Assistance joining cisco 1142n to Cisco 2504 WLC

[Clay Plaga]

I have a Cisco 2504 WLC and 3 Cisco 1142n access points on my test network. The 2504 WLC and AP's have been off for a few months and I 'm trying to put the wi-fi back online. I am just learning how to configure this system. The  2504 WLC boots up okay, and configuration looks like it's okay. When I connect the 1142n AP to the network, it fails to join the WLC. I am connected to the 1142n with the console connection and the AP is connected to the network.

I get this message on the AP:

CAPWAP-3 DHCP_RENEW: Could not discover WLC. Either IP address is not assigned or assigned IP is wrong

Not in Bound State

This is what I can confirm:

On the AP, the bvi1 interface is set for DHCP and is up and OK

From the WLC I can ping the AP vlan and the gateway

From the 2911 router I can ping the AP vlan and the gateway

From the switch I can ping the WLC 

The DHCP on my server is working. I have option 43 configured on the wlan vlan. I Can ping the vlan and gateway of the vlan the AP is connected to on the switch.

I have a DNS entry for the 2504 WLC

Can someone tell anything else I can try to get the AP to join the WLC?

Thank you.

 I have a DNS  

[marce1000]

 - Your wireless infrastructure is ancient and old ; the 1142n are only supported till 8.3.x (check controller software version installed) ; you also have big chance of being hit by : https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/field-notices/639/fn63942.html

 M.

[Clay Plaga]

Sorry for the delay. Thank you for your assistance, I really appreciate it. This is a test network I am using.  I am using a 2504 WLC. The version software is 8.3.143.0. I am using NTP from my domain controller, and the time is correct. Also I have the certificate check disabled with this command:

config ap cert-expiry-ignore mic enable

 Can I use the 1142n with this software version on the WLC? I think my DHCP is working okay. To test DHCP, I connected a computer to the switch interface I have the 1142n connected to, and the computer was issued an IP address in the correct range.

The switch interface is on VLAN 20

192.168.20.0 255.255.225.0

The AP is not getting an IP address. I assigned a static IP on the AP in the correct range, but the AP still did not connect. When the AP boots up. I can see the flash loading. Could it be a configuration on the AP that's preventing it from receiving an IP address? If I run:

erase /all nvram:

reload

Will that erase everything on  the AP? I don't want to erase everything on the AP because I do not know how to reload the files onto to AP.

Any other suggestions?

Thank you very much.

[marce1000]

                              >.... This is a test network I am using.
 - Your test network bares no relevance w.r.t capacities of modern wireless networks  including capacity , channel performance , coverage , DFS avoidance etc. Let alone the new configuration model of the to be used 9800 platforms and solutions.
 If you want to test according to modern standard use for instance the EWC 9800 platform (embedded controller) or start with the 9800 cloud controller and use  modern AP(s)s

 M.
  

[Clay Plaga]

Are you saying that it is not possible to connect the 1142n to the 2504 WLC? The AP was connecting to the WLC about 6 months ago. I've had it turned off until now. Is there anyway I can get it to work?

Thank you for your help.

[marce1000]

         - Post the AP boot process and check the controller logs when the AP tries to join ,

 M.

[Clay Plaga]

Yes, I can post the boot logs from the AP. I just found the steps to configure & view the WLC logs. I will post the logs tomorrow afternoon when I'm in front of the gear.

Another question. If I was trying to teach myself up do date Cisco wi-fi administration, what controller and access point would you recommend I purchase? I buy all my network gear used on Ebay.

Thank you very much

[marce1000]

           - FYI : https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/wireless/access-point-controller-selector.html

 M.

[Clay Plaga]

Thanks again for all your help. I think I may have found the problem. I took a good look at the AP log output, and I see the WLC is looking for:

photonics.org

This WLC was connected to another domain called photonics.org. The new domain is:

photonicss.com

I have a new dns entry for the WLC. The FQDN dns entry is:

cisco-capwap-controller.photonicss.com

Is there a way I can change the domain name in the WLC?

I have included a screen shot.

Thank you.

[Scott Fella]

Have you checked your DNS and also your domain name you defined on the controller?  Is your old domain still up and verify the DNS record for that one entry.  Placing the ap on the same subnet as the management of the controller helps for an easier join.

[Clay Plaga]

Thank you for your help. Yes, my DNS entry for the WLC is correct. The new DNS entry is:

Cisco-Capwap-Controller.photonicss.com 192.168.5.4(the IP address of the 2504 WLC)

And the IP address is correct. The IP address is the same. 192.168.5.7(the domain controller) Where on the controller do I define the new domain name? No, the old domain is completely gone.

Thank you.

[Scott Fella]

Check the configuration or even look at your virtual ip.  Does the old dns resolve?

[Scott Fella]

The most fundamental thing is to make sure NTP is set, the code you are using supports the ap model and place your ap's on the same subnet as your management/ap manager interface.  Looking at the console from the AP, can also show you what is wrong.  Might want to also see if the cert is expired.

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/field-notices/639/fn63942.html

[Scott Fella]

Might want to review this also:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/wireless/5500-series-wireless-controllers/119286-lap-notjoin-wlc-tshoot.html