Adding AP 1815 to existing Mobility Express

[SonusFaber]

I Have some Cisco 1815i installed years ago in my house... years passed and I do not remember what I did at that time...

Now i got 2 additional 1815i from used market and wish to add them to the existing setup, increasing the AP density at home ( 300 square meters).

These 1815i need to be reset to factory default, I imagine... and I am looking to the procedure to do the job, some kind of step-by-step... macro steps.

Help, please.

Thanks

[srimal99]

@SonusFaber This is old community link for factory reset 

https://community.cisco.com/t5/wireless/cisco-aironet-1815-series-factory-reset-set-up/td-p/4607599

[Flavio Miranda]

@SonusFaber 

The only thing you need to do is put them on the same network as the one you have installed. If they are Mobility express they will Join to the WLC. 

If they do not Join, you need to convert them to Mobility express. 

You can previously connect to them using console cable and check If they are Mobility express or not and If not do the installation 

[Rich R]

Reset using the mode button:
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/access_point/1815/quick/guide/ap1815igetstart.html#pgfId-33648

If the AP is already running mobility express you can clear the ME config from login prompt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qbovoZiz54

[Stefan Mihajlov]

To add your newly acquired Cisco 1815i access points to your existing Mobility Express setup, you’ll first need to reset them to factory defaults. Power on the AP, and once it has fully booted, press and hold the Mode button for about 10-12 seconds until the LED turns red, then release it. The AP will reset and reboot. Afterward, connect the APs to the same VLAN or subnet as your existing Mobility Express setup so they can discover and join the controller. Ensure that the new APs are running a compatible software version with your Mobility Express controller. Once discovered, the controller should guide you through the process of adding the APs to your network, allowing you to increase your wireless coverage and density effectively.

[SonusFaber]

OK. This is what I did.
I have some 1815i APs already installed 8.10.185.0 SW version. All of them are "ME Capable", one is the Primary controller the other are Preferred Master.

I have powered the first additional 1815 AP, on the same Vlan as the existing ones, it boot, but no way to log into it once it got the IP from the DHCP. Since it was not new, but used, I reset to factory. Now I can no more access with SSH\Putty, but I can console it and access with Cisco/Cisco user/password.
Show version says it runs 8.4.100.0 SW version and also says
MOBILITY EXPRESS IMAGE
MOBILITY EXPRESS CAPABLE

Then i log into my ME controller and I see the additional AP as "CAPWAP" type, I select it and hit "convert to me" but it fails (Mode conversion not applicable, is the message)
Under the SOFTWARE UPDATE menu, the new AP is in "predownloading" status with "ImageReq to AP Failed" message

Suggestions? Thanks a lot.

[Flavio Miranda]

The ME Controller does not have firmware to distribute to the AP. Your AP is 8.4 and you Controller is 8.10. Upgrade the AP to 8.10.

 You can do this using the ME controler at Management > Software Update > File Path

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/controller/technotes/8-2/b_Mobility_Express_Deployment_guide/b_Mobility_Express_Deployment_guide_chapter_01000.html

[SonusFaber]

Ciao Flavio.

I upgraded several times in the past my APs, downloading the new SW from Cisco, uploaded to the Mobility Express and pushed the upgraded SW to AP from there.

Why the ME can not upgrade my new AP from 8.4 to 8.10 ?

Mybe my fault... I can not understand. Do I need to do it manually? How?

[Flavio Miranda]

@SonusFaber 

 As you might know, Cisco WLC does AP upgrade for us as it is a more robust device and have space to store AP images and then distribute to APs.

 But ME controller is actually another AP and dont have space to store AP images. That´s why the process of upgrading APs is not so simple.

You can try to upgrade the AP using TFTP server from you PC or you can use the link I share above and follow the instruction on "Updating Cisco Mobility Express network using GUI"

[Rich R]

Yes do it manually.

8.4.100.0 is almost certainly too old to upgrade directly to 8.10 from ME itself.

Make sure the AP is in CAPWAP mode then install (from TFTP):
https://software.cisco.com/download/home/286306794/type/286288051/release/15.3.3-JK9
Then it should be able to join your ME WLC.
archive download-sw /reload tftp://<tftp-server/ap1g5-k9w8-tar.153-3.JK9.tar

[SonusFaber]

I am unable to download the file you suggested:
https://software.cisco.com/download/home/286306794/type/286288051/release/15.3.3-JK9

But (do not why...) I can download this one:
https://software.cisco.com/download/home/286306794/type/286288051/release/17.16.1

Is it anyway good for the job? Do not want to try something that will brick my AP....

[Rich R]

Because 8.4 is so old Cisco will never test upgrading from such an old version so the results could be unpredictable.
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/controller/9800/17-16/release-notes/rn-17-16-9800.html#Cisco_Concept.dita_59a2987f-2633-4630-8c7b-a8e8aecdeaf7
As you can see the upgrade path is only defined for APs already running at least 8.9 or 8.10 releases.
It shouldn't brick the AP.  If it doesn't work it will likely just mean the install fails (most likely due to disk partition not being big enough).
You could also look through the 8.5 releases as a recent 8.5 release might also work and would be a much safer option.
For the mapping between WLC version and AP software version refer to the Compatibility Matrix link below.
FYI: 17.16.1 is the first release where the AP software version now matches the WLC software version naming/numbering.

[SonusFaber]

I am confused... but I appreciate a lot you effort to support me.

Try to recap: the AP is AIR-AP1815i-E-K9 version 8.4.100.0
I understand that this can work as CAPWAP or ME.
If i show the version it says
AP IMAGE TYPE = ME IMAGE
AP CONFIG = ME CAPABLE

1) Why if I connect this AP on the LAN it pops up into my existing ME as type = CAPWAP  and not ME ?
2) Why are you suggesting to me to upgrade with LIGHTWEIGHT AP SW and not ME ?
In the past I peridically upgraded my APs and always I did it with ME SW, not the LIGHTWEIGHT

[Rich R]

1. The ME AP can be configured to run in CAPWAP mode only:
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/access_point/mob_exp/83/user_guide/b_ME_User_Guide_83/appendix.html#topic_A575EE4B2A054DE5BAF1931A7D384DB5

2. As I said Mobility Express upgrades often fail, usually due to running out of disk (flash) space.  The workaround for that problem is to convert to CAPWAP mode, upgrade with CAPWAP image and then convert back to ME, if required, because you could also leave it in CAPWAP mode connecting to your ME WLC.

[SonusFaber]

So, I consoled
ap-type capwap
to be sure to run in capwap mode, then the ap restarted by itself.

Once up again, I consoled:
archive download-sw /reload tftp://192.168.1.205/ap1g5-k9w8-tar.17_16_0_88.tar
it starts, once reaches 100% I see:
Image downloaded
Writing to flash...
do PREDOWNLOAD, part1 is active part
upgrade.sh: Error: image not found
+ do_upgrade PREDOWNLOAD
+ [ ! -r /tmp/part.tar]
+ loudLog Error:image not found
... bla bla bla...
Error: '/etc/capwap-upgrade.sh PREDOWNLOAD' failure

I see that on Cisco software there are two family of SW: 17.16 and 15.3 so I downloaded one of the 15.3
https://software.cisco.com/download/home/286306794/type/286288051/release/15.3.3-JD4
and it fails but with different errors:
..... bla bla bla....
tar: info.ver not found in archive
upgrade.sh: Error: TAR_READ_ERROR

UPDATE: I setup TFTP server on another computer and I repeated all the steps already done... same result.

I am not so much into Cisco world, but anyway I am quite familiar with IT... it seems to me impossibile not being able to sort this problem out...