AP Fallback to Controllers Configured Under AP Priming Profile

AP fallback to controllers using AP priming profile

An AP priming profile is a controller configuration that

  • defines primary, secondary, and tertiary controller assignments for APs

  • enables centralized assignment of controllers for groups of APs or individual devices, and

  • automates fallback and reconnection behavior when APs lose connection with their assigned controllers.

In large networks, configuring AP priming for primary, secondary, and tertiary controllers on each AP is difficult. Simplify AP priming by using the AP fallback to controllers using AP priming profile feature. Use profiles defined in the controller to assign controllers to APs.

To configure primary, secondary, and tertiary controllers, use the AP priming profile under the AP filter profile. Apply it to a group of APs matching regular expressions or to an individual AP by using its Ethernet MAC address. When the AP joins the controller, the controller sends the AP priming configuration to the AP if priming override is enabled.

Feature History

This table provides release and related information for the feature explained in this module.

Table 1. Feature History for AP Fallback to controllers using AP priming profile

Release

Feature

Feature Information

Cisco IOS XE Cupertino 17.9.2

AP Fallback to controllers using AP priming profile

This feature helps to configure primary, secondary, and tertiary controllers for a group of APs matching regular expression or for an individual AP using priming profiles.

AP controller selection and onboarding behavior

Review these points to choose the best AP controller and onboard APs effectively.

  • Ensure APs always reconnect to their primary controller as soon as it becomes available; APs automatically disassociate from backup controllers when the primary controller is online. The AP does not switch to secondary controllers even if they are available.

  • Configure primary, secondary, and tertiary controllers so that an AP connects to the tertiary controller only if both the primary and secondary controllers are unresponsive. If only the secondary controller recovers while the primary is still down, keep the AP connected to the tertiary controller until the primary is available. If the tertiary controller fails and the primary is still down, switch the AP to the available secondary controller.

  • Do not use the AP Onboarding VLAN for client onboarding, as it results in address overlap errors.

Restrictions for AP fallback to controllers using AP priming profile

  • You must create a filter to complete the AP priming process. Without a filter, the system cannot determine which APs to apply the priority to, and the priming operation will not proceed.

  • Rolling AP upgrade does not work if priming override is enabled.

  • The maximum number of priming profiles allowed is 128.

  • Each profile can be up to 32 ASCII characters long.

Configure AP priming profile (CLI)

Set up an AP priming profile to specify primary, secondary, and tertiary controllers for AP fallback.

Procedure

Step 1

Enter the global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal

Step 2

Configure the profile to prime APs.

Example:

Device(config)# wireless profile ap priming profile-name Prime-FX

Step 3

Configure the name and IP address of the primary controller for AP fallback.

Example:

Device(config-priming)# primary controller-name aaaa ip-address 209.165.201.2

Step 4

Configure name and IP address of the secondary controller for AP fallback.

Example:

Device(config-priming)# secondary controller-name bbbb ip-address 209.165.201.3

Step 5

Configure name and IP address of the tertiary controller for AP fallback.

Example:

Device(config-priming)# tertiary controller-name bbbb ip-address 209.165.201.4

Step 6

Send the priming details to the AP.

Example:

Device(config-priming)# priming-override

Priming override is disabled by default. If priming override is disabled, the AP does not receive the information stored in the AP priming profile.

Note

 

N+1 upgrade may not work as expected when priming override is enabled. Before using N+1 upgrade, ensure that priming override is disabled using the no priming-override command.

Configure AP priming using filters (CLI)

Configure AP priming filters and assign profiles using commands.

Procedure

Step 1

Enter the global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal

Step 2

Configure the AP filter and sets the type as priming.

Example:

Device(config)# ap filter name filter-name test-filter type priming

Set the filter type to priming. The default filter type is tag.

Note

 

To modify the filter type, delete the existing filter and create a new one with the desired type. Delete a filter by using the no ap filter name command.

Step 3

Configure the AP name regular expression match.

Example:

Device(config-ap-pr-filter)# ap name-regex reg-ex BGL18

Step 4

Map the priming profile to the filter.

Example:

Device(config-ap-pr-filter)# profile profile-name Prime-FX

Step 5

Return to the global configuration.

Example:

Device(config-ap-pr-filter)# exit

Step 6

Configure priority for a named AP filter.

Example:

Device(config)# ap filter priority priority 12 filter-name test-filter

Configure multiple AP priming profiles, each with a unique priority level. This allows you to set different priority levels for each AP priming profile.

Configure Per-AP priming (CLI)

Assign a priming profile to a specific AP using the commands.

Procedure

Step 1

Enter the global configuration mode.

Example:

Device# configure terminal

Step 2

Enter the AP profile configuration mode.

Example:

Device(config)# ap mac-address 00:00:5e:00:53:af

Step 3

Map a priming profile to an AP.

Example:

Device(config-ap-tag)# priming profile-name Prime-FX

Verify priming filter configuration

To view the list of all the priming filters, use the command:

Device# show ap filters all type priming

Filter Name                       regex                               Priming profile    
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FLR1                               *AP-FLOOR-1*                       AP-PRIMING-1           
FLR2                               *AP-FLOOR-2*                       AP-PRIMING-2

To view the list of all the active priming filters, use the command:

Device# show ap filters active type priming

Priority   Filter Name              regex                            Priming profile                                        
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 0          FLR2                    *AP-FLOOR-2*                     AP-PRIMING-2                                                                                                   
 1          FLR1                    *AP-FLOOR-1*                     AP-PRIMING-1

To view the summary of the priming profiles, use the command:

Device# show wireless profile ap priming summary

Number of AP Priming Profiles: 2
Priming profile
-------------------
AP-PRIMING-1
AP-PRIMING-2

To view the details of the priming profiles, use the command:

Device# show wireless profile ap priming all

Profile Name  Primary Controller Name  Primary Controller IP  Secondary Controller Name  Secondary Controller IP  Tertiary Controller Name  Tertiary Controller IP  Override
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AP-PRIMING-1  BGL18-wlc                209.165.201.1          BGL17-wlc                  209.165.201.2                                       0.0.0.0                Disabled
AP-PRIMING-2  BGL18-wlc                209.165.201.2          BGL17-wlc                  209.165.201.2            BGL12-wlc                  209.165.201.3          Disabled

To view the priming information for each AP, use the command:

Device# show ap name ap1 config general | sec Priming

Priming Profile                   : AP-PRIMING-1
Priming Override                  : Disabled
Priming Source                    : MAC/FILTER/NONE
Filter Name                       : FLR1