ASK THE EXPERTS : Wireless Network Management

[ciscomoderator]

With Nael Mohammad

Welcome to the Cisco Support Community Ask the Expert conversation. This is an opportunity to learn about how to manage, configure, and troubleshoot your wireless networks using Cisco network management products like Wireless Control System (WCS), Mobility Service Engine (MSE), Location Appliance with Cisco expert . Nael is a customer support engineer at Cisco. He specializes in supporting Cisco Network Management products and technologies which includes WCS, MSE, Location Appliance, as well as Cisco Network Registrar (CNR), and CiscoWorks LAN Management Solution (LMS). Nael graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.S. in Business Administration and holds a CCNA certification.

Remember to use the rating system to let Nael know if you have received an adequate response.

Nael might not be able to answer each question due to the volume expected during this event. Remember that you can continue the conversation on the Security and Network Management discussion forum shortly after the event. This event lasts through June 17^th, 2011. Visit this forum often to view responses to your questions and the questions of other community members.

[STEPHEN POLZIN]

Hi Nael,

A couple of questions please;

1. Can the 2500 WLC operate as an anchor controller? If yes then how many EOIP tunnels will it support?

2. I have used the WCS planning tool a lot and found it to provide a good rule of thumb for a first look at how many WAPs to deploy and where but I must say the editor is frustrating at best. Drawing obstacles is tedious and time consuming and then if you subsequently scale the map they are all moved and you basically have to start over. Are there any plans to integrate with a better editor or perhaps an external vector graphics editor such as Visio?

Thanks,

Steve.

[Nael Mohammad]

@spoizin Thanks for asking.

1. The 2500 WLC is an entry level unit so it does not support to function as an anchor controller.

2. For question 2, at this time there is no plans but you should be able to import the images. WCS supports  (gif, jpg, and png) images and autocad format which you can import during the floor creation.

[STEPHEN POLZIN]

Hi Nael,

Thanks for the reply. I ask about the 2500 as was under the impression from a Cisco SE that the 2500 is aimed as.a replacement for the 4400 which is currently the best price point to split as an anchor. Are there any plans to discontinue the 4400 series as that would leave the only choice for an anchor to be the 5508?

Regarding the WCS map editor I have never tried to import a DXF file but koesn't WCS just convert that to a flat graphics file format like png/jpg/gif? I am looking for a better way to draw and place attenuating objects like walls, etc. so if that's the case unfortunately that doesn't help.

Another thing that would be a nice to have in the planning tool would be the ability to do RF prediction for APs with internal antennas mounted high up on the wall at 90 degrees such as in a warehouse with high ceilings which is a recommendation from Cisco which can be found in the antenna guide documents as an alternative to external patch or yaagi antennas. Do you now of any plans to introduce this functionality?

Finally could you tell me what is the best way and to who I can put forward enhancement requests to the WCS product such as those discussed?

Thanks,

Steve

[Nael Mohammad]

@Steve

1. For the question about the WLC, discuss the issue with your SE since he knows your environment much more than I do.  The 2500 supports up to 50 AP's, does not support guest anchoring, and the 5500 supports up to 500 AP's and does support guest anchoring. And as you stated, the 4400 is EOS as 12/2010 and is being replaced by the 5508 WLC per the EOS notes below.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/wireless/ps6302/ps8322/ps6366/end_of_life_notice_c51-634665.html

2. To request a product enhancement, you can e-mail the product marketing or open a "Product Enhancement Request" (PER) through your account team.  The emal is ask-wnbu-pm@cisco.com to send your feedback to the product marketing team for wireless products.

Thanks,

Nael

[STEPHEN POLZIN]

Thanks Nael,

Thanks for the reply. Am I correct that an imported DXF file will be converted to a format like jpg, gif, png, etc. and lose any of the vector information?

Regards,

Steve.

[Nael Mohammad]

You can elect to choose jpg format but Cisco recommends that you use either png or gif which is higher quality images. And the vector information should not be lost with the latest version of WCS. I know a while back there was  a bug which had issues in zooming floor maps that were imported with AutoCAD but that has been resolved in later versions.

Thanks,

Nael

[STEPHEN POLZIN]

Thanks Nael for all your replies.

Best regards,

Steve.

[szehnder]

Hi Nael

One small question regarding Guest Access:

Is it possible to create multiple lobby ambassadors to manage guest access from different WLANs, so that ambassador A (B) manages Guests from WLAN A (B)? Or how could a multi-tenancy approach in a service provider environment be accomplished?

Thanks,

Sam

[Nael Mohammad]

@szehnder: Below are the steps to segment Lobby Admin accounts for WCS 7.0.x or later.

1. From WCS --> Administration --> AAA --> Users --> Choose "Add User" from the "Select Command" menu drop down and go.
2. Type in the desired username and password under the general tab. In the "Groups Assigned to this User", choose "LobbyAmbassador" and this will display a third tab at the top called "Lobby Ambassador Defaults".
   • Note: LobbyAmbassador username cannot belong to any other group.
3. From the Lobby Ambassador Defaults tab, you elect to limit WLAN's based on the "Profile" name which is the SSID name broadcast or from the "Apply To" field. 

• The "Apply To" can be limited to the following areas:
  • Indoor Area
  • Outdoor Area
  • Controller List
  • Config Groups if defined

For more information, see the users guide on Managing Lobby Ambassador Accounts:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/wireless/wcs/7.0MR1/configuration/guide/manag.html#wpxref96004

[ianmckinnon]

Hi Nael,

I am running WCS 5.2.148 which has a database that is now filling over 90% of capacity.

Other than running defrag and data cleanup, are there any other utilities for compacting or pruning the database ?

[Nael Mohammad]

@Ian Thanks for questions about Solid DB issues with WCS 5.2.148.

The real question is why is the database filling up? How long are you retaining the data in WCS for? Go to Administration --> Settings --> Data Management.

The Data Management window will list the retention period for various reports and audit.   The default is normally what’s listed in the doc's here: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/wireless/wcs/5.2/configuration/guide/5_2admin.html#wp1043389

If you are running default values, then you have a busy environment. Reduce the data retention to half of the existing values and execute the background task and see if that makes a different. From Administration --> Background Tasks -->  Other Background Task --> select “Data Cleanup” and execute to ensure it runs.

It could be you are running into bug CSCtf23192 where Solid DB 4.50.150 in WCS becomes unresponsive and if that’s the case, you will need to raise an SR to obtain the patch from TAC and have them apply it for you over webex. Or upgrade to 7.0.172 or 6.0.202 of WCS which has the fix integrated into the release.

We don't recommend to run the dbadmin commands unless instructed by TAC as it could do more harm than good since its will modify your database.

-nael

[jwarner]

This is WCS 7.0.164.0

I can do throughput reports for a single AP, or a sum for all the APs on a single floor, or

all the APs on a controller.

I would like to do a summary of throughput (traffic) as a graph for all the APs in a BUILDING.

I can't figure out how to do that. 

[Nael Mohammad]

@jwarner Thanks for the question.

Run the same report and edit the "Filter Criteria" by selecting the Campus where the building is located and highlight the buildings where you want to run the reports. Under "Floor" ensure you select "All Floors" to cover the entire building.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/wireless/wcs/7.0MR1/configuration/guide/reps.html#wp1121896

[jwarner]

Nael --  Thanks for your reply.

What I want to get is a single graph representing all the traffic from a multistory building.  What the procedure you site in the link so kindly provided does is give me a separate graph for each floor of each selected building.  How can I get WCS to add up the results for me?

[Nael Mohammad]

When generating reports by Campus --> Building --> selecting all floors, you will get a graph for each floor. The alternative is to run the report based on the controller ip address that the AP's in the desired building are associating with. And it will show up as one graph.  What you're asking is current not possible and will need to research to see if an enhancement bug will need to be filed against the product.