An access point profile enables an administrator to assign a common set of configuration parameters and policies to access points of the same model. Profiles can be used to assign common or unique network, wireless and security parameters to across a large, multi segment, site. The configuration parameters within a profile are based on the hardware model the profile was created to support. All WiNG 5 supported access point models supported a single profile that is either shared amongst multiple access point or not. The central benefit of a profile is the ability to update access points collectively without having to modify individual configurations.
A profile allows access point administration across large wireless network segments. However, an administrator cannot manage more than one model‘s profile and its set configuration policies at any one time. Therefore, an administrator should manage multiple access points directly from the Virtual Controller AP. As individual access point updates are made, the access point no longer shares the profile based configuration it previously deployed. Changes made to the profile are automatically inherited by all member access points, but not those who have had their configuration overridden from their previous profile designation. These devices require careful administration, as they no longer can be tracked and as profile members. Their customized configurations overwrite their profile assignments until the profile can be re-applied to the access point.
Note
A central difference compared to the default-radio configurations in previous WiNG 5 releases is default profiles are used as pointers for an access point‘s configuration, not just templates from which the configuration is copied. Therefore, if a change is made in one of the parameters in a profile, the change is reflected across all access points using that profile.For more information, refer to the following: