topic Re: WLC 3504 configure ports in Wireless

WLC 3504 configure ports

patoberli — Mon, 05 Jul 2021 15:00:46 GMT

Hi all

I've got a new WLC 3504 with 8.5.110.0 which I just installed.

What I haven't managed though, how can I, if it is even possible, assign a VLAN to one of it's physical ports?

I have connected the port 5 to a Switch with a trunk and my idea is now to use one of the physical ports for a client, is this even possible?

The WLC is connected to a big company network and is in the same network as my primary 5520 (where all APs are connected to). My plan is to use the 3504 for testing and maybe use the 4 GigE ports for clients or APs, is this possible?

Thanks

Patrick

Re: WLC 3504 configure ports

Scott Fella — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 15:55:39 GMT

I honestly don’t know if they removed that or not. We are testing but it’s in LAG mode. If you are not able to define a port, then maybe that feature is no longer. Might just have to trunk everything to a dedicated switch and then vlan it out to other dedicated switches if that was the plan.

Just a thought.

Re: WLC 3504 configure ports

patoberli — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 16:04:09 GMT

Yeah that will work, I was just curious if I can somehow use those ports in a larger network.

Re: WLC 3504 configure ports

Scott Fella — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 16:10:39 GMT

I can try when I get back from vacation next year. I always hated when they come out with a replacement like the 2504 to 3504 and not everything rolls over. How the heck do folks upgrade to the “new” model if the new model doesn’t support certain things:) they even say that the 3504 replaces the 5508, well the 5508 allows you to define ports.... very interesting.

Re: WLC 3504 configure ports

patoberli — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 16:18:58 GMT

The GUI only allows me, in the "Interfaces" category, to create the virtual interfaces and under those virtual interfaces, I can define the primary port (a physical one) and a backup port (again a physical one) for the virtual interface.
Under Configuration - Ports I can only enable/disable it, but not use it like a switchport. I think only as a LAG to another switch. But that brings the question, why do the port 3+4 have PoE, surely not to use it in a LAG to a switch 🙂
So far it looks like those 4 ports can't be used like a little Switch, and the 5. port as the uplink to the company infrastructure (that was my hope).
If you figure out something different, I'd be happy to know.

Re: WLC 3504 configure ports

Scott Fella — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 16:25:39 GMT

Well if you look at the 2504, they first didn’t support AP’s connecting to the ports and then many years later they did. They also mentioned that the 2504 is not a switch and isn’t made as a switch as it shares the same platform as the ASA5505. I would not ever think they would make the 3504 ports like a true switch. Hardware probably doesn’t even support that and they probably don’t want to support that. If in the GUI with LAG disabled you do see primary and backup ports and you can define any of the ports, you should be able to map an interface to a port just like the 2504/5508.

Re: WLC 3504 configure ports

patoberli — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 16:31:10 GMT

Never had the 2504 or 5508.
It's just weird, so if I would want to connect 4 APs to the 4 ports, I'd need at least two virtual interfaces (more likely 4) which I would put into the same vlan and then leave the IP address fields empty and assign them to the physical ports?!
This feels a bit cumbersome 🙂
I'll try it out though.

[edit]

Not working, can't have two virtual interfaces with the same vlan 😞

Re: WLC 3504 configure ports

patoberli — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 16:37:47 GMT

Just for fun I've enabled now the Port 4, without having a VLAN assigned or anything and connected an AP 3702i to it.
Weirdly enough, the AP received an IP address in the correct VLAN from the DHCP and connected now to the 3504 WLC, although it isn't even configured in DNS or DHCP as a WLC... Weird. It looks as if the WLC intercepted the CAPWAP join packets and replaced them with it's own IP address. The 5520 is even configured as a Master Controller, but the 3702 ignored that.

Re: WLC 3504 configure ports

Scott Fella — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 16:45:37 GMT

Patrick,

One thing with the 2504 and the PoE was that the ports use the same subnet as the management. You can’t use the ports and try to put them on a different vlan. So this is why using the ports for AP’s were not really used by folks along with the difficulty of getting it to work.

From the 2504, you define the management interface and choose a primary port and an optional backup if you want and the vlan tag. Then you create a dynamic interface and also define the primary port and optional secondary and the vlan tag. These are physically ports not virtual and you map SSID’s to an interface. You can create as many dynamic interfaces but limited to one interface per port. Now you would not really trunk this port but connect it to an access port with the proper vlan.

With the 2504, you can’t have more than one trunk port if this makes sense.

Other have deployed these in LAG and trunked the vlans to a switch and then broke it out from there. So you sort of have some options.

Re: WLC 3504 configure ports

patoberli — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 16:47:48 GMT

Thanks, this would explain the behavior that I'm seeing now with the test AP and which is perfectly fine for me 🙂

Re: WLC 3504 configure ports

Scott Fella — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 16:49:37 GMT

Correct because the AP is directly connected. It would be interesting if you set the high availability of the AP to the 5520 and see if it joins.

Re: WLC 3504 configure ports

patoberli — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 16:51:37 GMT

Will test that, got a little time for this and it's just one AP. I'll update it once I know more, but will be earliest by tomorrow.

Re: WLC 3504 configure ports

patoberli — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 16:59:37 GMT

I've set the primary controller (actually it was already set to the 5520, as it's a used AP) but it didn't switch. So I've also added the IP address, but it didn't change the WLC.

It seems that is not possible.

Re: WLC 3504 configure ports

Scott Fella — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 17:00:37 GMT

Cool! I’m going to test more when I get back from vacation.