Layer 3 to resolve this issue.
Issues with APs That Transmit Multicast Frames at Highest Configured Basic Rate and Management Frames with Lowest Basic Rates
Access points running recent Cisco IOS versions transmit multicast frames at the highest configured basic rate and management frames at the lowest basic mandatory rates, can cause reliability problems. Access points running LWAPP or autonomous Cisco IOS should transmit multicast and management frames at the lowest configured basic rate. Such behavior is necessary to provide good coverage at the cell's edge, especially for unacknowledged multicast transmissions where multicast wireless transmissions might fail to be received.
Because multicast frames are not retransmitted at the MAC layer, clients at the edge of the cell might fail to receive them successfully. If reliable reception is a goal, multicast frames should be transmitted at a low data rate. If support for high data rate multicast frames is required, it might be useful to shrink the cell size and disable all lower data rates.
Depending on your specific requirements, you can take the following actions:
•If you need to transmit multicast data with the greatest reliability and if there is no need for great multicast bandwidth, then configure a single basic rate, that is low enough to reach the edges of the wireless cells.
•If you need to transmit multicast data at a certain data rate in order to achieve a certain throughput, you can configure that rate as the highest basic rate. You can also set a lower basic rate for coverage of nonmulticast clients.
Disabling Radio Bands
The controller disables the radio bands that are not permitted by the configured country of operation (CSCsi48220).
802.11a Channels 120, 124, and 128 Disabled
802.11a channels 120, 124, and 128 are disabled to achieve compliance with draft EN 301 893 version 1.5.1 on the following -E regulatory domain products: AP1131AG, AP1242AG, and AP1252AG.
Impact of External Antenna Gain on Transmit Power
In controller software release 4.2 or later, external antenna gain is factored into the maximum transmit power of the access point. Therefore, when you upgrade from an earlier software release to 4.2 or later, you might see a decrease in transmit power output.
Note The Transmit Power level can range between -1 dBm to 30 dBm.
Supporting Oversized Access Point Images
Controller software release 4.2 or later enables you to upgrade to an oversized access point image by deleting the recovery image to create sufficient space. This feature affects only access points with 8 MB of flash (the 1100, 1200, and 1310 series access points). All newer access points have a larger flash size than 8 MB.
Note As of August 2007, there are no oversized access point images, but as new features are added, the access point image size will continue to grow.
The recovery image provides a backup image that can be used if an access point power-cycles during an image upgrade. The best way to avoid the need for access point recovery is to prevent an access point from power-cycling during a system upgrade. If a power-cycle occurs during an upgrade to an oversized access point image, you can recover the access point using the TFTP recovery procedure.
To recover the access point using the TFTP recovery procedure, follow these steps:
Step 1 Download the required recovery image from Cisco.com (c1100-rcvk9w8-mx, c1200-rcvk9w8-mx, or c1310-rcvk9w8-mx) and install it in the root directory of your TFTP server.
Step 2 Connect the TFTP server to the same subnet as the target access point and power-cycle the access point. The access point boots from the TFTP image and then joins the controller to download the oversized access point image and complete the upgrade procedure.
Step 3 After the access point has been recovered, you might remove the TFTP server.
Multicast Queue Depth
The multicast queue depth is 512 packets on all controller platforms. However, the following message might appear on 2106 controllers: "Rx Multicast Queue is full on Controller." This message does not appear on 4400 series controllers because the 4400 NPU filters ARP packets while controllers forwarding (multicast or otherwise) and multicast replication is done in the software on the 2106.
This message appears when too many multicast messages are sent to the CPU. In controller software releases prior to 5.1, multicast, CDP, and ARP packets share the same queue. However, in software releases 5.1 and later, these packets are separated into different queues. There are currently no controller commands that can be entered to determine if the multicast receive queue is full. When the queue is full, some packets are randomly discarded.
MAC Filtering for WGB Wired Clients
Controller software release 18.104.22.168 or later enables you to configure a MAC-filtering IP address for a workgroup bridge (WGB) wired client to allow passive WGB wired clients, such as terminal servers or printers with static IP addresses, to be added and remain in the controller's client table while the WGB is associated to a controller in the mobility group. This feature, activated by the config macfilter ipaddress MAC_address IP_address CLI command, can be used with any passive device that does not initiate any traffic but waits for another device to start communication.
This feature enables the controller to learn the IP address of a passive WGB wired client when the WGB sends an IAPP message to the controller that contains only the WGB wired client's MAC address. Upon receiving this message from the WGB, the controller checks the local MAC filter list (or the anchor controller's MAC filter list if the WGB has roamed) for the client's MAC address. If an entry is found and it contains an IP address for the client, the controller adds the client to the controller's client table.
Note Unlike the existing MAC filtering feature for wireless clients, you are not required to enable MAC filtering on the WLAN for WGB wired clients.
Note WGB wired clients that use MAC filtering do not need to obtain an IP address through DHCP to be added to the controller's client table.
Controller software releases 188.8.131.52 and higher provide the passive client feature for Cisco 2100, 2500, and 5500 Series Controllers that enable devices like printers connected to WGB to hear ARP requests, answer and move to run state. That is a dynamic alternative that replaces the MAC filter. The MAC filter feature is required for Cisco 4400 Series Controller and WiSM for passive clients.
CKIP Not Supported with Dynamic WEP
In controller software release 22.214.171.124 or later, CKIP is supported for use only with static WEP. It is not supported for use with dynamic WEP. Therefore, a wireless client that is configured to use CKIP with dynamic WEP is unable to associate to a wireless LAN that is configured for CKIP. We recommend that you use either dynamic WEP without CKIP (which is less secure) or WPA/WPA2 with TKIP or AES (which are more secure).
Setting the Date and Time on the Controller
Cisco Aironet lightweight access points do not connect to the controller if the date and time are not set properly. Set the current date and time on the controller before allowing the access points to connect to it.
Synchronizing the Controller and Location Appliance
For controller software release 4.2 or later, if a location appliance (release 3.1 or later) is installed on your network, the time zone must be set on the controller to ensure proper synchronization between the two systems. Also, we highly recommend that the time be set for networks that do not have location appliances. Refer to Chapter 4 of the Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Configuration Guide, Release 18.104.22.168, for instructions for setting the time and date on the controller.
Note The time zone can be different for the controller and the location appliance, but the time zone delta must be configured accordingly, based on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
FCC DFS Support on 1130 Series Access Points
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) dynamic frequency selection (DFS) is supported only on 1130 series access points in the United States, Canada, and the Philippines that have a new FCC ID. Access points use DFS to detect radar signals such as military and weather sources and then switch channels to avoid interfering with them. 1130 series access points with FCC DFS support have an FCC ID LDK102054E sticker. 1130 series access points without FCC DFS support have an LDK102054 (no E suffix) sticker. 1130 series access points that are operating in the United States, Canada, or the Philippines; have an FCC ID E sticker; and are running the 22.214.171.124 software release or later can use channels 100 through 140 in the UNII-2 band.
Inaccurate Transmit Power Display
After you change the position of the 802.11a radio antenna for a lightweight 1200 or 1230 series access point, the power setting is not updated in the controller GUI and CLI. Regardless of the user display, the internal data is updated, and the transmit power output is changed accordingly. To see the correct transmit power display values, reboot the access point after changing the antenna's position. (CSCsf02280)
Setting the Retransmit Timeout Value for TACACS+ Servers
We recommend that the retransmit timeout value for TACACS+ authentication, authorization, and accounting servers be increased if you experience repeated reauthentication attempts or the controller falls back to the backup server when the primary server is active and reachable. The default retransmit timeout value is 2 seconds and can be increased to a maximum of 30 seconds.
Configuring an Access Point's Prestandard Power Setting
An access point can be powered by a Cisco prestandard 15-W switch with Power over Ethernet (PoE) by entering this command:
config ap power pre-standard {enable | disable} {all | Cisco_AP}
A Cisco prestandard 15-W switch does not support intelligent power management (IPM) but does have sufficient power for a standard access point. The following Cisco prestandard 15-W switches are available:
•2600, 2610, 2611, 2621, 2650, 2651
•2811, 2821, 2851
•3631-telco, 3620, 3640, 3660
•3725, 3745
•3825, 3845
The enable version of this command is required for full functionality when the access point is powered by a Cisco prestandard 15-W switch. It is safe to use if the access point is powered by either an IPM switch or a power injector or if the access point is not using one of the 15-W switches listed above.
You might need this command if your radio operational status is "Down" when you expect it to be "Up." Enter the show msglog command to look for this error message, which indicates a PoE problem:Apr 13 09:08:24.986 spam_lrad.c:2262 LWAPP-3-MSGTAG041: AP 00:14:f1:af:f3:40 is unable to verify sufficient in-line power. Radio slot 0 disabled.
Controller Functions that Require a Reboot
After you perform these functions on the controller, you must reboot the controller for the changes to take effect:
•Enable or disable link aggregation (LAG)
•Enable a feature that is dependent on certificates (such as HTTPS and web authentication)
•Install a license, change the license feature set, or change the priority of an AP-count evaluation license on a 5500 series controller
2106 Controller LEDs
The 2106 controller's Status LED and AP LED do not flash amber when software is being uploaded to the controller or downloaded to an access point, respectively.
Note Some versions of the Cisco 2106 Wireless LAN Controller Quick Start Guide might incorrectly state that these LEDs flash amber during a software upload or download.
Rate-Limiting on the Controller
Rate-limiting is applicable to all traffic destined to the CPU from either direction (wireless or wired). We recommend that you always run the controller with the default config advanced rate enable command in effect in order to rate limit traffic to the controller and protect against denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. You can use the config advanced rate disable command to stop rate-limiting of Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo responses for testing purposes. However, we recommend that you reapply the config advanced rate enable command after testing is complete.
Pings Supported to the Management Interface of the Controller
Controller software release 188.8.131.52 or later is designed to support ICMP pings to the management interface either from a wireless client or a wired host. ICMP pings to other interfaces configured on the controller are not supported.
Pinging from a Network Device to a Controller Dynamic Interface
Pinging from a network device to a controller dynamic interface might not work in some configurations. When pinging does operate successfully, the controller places Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) traffic in a low-priority queue, and the reply to ping is by best effort. Pinging does not pose a security threat to the network. The controller rate limits any traffic to the CPU, and flooding the controller is prevented. Clients on the WLAN associated with the interface pass traffic normally.
GLBP Support
This version of the controller software release 22.214.171.124 is compatible with the Gateway Load Balancing Protocol (GLBP).
4400 Series Controllers Do Not Forward Subnet Broadcasts through the Guest Tunnel
As designed, 4400 series controllers do not forward IP subnet broadcasts from the wired network to wireless clients across the EoIP guest tunnel.
Connecting 1100 and 1300 Series Access Points
You must install software release 184.108.40.206 or later on the controller before connecting 1100 and 1300 series access points to the controller.
Preventing Clients from Accessing the Management Network on a Controller
To prevent or block a wired or wireless client from accessing the management network on a controller (from the wireless client dynamic interface or VLAN), the network administrator must ensure that only authorized clients gain access to the management network through proper CPU ACLs, or use a firewall between the client dynamic interface and the management network.
Voice Wireless LAN Configuration
We recommend that aggressive load balancing always be turned off either through the controller GUI or CLI in any wireless network that is supporting voice, regardless of vendor. When aggressive load balancing is turned on, voice clients can hear an audible artifact when roaming, if the handset is refused at its first reassociation attempt.
Enabling/Disabling Band Selection and Client Load Balancing
It is not possible to enable or disable band selection and client load balancing globally through the controller GUI or CLI. You can, however, enable or disable band selection and client load balancing for a particular WLAN. Band selection and client load balancing are enabled globally by default.
Changing the IOS LWAPP Access Point Password
Cisco IOS Lightweight Access Point Protocol (LWAPP) access points have a default password of Cisco, and the prestage configuration for LWAPP access points is disabled by default. To enable it, you must configure the access point with a new username and password when it joins the controller. Enter this command using the controller CLI to push a new username and password to the access point:
config ap mgmtuser add user_id password password {Cisco_AP | all}
•The Cisco_AP parameter configures the username and password on the specified access point.
•The all parameter configures the username and password on all the access points registered to the controller.
The password pushed from the controller is configured as "enable password" on the access point.
There are some cases where the prestage configuration for LWAPP access points is disabled and the access point displays the following error message when the CLI commands are applied:"ERROR!!! Command is disabled."
For more information, see Upgrading Autonomous Cisco Aironet Access Points to Lightweight Mode.
Exclusion List (Blacklist) Client Feature
If a client is not able to connect to an access point, and the security policy for the WLAN and client are correct, the client has probably been disabled. In the controller GUI, you can view the client's status on the Monitor > Summary page under Client Summary. If the client is disabled, click Remove to clear the disabled state for that client. The client automatically comes back and, if necessary, reattempts authentication.
Automatic disabling happens as a result of too many failed authentications. Clients disabled due to failed authorization do not appear on the permanent disable display. This display is only for those MACs that are set as permanently disabled by the administrator.
Client exclusion can happen both statically and dynamically. In a static exclusion, the client is disabled permanently. In dynamic exclusion, the client is excluded until the configured exclusion timeout is reached in the WLAN.
The following client exclusion policies are available:
•Excessive 802.11 association failure
•Excessive 802.11 authentication failure
•Excessive 802.1X authentication failure
•IP theft or reuse
•Excessive web authentication failure
RADIUS Servers and the Management VLAN
If a RADIUS server is on a directly connected subnet (with respect to the controller), then that subnet must be the management VLAN subnet. If you use RADIUS interface override (using the command config wlan radius_server overwrite-interface), you can connect to the dynamic interface to the server.
RADIUS Servers
This product has been tested with CiscoSecure ACS 4.2 and later and works with any RFC-compliant RADIUS server.
Management Usernames and Local Netuser Names
Management usernames and local netuser names must be unique because they are stored in the same database. That is, you cannot assign the same name to a management user and a local netuser.
Using the Backup Image
The controller bootloader stores a copy of the active primary image and the backup image. If the primary image becomes corrupted, you can use the bootloader to boot with the backup image.
With the backup image stored before rebooting, be sure to choose Option 2: Run Backup Image from the boot menu to boot from the backup image. Then, upgrade with a known working image and reboot the controller.
Home Page Retains Web Authentication Login with IE 5.x
Because of a caching problem in the Internet Explorer 5.x browser, the home page retains the web authentication login. To correct this problem, clear the history or upgrade your workstation to Internet Explorer 6.x.
Ad-Hoc Rogue Containment
Client card implementations might mitigate the effectiveness of ad-hoc containment.
Changing the Default Values of SNMP Community Strings
The controller has commonly known default values of "public" and "private" for the read-only and read-write SNMP community strings. Using these standard values presents a security risk. Therefore, We strongly advise that you change these values. See the Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Configuration Guide, Release 220.127.116.11, for configuration instructions.
Changing the Default Values for SNMP v3 Users
The controller uses a default value of "default" for the username, authentication password, and privacy password for SNMP v3 users. Using these standard values presents a security risk. Therefore, we strongly advise that you change these values. See the Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Configuration Guide, Release 22.214.171.124, for configuration instructions.
Note SNMP v3 is time sensitive. Make sure that you have configured the correct time and time zone on your controller.
DirectStream Feature Is Not Supported With WGB
The DirectStream feature from the controller does not work for clients behind workgroup bridges and the stream is denied.
Enforce a minimum configured data rate
24Mbps is always enabled even if you select OFDM rates that are less than 24Mbps.
Features Not Supported on Cisco 2100 Series Controllers
This hardware feature is not supported on 2100 series controllers:
•Service port (separate out-of-band management 10/100-Mbps Ethernet interface)
•The Cisco 2100 Series Controllers do not support AP801 and AP802 access points.
These software features are not supported on 2100 series controllers:
•VPN termination (such as IPsec and L2TP)
•VPN passthrough option
Note You can replicate this functionality on a 2100 series controller by creating an open WLAN using an ACL.
•Termination of guest controller tunnels (origination of guest controller tunnels is supported)
•External web authentication web server list
•Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
•Port mirroring
•QoS per-user bandwidth contracts
•IPv6 pass-through
•Link aggregation (LAG)
•Multicast-unicast mode
Features Not Supported on Cisco 2500 Series Controllers
These software features are not supported on Cisco 2500 Series Controllers:
•Support for wired guest access.
•Cisco 2500 Series Controller cannot be configured as an auto anchor controller. However you can configure it as a foreign controller.
•Supports only multicast-multicast mode.
•Bandwidth Contract feature is unsupported.
•Access points in direct connect mode is unsupported
•Service port support
•Apple Talk Bridging
•Wired Guest
Features Not Supported on Cisco 5500 Series Controllers
These software features are not supported on Cisco 5500 Series Controllers:
•Static AP-manager interface
Note For 5500 series controllers, you are not required to configure an AP-manager interface. The management interface acts like an AP-manager interface by default, and the access points can join on this interface.
•Asymmetric mobility tunneling
•Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
•Port mirroring
•Layer 2 access control list (ACL) support
•VPN termination (such as IPsec and L2TP)
•VPN passthrough option
Note You can replicate this functionality on a 5500 series controller by creating an open WLAN using an ACL.
•Configuration of 802.3 bridging, AppleTalk, and Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE)
Features Not Supported on Cisco Flex 7500 Series Controllers
These software features are not supported on Cisco Flex 7500 Series Controllers:
•Static AP-manager interface
Note For Cisco 7500 Series controllers, it is not necessary to configure an AP-manager interface. The management interface acts like an AP-manager interface by default, and the access points can join on this interface.
•L3 Roaming
•Client rate limiting for centrally switched clients
•Access points in local mode
Note AP associated with the controller in local mode should be converted to H-REAP mode or Monitor mode.
•Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
•Cisco Flex 7500 Controller as a guest controller
•P2P Blocking
Some Clients See Only 64 Access Point MAC Addresses (BSSIDs) at a Time
In a crowded RF environment, clients might not be able to detect the desired SSID because of internal table limitations. Sometimes disabling and then enabling the client interface forces a rescan. Your RF environment needs to be controlled. Cisco UWN rogue access point detection and containment can help you to enforce RF policies in your buildings and campuses.
Upgrading External Web Authentication
When upgrading a controller from operating system release 2.0 or 220.127.116.11 to release 18.104.22.168 or later, update the external web authentication configuration as follows:
1. For Cisco 5500 Series Controllers, 2100 Series Controllers, and controller network modules, you must configure a preauthentication access control list (ACL) on the WLAN for the external web server and then choose this ACL as the WLAN preauthentication ACL under Security Policies > Web Policy on the WLANs > Edit page.
2. For Cisco 4400 Series Controllers and the Cisco WiSM, instead of using a preauthentication ACL, the network manager must configure the external web server IP address using this command:
config custom-web ext-webserver add index IP-address
Note IP-address is the address of any web server that performs external web authentication.
3. The network manager must use the new
login_templateshown here as follows:
Note Make sure to format the script to avoid any extra characters or spaces before using the web authentication template.
<html><head><meta http-equiv="Pragma" content="no-cache"> <meta HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>Web Authentication</title> <script>function submitAction(){var link = document.location.href;var searchString = "redirect=";var equalIndex = link.indexOf(searchString);var redirectUrl = "";var urlStr = "";if(equalIndex > 0) {equalIndex += searchString.length;urlStr = link.substring(equalIndex);if(urlStr.length > 0){redirectUrl += urlStr;if(redirectUrl.length > 255)redirectUrl = redirectUrl.substring(0,255);document.forms[0].redirect_url.value = redirectUrl;}}document.forms[0].buttonClicked.value = 4;document.forms[0].submit();}function loadAction(){var url = window.location.href;var args = new Object();var query = location.search.substring(1);var pairs = query.split("&");for(var i=0;i<pairs.length;i++){var pos = pairs[i].indexOf('=');if(pos == -1) continue;var argname = pairs[i].substring(0,pos);var value = pairs[i].substring(pos+1);args[argname] = unescape(value);}//alert( "AP MAC Address is " + args.ap_mac);//alert( "The Switch URL is " + args.switch_url);document.forms[0].action = args.switch_url;// This is the status code returned from webauth login action// Any value of status code from 1 to 5 is error condition and user// should be shown error as below or modify the message as it suits// the customerif(args.statusCode == 1){alert("You are already logged in. No further action is required on your part.");}else if(args.statusCode == 2){alert("You are not configured to authenticate against web portal. No further action is required on your part.");}else if(args.statusCode == 3){alert("The username specified cannot be used at this time. Perhaps the user is already logged into the system?");}else if(args.statusCode == 4){alert("Wrong username and password. Please try again.");}else if(args.statusCode == 5){alert("The User Name and Password combination you have entered is invalid. Please try again.");}}</script></head><body topmargin="50" marginheight="50" onload="loadAction();"> <form method="post"> <input TYPE="hidden" NAME="buttonClicked" SIZE="16" MAXLENGTH="15" value="0"> <input TYPE="hidden" NAME="redirect_url" SIZE="255" MAXLENGTH="255" VALUE=""> <input TYPE="hidden" NAME="err_flag" SIZE="16" MAXLENGTH="15" value="0"><div align="center"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> </td></tr><tr align="center"> <td colspan="2"><font size="10" color="#336699">Web Authentication</font></td></tr><tr align="center"><td colspan="2"> User Name <input type="TEXT" name="username" SIZE="25" MAXLENGTH="63" VALUE=""> </td> </tr> <tr align="center" > <td colspan="2"> Password <input type="Password" name="password" SIZE="25" MAXLENGTH="24"> </td> </tr><tr align="center"><td colspan="2"><input type="button" name="Submit" value="Submit" class="button" onclick="submitAction();"> </td> </tr> </table> </div></form></body></html>
Switch Port and Controller Port
When the port status on the controller changes, the switch status does not get changed. This is a known issue. For example, when the controller port goes down, the switch port is still in the administrable state. This has been resolved in Cisco 5500 Series Controllers.
Unsupported mac-address Command for Unified and Autonomous Access Points
The unified and autonomous access point do not support the mac-address command for the wireless interfaces. When invoked, the command executes but can cause the access point to fail.
Fast Roaming and Authentication/Key Management for CCKM Clients
CCKM Fast-roaming clients in hybrid REAP mode works only with the following authentication or key management combinations:
CCKM Fast-roaming clients in hybrid REAP mode is not supported with the following authentication or key management combinations:
Errors When Using AAA with an Active RADIUS Fallback
Consider a scenario where you configured the active RADIUS fallback feature using AAA for a controller. When using this feature, the controller sends the accounting request probes without the session ID during a fallback, which might be dropped by the RADIUS Server. The controller cannot send accounting information with the session ID because during the fallback the controller does not have the context of the client. Some RADIUS Servers like ISE might report errors for accounting probes that are sent to ISE. If your Authentication and Accounting servers are the same, ignore the errors that are logged in ISE.
Roaming Clients When Access Points are in Standalone Mode
When access points are in standalone mode, they are not aware the states and status of the clients associated with the access points. For example, consider a scenario where two clients (Client 1 and Client 2) are communicating with each other. Also, assume that both the clients are associated with same access point (say, AP1). Let us also assume that both AP1 and AP2 are in standalone mode. Now, if Client 1 roams to AP2, the packets sent from Client 2 do not reach Client 1.
Using Lightweight Access Points with NAT
You can place a lightweight access point under NAT. On the access point side, you can have any type of NAT configured. However, when you configure the controller, you can have only 1:1 (Static NAT) configured and the external NAT IP address configured on the dynamic AP management interface. This situation is applicable only for Cisco 5500 Series Controllers. NAT cannot be configured on the controller because LAPs cannot respond to controllers if the ports are translated to ports other than 5246 or 5247, which are meant for control and data messages.
Note Select the Enable NAT Address check box and enter the external NAT IP address if you want to be able to deploy your Cisco 5500 Series Controller behind a router or other gateway device that is using one-to-one mapping network address translation (NAT). NAT allows a device, such as a router, to act as an agent between the Internet (public) and a local network (private). In this case, it maps the controller's intranet IP addresses to a corresponding external address. The controlle's dynamic AP-manager interface must be configured with the external NAT IP address so that the controller can send the correct IP address in the Discovery Response.
Note With CAPWAP, a controller behind NAT is not supported with the Cisco 4400 Series, 2100 Series Wireless LAN Controllers, and the WiSM.
Default A-MPDU settings
By default, Aggregated MAC Protocol Data Unit (A-MPDU) is enabled for priority level 0, 4 and 5 and the rest are disabled. In releases prior to 6.0 release, only priority 0 was enabled by default. The video performance is enhanced when priorities 4 and 5 are enabled for A-MPDU aggregation.
Important Notes for Controllers and Mesh Access Points
This section describes important information about controllers and mesh access points.
Features Not Supported on Mesh Networks
The following controller features are not supported on mesh networks:
•Multi-country support
•Load-based CAC (mesh networks support only bandwidth-based, or static, CAC)
•High availability (fast heartbeat and primary discovery join timer)
•EAP-FASTv1 and 802.1X authentication
•Access point join priority (mesh access points have a fixed priority)
•Locally significant certificate
•Location-based services
The following sections lists Open Caveats and Resolved Caveats for Cisco controllers and lightweight access points for version 184.108.40.206. For your convenience in locating caveats in Cisco's Bug Toolkit, the caveat titles listed in this section are drawn directly from the Bug Toolkit database. These caveat titles are not intended to be read as complete sentences because the title field length is limited. In the caveat titles, some truncation of wording or punctuation might be necessary to provide the most complete and concise description. The only modifications made to these titles are as follows:
•Commands are in boldface type.
•Product names and acronyms might be standardized.
•Spelling errors and typos might be corrected.
Note If you are a registered cisco.com user, view Bug Toolkit on cisco.com at the following website:
To become a registered cisco.com user, go to the following website:
Open Caveats
Table 1-6 lists open caveats in controller software release 188.8.131.52.
Table 1-6 Open Caveats
ID Number Description
Cisco 2504 Series Controller does not respond to discover requests with public AP manager IP.
Symptom: Cisco Aironet 600 Series OfficeExtend Access Point does not join a Cisco 2504 with NAT enabled.
Conditions: Enable NAT in Cisco 2504 Series Controller and attempt to join a Cisco Aironet 600 Series OfficeExtend Access Point.
Workaround: Disable NAT.
WiSM May Fail to process incoming packets. For example: ARP, ICMP.
Symptom: WiSM may fail to process incoming packets after operating for some time in normal operation. During this condition, packets can be seen being sent from the controller, however some incoming packets may not be forwarded due to an NPU wedge condition.
Conditions: WiSM/4400 installed with controller software version 18.104.22.168, 220.127.116.11. WLC is unresponsive to pings, Web GUI/SSH/Telnet. Console access is works.
Workaround: Reboot the controller.
Controller sources packets for web authenticated clients from management or service-port interface.
Symptom: When you see traffic on the network being sourced from the service port, all these packets are either SYN, ACK, or FIN acknowledgment packets with either a source port of TCP 2006 or TCP 2008. The service port is not connected to the network. On analyzing the sniffer captures, it is observed that no packet sent to the controller would cause these packets to be sent.
Conditions: The condition happens rarely when a client associated to web-auth enabled WLAN sends only a TCP SYN packet for a web-session and terminates the connection.
Workaround: None.
WiSM / 184.108.40.206 image displaying the error: "
invalid interface name in mscb."
Symptom: After upgrading WiSM from the image 188.8.131.52 to 188.8.131.52, the following error might be seen in msglog:*apfReceiveTask: Apr 21 10:14:55.004: invalid interface name (name of dynamic interface) in mscb!!!*apfReceiveTask: Apr 21 10:15:02.603: invalid interface name (name of dynamic interface) in mscb!!!*apfReceiveTask: Apr 21 10:15:04.004: invalid interface name (name of dynamic interface) in mscb!!!*apfReceiveTask: Apr 21 10:15:07.603: invalid interface name (name of dynamic interface) in mscb!!!
Conditions: This condition occurs when the DHCP pool is exhausted on interface subnets or if the DHCP server is inaccessible. The above invalid log is printed for each client during DHCP_REQD action on that interface when reaching a DHCP timeout.
Workaround: None.
Users are unable to configure LAG if both interface group and NAC are configured on a WLAN.
Symptoms: Users are unable to disable NAC on a WLAN mapped to an interface group. The following error message is displayed:"NAC OOB can not be disabled asAP Groups have nac enabled on this WLAN/Guest-Lan/remote-lan."
Conditions: This condition occurs when a WLAN is configured with NAC enabled and mapped to an interface group.
1. Remove the interface group from the WLAN, and replace it with a single interface (with a quarantine VLAN assigned).
2. Remove and recreate the WLAN.
Splash Page Redirect takes a long time
Symptom: Splash Page Redirect take a long time. The client is redirected to URL configured on ACS attribute, but it take about 10-20 seconds.
Conditions: This issue occurs when the controller is running the software version 184.108.40.206. This happens when the URL is assigned by the AAA server.
Workaround: None.
Cisco 5508 Series Controller—Controller fails to respond at
sshpmMainTaskin 220.127.116.11.
Symptom: 5508 running 18.104.22.168 might reload automatically due to task name
Conditions: N/A.
Workaround: N/A.
Cisco Aironet 1140 Series Access Points running 22.214.171.124, 12.4(23c)JA1 bootloader, watchdog timer reloads.
Symptom: A Lightweight mode Cisco Aironet 1140 Series Access Point associated to a controller running version 220.127.116.11 might reload after displaying the error: 'watchdog timer expired'.
Conditions: This issue occurs on controllers running version 18.104.22.168 and are associated with the Cisco 1140 Series Access Point.
Workaround: None.
A controller is unresponsive after displaying the error:
fp main taskand consuming excessive CPU cycles.
Symptom: A controller reboots unexpectedly.
Conditions: This issue occurs during normal operation; the crash log will show the message
fp main taskand consume excessive CPU cycles.
Workaround: None.
An OfficeExtend Access Point switches traffic locally with HREAP local switching.
Symptom: An OfficeExtend access point will switch the WLAN traffic locally if that WLAN has HREAP local switching enabled, which can prevent connectivity to corporate networks.
Conditions: This issue is seen when an access point with OfficeExtend enabled services a WLAN with HREAP local switching enabled.
Workaround: Create an identical SSID without HREAP local switching enabled and use AP groups to service this WLAN on the specified OEAPs. This WLAN must not have WLAN ID 1-16, because you cannot have duplicate SSIDs within an AP group and WLAN IDs 1-16 are always in the default group.
Cisco 5508 Series Controller fails to respond repeatedly with the following error:
Out of memory: kill process mwar_exit.crash
Symptom: A controller may fail to respond periodically with a crash file that contains the error messages similar to the following:Out of memory: kill process <pid1> (<process name 1>) score <n> or a childKilled process <pid2> (<process name 2>)wdt: WDT device closed unexpectedly. WDT will not stop!
Conditions: When the controller receives CDP from multiple devices, it leaks memory. Over time, the controller's memory is exhausted, and it fails to respond and as a result, it reboots.
This occurs when the controller receives CDP from multiple devices, because the wired LAN infrastructure is non-Cisco hence the CDP requests are forwarded the CDP packets.
Workaround: The following workarounds are available:
1. Configure the wired LAN network to run CDP.
2. Reconfigure the wired LAN network such that the VLANs that contain the devices that communicate using CDP (for example, APs) are not trunked to the controller.
Cisco 5508 Series Controller fails to respond due to
Symptom: The Cisco 5508 Series controller fails to respond when the passive client feature enabled.
Conditions: The conditions leading to the controller failing to respond are the following:
1. Passive Client feature is enabled.
2. Multicast-Unicast Mode is enabled.
3. No client entry in the data-plane database.
4. When a Unicast ARP Request is received.
Workaround: Set the multicast mode to multicast multicast (instead of multicast-unicast) when passive client is enabled.
The following error appears in the controller logs under normal conditions.
%SYSNET-4-ENCAPTYPE_NOT_PROCESSED: sysnet_util.c:940
sysnet unable to process packet with encap type 1
Symptom: The following error message is displayed in the logs during normal running condition on a controller:
%SYSNET-4-ENCAPTYPE_NOT_PROCESSED: sysnet_util.c:940
sysnet unable to process packet with encap type 1
Conditions: N/A
Workaround: None.
Symptom: The Cisco TrustSec SXP feature is not supported.
Conditions: 7.0.x controller software releases.
Workaround: None.
Resolved Caveats
Table 1-7 lists caveats resolved in controller software release 126.96.36.199.
Table 1-7 Resolved Caveats
ID Number Caveat Title
Controller reports error when processing some RFID tag updates from some APs. The controller reports the tag updates as invalid RSSI.
HREAP: Unable to move back to connected mode from standalone mode.
Bandwidth gradually decreases after applying per user QoS.
Clients unable to receive an IP address with a combination where a WLAN is configured on both the foreign and anchor controller and the traffic is tunneled back to the anchor controller through the EOIP tunnel, .
Cisco Aironet 1142 or 3502 Access Points falsely report high channel utilization.
Cisco Flex 7500 Series Controller- Locally authenticated PMK cache info gets deleted after the controller reboots.
Signal strength increases for a while though TxPower is static.
OfficeExtend Access Points with least latency join are stranded.
SNMPv3 communication breaks with NAC appliance CAM.
CleanAir Trap types go back to default after configuration is restored.
Mesh access point is unresponsive on a BVI restart by DHCP.
A controller does not rewrite DHCP ACK packets correctly for DHCP information.
show net user summarycommand does not show users when the local database has more than 256 entries
The access point summary report does not show any data for the Cisco Aironet 602 OfficeExtend access point.
A Remote LAN fails to apply to Cisco 2500 Series Controller through WCS.
An access point does not send an association response to a client.
Cisco Flex 7500 Series Controller-OKC fast roam fails in standalone mode while using EAPfast/PEAP EAP.
A Cisco IOS device configured with Cisco IOS Gateway for T.37 On-Ramp Fax Support might not respond and display a bus error.
A Cisco IOS DHCP client does not parse option 43 if preceded by option 33 data.
An access point processes a CDP packet addressed to a bogus multicast address.
WCS displays wrong channels for WIPs alarms.
HREAP access points unresponsive on parser command interface configuration.
Access Point radio is in a radio core dump (PAK stuck) on Cisco Aironet1140 Access Point.
A Cisco Aironet 3500 Series Access Point longevity test failure has occurred; no client can communicate.
Hybrid REAP radio interfaces reset with reason:
Radio reset due to 70.
An access point reboots while moving from connected to standalone if radio b/g is disabled.
Cisco Aironet1240 Access Point coredump:
bad rx ring addr-0xACEDE421, 0xD0EDE421
Mesh: Bandwidth of 8ch/12ch in 4.9 GHz is changed to 5 MHz/10 MHz in -P (Japan).
Cisco Aironet 600 Series OfficeExtend Access Point: Remote LAN commands get uploaded as WLAN commands.
Cisco Aironet 1200 Access Point radio core dump with message:
no memory to read code file.
When CAPWAP data encryption is enabled, no DSCP marking are seen in the CAPWAP IP header.
An access point sends DHCP renew before a discovery when fast heartbeat is enabled.
AES CCM Replay messages appear on the Mesh AP CLI.
Cisco Aironet 1520 and 1550 Series Access Points might change the 2.4 GHz channel setting when reloaded.
Custom set TX Power Level Assignment is not preserved on an AP reboot in the Cisco Aironet 1040 Access Point.
DFS failure on Cisco Aironet 1550 Series Access Point for Japan 0.5uS pulse detection.
When a WGB roams between two access points, and the access point might have another client, an AID reuse occurs that causes a collision on the AP.
Cisco Aironet 1200 Series Access Points run out of memory with MFP enabled.
Access Point is unresponsive when performing the check Hybrid REAPs task.
Radio core dump observed as a result of radio timeouts on access points:
FW: irq/mac stat=400/2, cmd=0x16 seq=6, @B96FF5.
Cisco Aironet 1552 Access Point longevity test fails with AES CCMP replays.
Cisco Aironet 600 Series OfficeExtend Access Point: False warning message is thrown first time for a strong password.
Cisco Aironet 1140 and 1040 Access Points: Bootloader fix for CHIP_21 erratum (only for newly manufactured Cisco Aironet 1140 Series Access Points).
Access point unresponsive with the following message:
CAPWAP CLIENT; CPUvec 1400 dtls_shimbuf_data.
Large number of packets are dropped during the Cisco Aironet 1300 Series Access Point longevity test.
Radio reset due to timing out of probes suppression command.
When running a soft phone over laptop with priority 0, a 500ms delay is observed in an audio upstream from the client at least once a minute.
Allow additional countries to be listed in the controller.
Band Select client RSSI is always enabled regardless if Band Select being enabled or not.
Cisco Aironet 1552 Series Controller: RAP convergence time is 5 minutes, which is too long.
Degraded downstream throughput observed on Cisco Aironet 1142 Series Access Point for 1518 frame size on 5G radio.
Controller unresponsive when executing
Virtual Exec CPUvector 700.
Hybrid REAP VLAN mappings are mismatched.
Identity Services Engine: Failed logs in ISE while switching between ISE in RUN time.
WiSM-2 Data port down on VSS after multiple SSOs or standby switch resets.
Some rogue classifications are not retained after reboot.
Some WLAN profiles come up as disabled after a complete power outage.
Controller must use UTC (GMT) when performing certificate date validity check.
If You Need More Information
If you need information about a specific caveat that does not appear in these release notes, you can use the Cisco Bug Toolkit to find caveats of any severity. Click this URL to browse to the Bug Toolkit:
(If you request a defect that cannot be displayed, the defect number might not exist, the defect might not yet have a customer-visible description, or the defect might be marked Cisco Confidential.)
For the most up-to-date, detailed troubleshooting information, see the Cisco TAC website at
Click Product Support > Wireless. Then choose your product and Troubleshooting to find information on the problem you are experiencing.
Documentation Updates
This section lists updates to user documentation that has not yet been added to either printed or online documents.
The Package Contents section in the Quick Start Guide: Cisco 4400 Series Wireless LAN Controllers should be updated to include this item, which is included with the 4400 series controller:
•DB-9-to-DB-9 null modem cable
Related Documentation
For additional information on the Cisco controllers and lightweight access points, see these documents:
•The quick start guide or installation guide for your particular controller or access point
•Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Configuration Guide
•Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Command Reference
•Cisco Wireless Control System Configuration Guide
You can access these documents from this link:
Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request
For information on obtaining documentation, submitting a service request, and gathering additional information, see the monthly What's New in Cisco Product Documentation, which also lists all new and revised Cisco technical documentation, at:
Subscribe to the What's New in Cisco Product Documentation as a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed and set content to be delivered directly to your desktop using a reader application. The RSS feeds are a free service and Cisco currently supports RSS Version 2.0.
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Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and phone numbers used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses and phone numbers. Any examples, command display output, network topology diagrams, and other figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses or phone numbers in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.
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