What is the minimal equipment needed to use 8 ap1242ag-a-k9s with Fios router

[Joyfuljoe]

Hello all, idiot time here. I recently aquired 8 ap1242ag-a-k9 APs. I want to donate them to use at a Church and would like to know the minimal equipment i would need to connect these to a FIOS DHCP router. I know a controller is needed, but which Am I looking for? 

Thanks for any Help 

[Francesco Molino]

Hi

You can get a wlc 2504 for physical appliance or you can get a virtual appliance (vwlc).

You can also configure then as standalone but it's gonna be a pain to do so for 8 APs.

[Joyfuljoe]

So this will go between FIOS  DHCP router and  a Poe switch to run 8 APs?

[Francesco Molino]

Yes. I mean, all APs will be managed by the controller and the wlc will relay dhcp requests to your dhcp server.

All user traffic will be encapsulated straight to the wlc and will go out to your wired network from the wlc.

[patoberli]

It's not really a pain with just 8 AP, simply because you can copy paste the configuration. Simply adjust the IP for every AP and the channel before configuring it.
On 2.4 GHz use only channels 1, 6 and 11.

[Leo Laohoo]

You need a power injector to power up the AP.
A WLC is not required (nice to have) because the AP can work as autonomous (autonomous IOS required).

[Joyfuljoe]

We would be happy to use a WLC and a Poe switch if that works. Or is there an 8 port WLC? 

[patoberli]

There might be such a WLC, but it would be one of the big models, completely the wrong for your setup.

Best would be to get an old 2504 or 4404 with 10 or more AP licenses and a manageable PoE switch, which offers 802.3af or for future proofing 802.3.at.

Positive about the WLC would be the centralized management. Downside, if it's dead your wifi is dead too.

[Joyfuljoe]

Thank you all for so much help. In what way would the switch need to be managed. From what I've read, the APS  can be set to DHCP. What am I missing?

[patoberli]

It depends on the way you are going to deploy the APs, Flexconnect or Local mode. In the case of Flexconnect (at least in one variant of it) the user VLANs terminate directly on the switch port, that means you require at least 2 VLANs on the port, which is only possible with managed switches. In the case of Local mode, all APs must be in the ap-manager VLAN, in that case it should work without a managed switch. I've never done this though.

You find some more information here: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/wireless/controller/7-2/configuration/guide/cg/cg_flexconnect.html

[patoberli]

One more thing. It was already mentioned, but to add some more text, a Cisco AP has two operation modes, Autonomous and Lightweight. As the name implies, autonomous APs work without a WLC, whereas the lightweight ones require a WLC to operate.
This mode cannot simply be switched with a single command, sadly, it requires you to actually migrate the image with a TFTP server and a computer.
You will find a manual here: https://learningnetwork.cisco.com/thread/14405 (from lightweight to autonomous) and you can find many more manuals on how to do it the other way around.
If you're new with Cisco APs, the way to determine in which mode (which image) your AP has loaded, attach a computer to the console port and power it up. If it's in lightweight mode it will start to search for a LWAPP or CAPWAP connection after the boot process and continuously retry this, until a WLC is found.
If it's in autonomous mode it will simply stay in the normal CLI input and not log the above messages.
You can also see it in the image name, they differ by a letter or two, but I currently can't remember which one (you find it quickly if you look in the download portal at the file names).

[Joyfuljoe]

RIGHT ON.  I consoled in and saw the capwap and llwap errors. I think you have what I need. I'd I can config them for autonomous mode I can put in a simple Poe switch.

[patoberli]

Correct yes. You also require the autonomous image, here (requires contract...): https://software.cisco.com/download/release.html?mdfid=280237322&flowid=7588&softwareid=284180979&release=12.4.25d-JA2&relind=AVAILABLE&rellifecycle=ED&reltype=latest



And a TFTP server where you offer the file on (could be your own laptop with a crossed Ethernet cable to the AP and a power supply).

[Joyfuljoe]

Unfortunately I can no longer buy a contract for this device, and Cisco doesn't seem to have a way to sell me the file.

[patoberli]

Simply google the filename, you will probably find a place to download this (old) file.

Compare the md5 checksum before applying it. The correct sum is: 5527010919beca42b316f68fd8c03f81