Extending same SSID to remote location .. is it possible ?

[Fernando_Meza]

Hi Netpros,

I have SSID ABC at head office where the WLC is installed. I need to install an AP on a remote location which can be managed from the WLC at head office. The remote location needs to associate to same SSID ABC so that if user from head office goes to remote site .. his wireless configuration would also work. I thought that H-REAP will be the way to implement this .. however the documentation I have been reading seems to indicate you need to create a diferent SSID to do local switching at the remote site ..? so my question is .. is it possible to provide access to remote location using the same SSID as is being used at head office and using an AP which is centrally managed from the head office ..?

Your help is much appreciated.

[Leo Laohoo]

Hi Fernando,

On WLANs > Edit > Advanced, just tick "H-REAP Local Switching".

Then on the AP, just choose "H-REAP" mode.

I recommend configuring the AP BEFORE deploying at the site.

By the way, what AP are you using? LAP1230 doesn't support H-REAP.

Hope this helps.

[Fernando_Meza]

Hi Leo,

But how would the clients at remote office get its IP address ..? At head office the client connects (802.1x PEAP authentication) gets an IP address by local DHCP server in the x.x.x.0 range (WLC virtual interface does the DHCP relay).

At the remote site do I need to configure another DHCP scope ? or would the client get its IP address by the LWAPP tunnel between the H-REAP an the WLC from the DHCP server located at head office and receive an IP on the same x.x.x.0 range as the clients based at head office ..?

I am about to do some tests and hope these questions will be answered then

[Scott Fella]

With H-REAP, you can either have all traffic dumped locally onto that remote site network or you can have it tunnel back to the wlc. Local switching enabled allows you to specify that all traffic will be placed onto that network once it exits the ap's ethernet interface, just like an autonomous ap would. So if your bandwidth between the site where the wlc is and the remote site isn't enough to run the ap's in local mode like you would have in your building where the wlc is, then you would configure the ap's for h-reap local switching. This means a dhcp will have to be at the remote site to give ip addressess to the devices on the wireless. Now with 802.1x, if you loose your WAN, thne no new users will get authenticated to your wireless, since authentication has to come back to the wlc. Either way you have it, h-reap or local, if your WAN goes down, no new authentication.