Safely move Cisco AIR-AP1832I-E-K9 AP from an old controller to a new.

[XYtras]

Hi, I have several AP's (AIR-AP1832I-E-K9) that I would like to safely and securely transfer from the old WLC controller to the new controller.

I can't make too much of "fuss" there because some part of AP's must remain on the old controller for some time.

I've tried entering the name and IP address of the new controller to a specific AP (through the view of old controller - tab High Availability), but after saving and restarting AP, the AP is still in the old controller.

How to make the AP (from the old controller) appear in the new controller?

I have access to this AP from the old WLC and SSH. The AP address is from DHCP.

I will add that there is quite a distance between me and AP so I cannot connect console cable and I wouldn't want to lose access to it, so I'm looking for a reliable and safe solution.

Command sets and step-by-step solutions would be a very, very welcome

Thank you very much for any help.

[marce1000]

 -  If you use  DHCP option 43 to let APs find a controller , then change that accordingly for the APs that you want to move (you need to reboot the involved APs afterwards)

 M.

[Leo Laohoo]

If the old controller is AirOS, then the command is:  

config ap primary-base WLC_NAME AP_NAME WLC_IP_ADDRESS

To use the same command on an AP: 

clear capwap ap controller ip address
capwap ap primary-base WLC_NAME WLC_IP_ADDRESS

[Scott Fella]

Something to check. You can make the change on the high availability just like you did, but if the ap doesn't join the other controller, it might be that the code you are running on the other controller doesn't support your ap model.  We are also assuming that you have ap's currently joined to the other controller, if not, then that troubleshooting becomes more of an effort.  

If you console into the ap, you should see if the ap tries to join the other controller and why its failing.

[Rich R]

What model is the old WLC?  What version of software is it running?
What model is the new WLC?  What version of software is it running?

[XYtras]

OLD:
Product Name..................................... Cisco Controller
Product Version.................................. 8.8.100.0
RTOS Version..................................... 8.8.100.0
Bootloader Version............................... 8.5.1.85

NEW:

Product Name..................................... Cisco Controller
Product Version.................................. 8.10.171.0
RTOS Version..................................... 8.10.171.0
Bootloader Version............................... 8.5.1.85

AP models to move: AIR-AP1832I-E-K9, AIR-AP1852E-E-K9, AIR-AP1542I-E-K9

[Rich R]

Cisco Controller is the generic text from show sysinfo - it does not tell us the controller model.  "show inventory" would tell us the WLC model.
But from the code versions (both > 8.5) we can guess 3504/5520/8540.
All those APs should be supported on 8.10 code but you should be using 8.10.190.0 not 8.10.171.0 (always refer to TAC recommended - link below).

If you're using AP authorisation make sure the new WLC is configured (local or radius) to allow the APs to join.

You could create a new VLAN to migrate the APs to with option 43 pointing to the new WLC and ACL preventing access to the old WLC to ensure they can't default back to the old WLC.  Move the AP port to the new VLAN and reload the AP.  Hopefully it joins and downloads without any problem.  If it fails, collect the complete AP log showing any errors as well the the discover/join stats and logs from the WLC and we can try work out why it's failing from that.  It might be worth doing a factory default reset on the AP because that can often clear odd join problems.

>  I wouldn't want to lose access to it, so I'm looking for a reliable and safe solution.
That's why you get it working with 1 or 2 APs of each model first before migrating the rest.
The AP will retain it's existing config until it's able to join the new WLC.  If you ensure you have the same config and AP groups on the new WLC then it won't need to change even after joining the new WLC.  Obviously if you do factory default reset then it will lose all config and be back to out of the box defaults.

[XYtras]

Both WLC's, the old and the new one, are configured and have been working for a very long time. Some of the new AP's have been connected to the new WLC and working as wel as old AP's on old WLC.

Now I have to switch the working old APs from the old WLC to the new WLC. APs will be in the same locations.
I don't want to change  anything in the configuration of any WLC's
So all I need to do is to connect via ssh to the old AP and execute the command:
clear capwap ap controller ip address
And then on the same app execute:
capwap ap primary-base NEW_WLC_NAME NEW_WLC_IP_ADDRESS

And this will help and I won't lose contact with this AP?

[Rich R]

You've already tried that and it did not work:
"I've tried entering the name and IP address of the new controller to a specific AP (through the view of old controller - tab High Availability), but after saving and restarting AP, the AP is still in the old controller."
Whether you set the HA from the WLC or the AP CLI makes no difference - it's still the same setting so doing it on CLI instead of WLC will not change the result.
Did you read my previous reply?  You still haven't said what model of WLC you're using?

[XYtras]

Old: 

Burned-in MAC Address............................ 00:58:63:22:4D:05
Maximum number of APs supported.................. 3000
NAME: "Chassis" , DESCR: "Cisco Wireless Controller"
PID: AIR-CTVM-K9, VID: V01, SN: 9UGGQHCU11Y

New:

Burned-in MAC Address............................ 00:43:64:34:BD:39
Maximum number of APs supported.................. 3000
NAME: "Chassis" , DESCR: "Cisco Wireless Controller"
PID: AIR-CTVM-K9, VID: V01, SN: 9ADD43R3GVA

[Rich R]

There's a well known problem with WLC certificates when APs move between vWLCs.  You'll need to factory default the AP or follow the workarounds provided:
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/controller/8-4/config-guide/b_cg84/high_availability.html#vwlc-and-nplus1-ha
https://bst.cloudapps.cisco.com/bugsearch/bug/CSCuf38985
https://bst.cloudapps.cisco.com/bugsearch/bug/CSCva69352