Bulk 'Rev: AA' AP505/AP510 Upgrade through Virtual Controller

This section describes how to do a bulk upgrade of 'Rev: AA' AP505 and AP510 access points in the absence of a WiNG Controller or ExtremeCloud Appliance.

If you have multiple 'Rev: AA' AP505 and AP510 access points and no WiNG Controller or ExtremeCloud Appliance deployed in your network, configure one of the AP as a Virtual Controller (VC). Use this virtual controller AP to perform a bulk upgrade of the other APs.

The steps below describe how to perform this task:

  1. Set the AP's 'operational-mode' to 'standalone/distributed'. You can either use the AP's CLI or GUI to set the AP's operational mode.
    Note

    Note

    The WiNG 7.1.X AP505 and AP510 model access points have the capability of operating in the following two modes: Distributed and Centralized. For a newly-manufactured, out-of-the-box AP505 and AP510 access point the mode of operation is not specified. The Centralized mode of operation is ideally suited for dense localized deployments, while the Distributed mode supports scaled-out deployments.
    1. Access the AP's CLI through the console or SSH.
      For SSH, use the AP's Primary or Secondary IP address.
      Primary IP address - This is the DHCP provided IP address.
      Secondary IP address - This is the ZEROCONF IP address printed on the box.
      You will be prompted to provide the login credentials. Since, this is a fresh, out-of-box device, you will have to enter the default credentials.
    2. Enter the default credentials admin/admin123.
      You will be prompted: 'To enable distributed site operation on this AP, choose d (Distributed):'
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    3. Type 'd'.
      The following message is displayed:
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      Note

      Note

      The AP will reboot in the standalone/distributed operational mode.
    4. Alternately, access the AP's GUI by pointing the Web browser to the AP's Primary or Secondary IP address. (http://<AP-IP-ADDRESS>)
      Primary IP address - This is the DHCP provided IP address.
      Secondary IP address - This is the ZEROCONF IP address printed on the box.
      The following message is displayed:
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    5. Click on the “Standalone” button.
      The following message is displayed:
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      Note

      Note

      The AP will reboot in the standalone/distributed operational mode.
  2. After the AP's operational-mode is set to 'standalone/distributed', upgrade it to the 7.1.0.0-138R firmware version.
    1. Access the AP's CLI through the console or SSH.
    2. Enter admin/admin123 as username/password.
      The AP's CLI opens in the user executable mode.
      ap5xx-xxxxxx>
    3. Enter 'enable' to move into the privileged mode.
      ap5xx-xxxxxx>enable
      ap5xx-xxxxxx#
      
    4. Use following command to upgrade AP to the latest firmware:
      ap5xx-xxxxxx#upgrade tftp://<hostname|IP>path/filename
      Note

      Note

      Ensure that the latest 7.1.0.0-138R image file is available at the specified location.
    5. Reload the AP, after the upgrade.
      ap5xx-xxxxxx#reload
  3. Add the other 'Rev: AA' AP5XXs to the network, in the same VLAN as the first AP that is being configured as a VC.
    The APs will reload twice and boot up in the 'Distributed' operational mode.
  4. Access the first upgraded AP's GUI, by pointing the Web browser to the AP's Primary (DHCP-provided) or Secondary (ZEROCONF) IP address.
    The login page is displayed.
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  5. Enter credentials admin/admin123.
  6. Use the Initial Setup Wizard to configure the AP as a Virtual Controller.
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  7. Click Next.
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  8. On the Access Point Settings screen, select the Virtual Controller AP radio button.
    The AP is now configured as a VC. At this point, the other 'Rev: AA' APs in the VLAN will adopt to the virtual controller AP.
  9. Use the following CLI command to load the AP image file on to the VC.
    ap5xx-xxxxxx#device-upgrade load-image ap5XX tftp://<hostname|IP>/path/file
    Note

    Note

    Once the AP image file upload is complete, the other adopted APs will be upgraded by the VC AP.