RF Domains

A controller or service platform's configuration is composed of numerous elements including RF Domains, profiles, policies, WLANs and device specific configurations. RF Domains are used to assign regulatory, location and relevant policies to controllers and service platforms. RF Domains are required, and each controller or service platform must be assigned at least one default RF Domain.

RF Domains allow administrators to assign configuration data to multiple devices deployed in a common coverage area, such as in a floor, building or site. Each RF Domain contains policies that can determine a Smart RF or WIPS configuration.

RF Domains enable administrators to override WLAN SSID name and VLAN assignments. This enables the deployment of a global WLAN across multiple sites and unique SSID name or VLAN assignments to groups of access points servicing the global WLAN. This WLAN override technique eliminates the requirement for defining and managing a large number of individual WLANs and profiles.

A configuration contains (at a minimum) one default RF Domain and can optionally use additional user defined RF Domains:

Default RF Domain - Automatically assigned to each controller or service platform and associated access point by default.
User Defined RF Domains - Created by administrators and manually assigned to individual controller or service platforms, but can be automatically assigned to access points using adoption policies.

Each controller and service platform is assigned to only one RF Domain at a time. However, a user defined RF Domain can be assigned to multiple controllers or service platforms as required. User defined RF Domains can be manually assigned or automatically assigned to access points using an AP provisioning policy.

Default RF Domains

Each controller and service platform utilizes a default RF Domain. Access points are assigned to this default RF Domain as they are discovered by the controller or service platform. The default RF Domain can be used for single site deployments, where regional, regulatory and RF policies are common between devices. When regional, regulatory or RF policies need to be device specific, user defined RF Domains are recommended.

A default RF Domain can also omit configuration parameters to prohibit regulatory configuration from automatically being inherited by devices as they are discovered by the controller or service platform. This is desirable in multi-site deployments with devices spanning multiple countries. Omitting specific configuration parameters eliminates the risk of an incorrect country code from being automatically assigned to a device.

User Defined RF Domains

Configure and deploy user defined RF Domains for single or multiple sites when controllers or service platforms require unique regulatory and regional configurations, or unique Smart RF and WIPS policies. User defined RF Domains can be used to:

Assign unique Smart RF or WIPS policies to access points deployed on different floors or buildings within a site.
Assign unique regional or regulatory configurations to access points deployed in different states or countries.
Assign unique WLAN SSIDs and/or VLAN IDs to sites assigned a common WLAN without having to define individual WLANs for each site.

User defined RF Domains must be manually assigned to controllers or service platforms, but can be manually or automatically assigned to access points. Manual RF Domain assignment can be performed using the CLI or UI by modifying each device's individual configuration and assigning a specific RF Domain to the device. Automatic RF Domain assignments can be made using an AP provisioning policy which can assign specific RF Domains to access points based on an access point‘s model, serial number, VLAN, DHCP option, IP address or MAC address.

Automatic RF Domain assignments are useful in large deployments, as they enable plug-n-play access point deployments by automatically applying RF Domains to remote access points.

WiNG 7.1 Interoperability with WiNG 5.9.X

Interoperability with access points running the WiNG 5.9.X OS is another salient feature of the WiNG 7.1 OS. As part of this interoperability, WiNG 7.1.X wireless controllers and service platforms will be able to adopt and manage the following WiNG 5.9.X APs:

Access Points - AP7502, AP7522, AP7532, AP7562, AP7602, AP7612, AP7622, AP7632, AP7662, AP8163, AP8543, AP8533.

The following output shows both WiNG 5.9.X and WiNG 7.1.X APs adopted to a WiNG 7.1.X NX9500 service platform:code

nx9500-6C8809#show version
NX9500 version 7.1.2.0-008D
Copyright (c) 2004-2019 Extreme Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.
Booted from primary

nx9500-6C8809 uptime is 0 days, 00 hours 31 minutes
CPU is Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU           E5645  @ 2.40GHz, No. of CPUs 24
Base ethernet MAC address is B4-C7-99-6C-88-09
System serial number is B4C7996C8809
Model number is NX-9500-100R0-WR
nx9500-6C8809#

nx9500-6C8809#show adoption status
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DEVICE-NAME    VERSION       CFG-STAT    MSGS  ADOPTED-BY    LAST-ADOPTION       UPTIME
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ap8432-070235  5.9.4.0-015D  configured   No  nx9500-6C8809  0 days 00:27:59  2 days 23:02:09
ap7562-84A224  5.9.4.0-015D  configured   No  nx9500-6C8809  0 days 00:27:57  38 days 14:34:24
ap7532-DF9A4C  5.9.4.0-015D  configured   No  nx9500-6C8809  0 days 00:31:02  15 days 14:25:44
ap505-134038   7.1.2.0-008D  configured   No  nx9500-6C8809  0 days 00:30:49  1 days 03:07:01
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total number of devices displayed: 4

nx9500-6C8809#

Note

In a mixed deployment, with access points running both WiNG 7.1.X and WiNG 5.9.X firmware, we recommend the APs to be placed in separate RF Domains for ease of management and configuration.