Table Of Contents

FAQs and Troubleshooting

Conversion FAQs

Conversion Troubleshooting

FAQs and Troubleshooting

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This chapter consists of the following sections:

•Conversion FAQs

•Conversion Troubleshooting

For additional FAQ and troubleshooting information on firmware jobs, see the Firmware chapter in the FAQ and Troubleshooting Guide for the CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solution Engine, Release 2.7. You can access this guide by clicking Troubleshooting in the WLSE online help or on Cisco.com at
http://cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/doc/product/rtrmgmt/cwparent/cw_1105/wlse/2_11.

Conversion FAQs

FAQ Summary

•What are the supported non-IOS (VxWorks) versions for converting APs to IOS APs?

•Are there other requirements for the non-IOS access points to be converted?

•What tasks will the conversion job perform?

•Why does the conversion take so much time?

•Why is the remote server option not supported for non-IOS to IOS conversion?

•Why is it recommended to upgrade only up to 10 devices at a time?

•Why do I need to provide a separate non-IOS template in the Options page?

•How do I increase the SNMP timeout?

•In the Options screen, why am I not seeing the "Provide IOS Parameters" link?

•When should I increase the advanced firmware parameters (Firmware > Advanced Parameters)?

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Q. What are the supported non-IOS (VxWorks) versions for converting APs to IOS APs?

A. See Table 1-1.

Q. Are there other requirements for the non-IOS access points to be converted?

A. See Task 1. Satisfy the Prerequisites.

Q. What tasks will the conversion job perform?

a. Download the .ini file from the non-IOS device.

b. Combine the security template with the downloaded .ini file.

c. Convert the non-IOS configuration to IOS configuration.

d. Encapsulate the IOS configuration with the upgrade image.

e. Disable the radios, set the event log message count to zero, and reboot.

f. After the device comes up, upload the special image.

g. After the image is uploaded, the device will reboot itself.

h. While rebooting, IOS will be installed.

i. Save the running configuration file to the startup configuration file.

Q. Why does the conversion take so much time?

A. Conversion is different from a normal firmware upgrade because the conversion image is larger. It takes time to create the image with the converted configuration, upload the image, install IOS, and reboot the AP twice. A 350 AP takes up to 25 minutes to convert, and a 1200 or 1220 AP takes up to 20 minutes to convert.

Q. Why is the remote server option not supported for non-IOS to IOS conversion?

A. The remote server option works well when the same image is applied to multiple APs. For conversion, the upgrade image is unique for each device because the image includes the device configuration file. Therefore, pushing the same image to each device cannot be done during conversions.

Q. Why is it recommended to upgrade only up to 10 devices at a time?

A. On slow band lengths, the conversion process is time consuming. The limit allows easier for monitoring and successful completion of the job.

Q. Why do I need to provide a separate non-IOS template in the Options page?

A. The configured security parameters in the AP cannot be retrieved because they have write-only permissions. Therefore, such parameters must be re-entered by applying a template to make sure the access point is configured correctly after the conversion.

Q. How do I increase the SNMP timeout?

A. See Adjusting the Timing Parameters.

Q. In the Options screen, why am I not seeing the "Provide IOS Parameters" link?

A. This link will be shown only if you chose a special non-IOS to IOS upgrade image. The upgrade image names for 350 or 1200 series access points are listed in Table 1-1.

Q. When should I increase the advanced firmware parameters (Firmware > Advanced Parameters)?

A. See Adjusting the Timing Parameters.

Conversion Troubleshooting

Symptom Summary

•Some of the configuration parameters in the non-IOS AP are not being converted.

•The conversion job is failing with an SNMP timeout error.

•My AP is unreachable after conversion, even though I had no problems during conversion.

•The message ERROR: Ethernet port is not configured as primary port is in the conversion job log.

•After conversion from VxWorks to IOS when hot standby features are being used, the standby AP does not properly associate with the active unit. The standby unit incorrectly tries to take on an active role, even though the active unit is fully functional.

•I cannot log in to a converted access point.

•IOS commands are failing.

•The message Policy_policy_fallback_policy was created using CLI. It must be deleted via CLI to ensure proper operation of the web interface is produced by IOS software in the migrated configuration. This message is displayed under the Policy tab.

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Symptom    Some of the configuration parameters in the non-IOS AP are not being converted.

Possible Cause    There are certain limitations to the conversion process.

Recommended Action    Please check Limitations of the Conversion Process.

Symptom    The conversion job is failing with an SNMP timeout error.

Possible Cause    Lack of memory or timeout values are too small.

Recommended Action    Check the firmware job log.

–If the conversion gets as far as "Waiting for IOS Install" in the job log and then fails, it could be because there is not enough memory. After the time out for the IOS install elapses, the job fails with an SNMP timeout error.

To check the available free memory on the AP, issue the CLI command :vxdiag_memshow on the non-IOS AP.

–Otherwise, try increasing the SNMP timeout.

To increase the SNMP timeout, see Adjusting the Timing Parameters. Then rerun the job.

Symptom    My AP is unreachable after conversion, even though I had no problems during conversion.

Possible Cause    There are many possible causes.

Recommended Action    Try the standard troubleshooting steps, such as:

–Purging the device

–Doing an SNMP ping from the WLSE

–Examining the console output

–Rebooting the device

–Checking the power connections and cabling

If these steps do not solve the problem please contact the TAC with the following information:

–Non-IOS configuration of the access point before conversion

–IOS configuration of the access point after conversion

–Non-IOS conversion template

–Job run log—Display the job run detail for the firmware job, then click Job Run Log to display the output

Symptom    The message ERROR: Ethernet port is not configured as primary port is in the conversion job log.

Possible Cause    The AP was configured to have one of the radio interfaces as the primary port.

Recommended Action    Set Ethernet as the primary port. Otherwise the AP might have a different MAC address after conversion. If DHCP is enabled, the AP might have a different IP address, and the WLSE will not be able to contact the device.

Symptom    After conversion from VxWorks to IOS when hot standby features are being used, the standby AP does not properly associate with the active unit. The standby unit incorrectly tries to take on an active role, even though the active unit is fully functional.

Possible Cause    This condition occurs when the active unit is configured before conversion so that the Ethernet and radio interfaces are both using the same MAC and IP addresses.

Recommended Action    To ensure that hot standby functionality works correctly after conversion, do one of the following:

–Before converting (recommended), ensure that the active unit running VxWorks is configured so that the radio and Ethernet interfaces each have their own unique IP and MAC addresses. Under Setup > AP Radio > Identification, the primary should be set so the radio interface does not adopt primary port identity. Be sure that the standby unit is monitoring the MAC address of the radio interface of the primary.

This option is recommended because it ensures continuous availability of a backup access point during the conversion process. The conversion job should be sequenced so that the standby AP is fully converted and operational before conversion is started on the active unit. Then, when the active unit resets during conversion, the standby can take over its functions.

–After converting, configure the standby unit so it is monitoring the MAC address of the radio interface on the active unit.

Note that in the case when an active unit that has failed is restored to service, the AP that was taking its place should be reset to force it back into a standby role, and any clients that it was serving should be forced to reassociate with the newly restored active AP.

Symptom    I cannot log in to a converted access point.

Possible Cause    The proper security information was not entered in the conversion template.

Recommended Action   

–If User Manager is enabled on the AP and you do not enter the following security information in the conversion template (under Configure > Template > NonIOS Template> SECURITY > Local Admin Access): User Identifier, User Name, User Password, Confirm User Password and Capabilities, you might not be able to log in to the converted AP through Telnet, the console port, or the browser. If this occurs, you must reset the AP to its defaults. For more information about resetting the AP to its default configuration, see the access point documentation.

–If User Manager is disabled, authentication is not required but you can use only the console port to log in to the upgraded access point.

Symptom    The message Policy_policy_fallback_policy was created using CLI. It must be deleted via CLI to ensure proper operation of the web interface is produced by IOS software in the migrated configuration. This message is displayed under the Policy tab.

Possible Cause    The configured setting for DSCP is not a specific value (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 21, 22, 23, 31, 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43).

Recommended Action    Even though this error message is displayed, the migrated configuration and its associated functionality are correct.

Symptom    IOS commands are failing.

Possible Cause    For some VxWorks parameter settings, if the values are set outside the ranges listed in the following table, the IOS command will fail.

Command	IOS Range
Maximum RTS Retries and Maximum Date Retries	1 to 128
Data Beacon Rate	1 to 100
Beacon Period	20 to 4000
WEP Key Rotation Interval	1 to 10
BTIM	1 to 100

Recommended Action    If the IOS command fails, you must manually enter the command or apply a configuration template after the conversion.