How to configure WAP581

[Max5]

Hi everyone,
This is my first time configuring WAP581, I need your help!
Both ports are connected to the POE switch, but only a 169.254.163.211 address is displayed through the packet capture, and FINDIT has not been able to find any device. The device has been reset and no default SSID appears. The light is always flashing green. There is a DHCP server of 192.168.1.0/24 in the network, and 192.168.1.254 is not occupied.
Does it require special tools or register or update firmware? The device does not have a console port.

[Martin Aleksandrov]

Hello Max5,

If the device had reset to the factory default you would have seen the "CiscoSB-Setup" wireless SSID. If the power light is always flashing that means the AP is rebooting. To reset the device to factory default settings with power on, press and hold the reset button for more than 10 seconds. The system light will go off.

The factory default IP address configuration of the access points is DHCP.  Make sure your DHCP server is running and can be reached. Search the wireless SSID "CiscoSB-Setup", and connect to this SSID with the passphrase "cisco123" (through mobile or phone or web browser on a pc). If there is no DHCP server in your network, after 60 seconds, the access point will fallback to a default IP address 192.168.1.254/24 so make sure the PC is on the same network. The default username is cisco and the default password is cisco. The first time that you log into the Access Point or after it has been reset to the factory default settings, the Access Point Setup Wizard appears.

For more information about the configuration steps, you can refer to the quick start guide and the administration guide:

https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/td/docs/wireless/access_point/csbap/wap581/quick_start/EN-US/WAP581_QSG_EN.pdf

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/access_point/csbap/wap581/Admin/b_WAP581_Admin_Guide_New/b_WAP581_Admin_Guide_chapter_00.html?bookSearch=true 

Hope this helps.

Regards,

Martin

[Max5]

Hello Martin,

Thanks for your reply. Later I found out that it was caused by insufficient power supply of the POE switch. At the beginning, I connected the 2960 single port with a maximum power of 15.4 watts. The device kept flashing green light. I suspected that insufficient power supply caused unlimited restart. Then I connected to the 3750X single port with a maximum power of 30W, and the device was found in findIT and started to configure.

There is still a problem now. Although it is connected to an interface that can provide up to 30w, the interface where wap581 is located shows that the current power is still 15.4 watts. The web management interface will also prompt that the 5G band is closed due to insufficient power supply. Even if I manually change the interface’s POE power to a static maximum of 30 watts, there is still this prompt on the web and 5G cannot be enabled.

[Martin Aleksandrov]

Hello Max,

Please double-check and verify the following settings:

1. The WAP581 does support and can be powered through 802.3at (up to 30W) PoE capable switch port. That means the power management is negotiated by using LLDP. On the WAP581 make sure you have enabled LLDP mode and set the priority level to High or Critical (LAN->More->LLDP). It is not only 5GHz disabled when insufficient power but also 2.4GHz antenna switches to 2X2 from 3x3 and TX power decrease to 18dBm. Also ETH0/PD port downgrades to 1Gbps and ETH1 port is automatically turned off.

and if that does not help do this:

2. On your 3750X configure the PoE settings of the port to be auto and don't manually set the wattage rate. Since the LLDP power negotiation is in place you have to let the PSE negotiate the power with the PDE so execute "power inline auto" on the switch config interface. You can try also with "power inline static" to guarantee that the device connected to the interface receives enough power.

Regards,

Martin

[Max5]

Thank you very much! When I enable lldp on the C3750X, everything is normal, otherwise it will still prompt that the power supply is insufficient.
At this time, I connected the configured WAP581 to the 2960 with a maximum power of 15.4 watts and enabled LLDP, and the device would still restart repeatedly. So does the device only support POE+ 802.3at mode, and it cannot be used normally under 802.3af.

[Martin Aleksandrov]

Hello Max,
The AP should operate normally with limited performance on 802.3af. Did you set the same power inline settings for the 2960 switch?

Regards,
Martin

[Martin Aleksandrov]

Hi there,

The AP should operate normally when powered through 802.3af but with limited performance and disabled 5GHz band. Did you implement the same power inline settings for the 2960 switch?

Regards,

Martin