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The Management Access Interface is the default interface for in-band management of the controller and connectivity to enterprise services. It is also used for communication between the controller and access points (APs). The management interface has the only consistently pingable in-band interface IP address on the controller. You can access the web interface of the controller by entering the management interface IP address of the controller in your browser's address bar.
For APs, the controller requires one management interface to control all inter-controller communications and one AP manager interface to control all controller-to-access point communications, regardless of the number of ports.
To enable or disable the different types of management access to the controller:
You can manage the Cisco Mobility Express network through the Cisco Mobility Express controller GUI based on the privileges assigned to your user account. This prevents unauthorized users from accessing or configuring the controller.
You can log in to the Cisco Mobility Express GUI using an admin account having one of the following access types:
Step 1 | Choose
. The total count of admin accounts on the Cisco Mobility Express controller is displayed at the top of this window while the table provides a detailed listing of all the available admin accounts. The Admin Accounts window is displayed. |
Step 2 | Click Add New User to add a new admin user. A new editable row entry appears in the table. |
Step 3 | Set the following parameters as required:
|
Step 4 | Click Apply to save your changes. |
Step 1 | Choose
.
The Admin Accounts page is displayed, along with the list of all the admin accounts present on the Cisco Mobility Express controller. The total count of admin accounts on the controller is displayed at the top of the page. |
Step 2 | Click the Edit icon adjacent to the account you want to edit. |
Step 3 | Modify the admin account parameters, as required. For descriptions of these parameters, see Adding an Admin Account. |
Step 4 | Click Apply. |
Step 1 | Choose
.
The Admin Accounts window is displayed, along with the list of all the admin accounts present on the Cisco Mobility Express controller. The total count of admin accounts on the controller is displayed at the top of the page. |
Step 2 | Click the Delete icon adjacent to the account you want to delete. |
Step 3 | Click Ok in the confirmation dialog box. |
The date and time on the Cisco Mobility Express controller is first set when running the initial configuration setup wizard of the controller. You can either enter the date and time manually or you can specify a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server that sets the time and date.
You can have up to three Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers, to which the controller can automatically sync to set the date and time.
You can specify the IPv4 address or the FQDN name of an NTP server during the initial configuration wizard. This will be applied to the server having NTP Index 1, thereby overwriting its default FQDN, 0.ciscome.pool.ntp.org .
For adding and editing NTP server details, go to Management > Time. This opens the Time Settings page.
You can have up to three Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers, using which the controller can automatically set the date and time.
Step 1 | Choose
.
The Time Settings window is displayed, with the set time zone shown at the top of the page. The current date and time are displayed in the Set Time Manually field. Existing NTP servers, if any, are listed in the order of their NTP Index values. |
Step 2 | In the NTP Polling Interval field, specify the polling interval, in seconds. |
Step 3 | To edit an existing NTP server, click its adjacent Edit icon. To add a new NTP server, click Add NTP Server. |
Step 4 | You can add or
edit the following values for an NTP server:
|
Step 5 | Click Apply. |
To delete an NTP server, choose Management > Time. In the Time Settings page that is displayed, click the Delete icon adjacent the NTP server you want to delete. Click OK in the confirmation dialog, and then click Apply.
To disable setting the date and time using NTP servers, you will need to delete all configured NTP servers by following the above process.
Step 1 | Choose
.
| ||
Step 2 | From the NTP State drop-down list, choose Disable. | ||
Step 3 | From the
Time
Zone drop-down list, choose your local time zone.
When you choose a time zone that uses Daylight Saving Time (DST), the controller automatically sets its system clock to reflect the time change when DST occurs. In the U.S., DST starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. | ||
Step 4 | Select the Set Time Automatically from Current Location check box to set the time based on the time zone specified. | ||
Step 5 | In the Set Time Manually field: | ||
Step 6 | Click Apply. |
You can update the Cisco Mobility Express controller software using the controller's web interface. This will prevent the current configurations on the Cisco Mobility Express controller from being deleted.
A software update ensures that both the internal controller software and the AP software on all the associated APs are updated. APs that have older Cisco Mobility Express AP software, on joining the master AP after the software upgrade are automatically upgraded to the latest Cisco Mobility Express AP software. This is because, during the software update process, the latest Cisco Mobility Express software for all Cisco Mobility Express-supported APs that are associated with the controller is also downloaded. An AP joining the controller compares its Cisco Mobility Express software version with that on the master AP and if a mismatch is detected, the new AP requests for a software upgrade. The master AP facilitates the transfer of the new software from the TFTP server or the HTTP path, to the new AP.
Downloading a newer version of the Cisco Mobility Express software image from the TFTP server to the Cisco Mobility Express network that has to be upgraded can take around 5 minutes per AP. The software download happens in the background, without impacting the network. The upgrades are automatically sequenced to ensure that the network performance is not impacted by software update.
![]() Note | The software of up to five access points can be concurrently updated. |
Ensure that the TFTP server supports extended TFTP for file sizes greater than 32 MB. Some TFTP servers that support files of this size are tftpd32 and the TFTP server within the Cisco Prime Infrastructure.
If you attempt to download the controller software and your TFTP server does not support files of this size, the following error message appears:
TFTP failure while storing in flash.
If you are upgrading through the distribution system network port, the TFTP server can be on the same subnet or a different subnet because the distribution system port is routable.
![]() Note | Ensure that the TFTP server always has the same Cisco Mobility Express software bundle as that on the Cisco Mobility Express controller, or the latest software bundle. |
Decide whether you are using TFTP or HTTP for the software update.
If your network consists of only 1850, 1830, or both models of access points (which support ap1g4 images), then you can perform the update via TFTP or HTTP. If you have other supported AP models in your network, then you can use only TFTP for the update.
If you are using a TFTP server for the software update, then the TFTP server should be configured and accessible. See Guidelines for Preparing a TFTP Server.
A computer that can access Cisco.com and the TFTP server should be available.
Step 1 | Get the
controller software image by following these steps:
|
Step 2 | From the Cisco
Mobility Express controller web interface, choose
Management >
Software Update.
The Software Update window, with the current software version number, is displayed. |
Step 3 | In the Transfer Mode drop-down list, choose TFTP or HTTP as required. |
Step 4 | If you have chosen TFTP as the transfer mode then: |
Step 5 | If you have chosen HTTP as the transfer mode, then click the Browse button adjacent the File Path field, and then browse to and choose the software file. The file name of the software file appears in the File Path field |
Step 6 | Click
Apply to save the parameters that you have
specified.
These parameters will remain saved unless you specifically change them in future. You do not have to enter these parameters afresh for the next software update. |
Step 7 | You can perform
the update right away or schedule it for a later time.
For more information on the Preimage Download feature, see Predownloading an Image to an Access Point. |
Step 8 | Log in to the controller and verify the controller software version in the Software Update window. |