Wireless Access

Hello everybody!

My company recently acquired an Aruba 620 controller and an Aruba AP105 access point for testing.

We are in an office that has its own “bigger” network infrastructure which we don't manage: We connect our computers to an Ethernet outlet (or to a Wifi access point), we get an IP through DHCP and we get internet connection.

Playing with the controller I've been able to do two different things:

1. Having the controller disconnected from the main building network, I could create a Wireless network (let's say its name is ArubaTest) where wireless devices (my laptop, mainly) could connect to but (obviously) those devices won't have access to the internet. In that scenario, the controller resides on the private ip 172.16.0.254 and all the devices connected to it receive an address in the 172.16.0.0/12 range.

2. If I plug an Ethernet cable with internet connection our main's building network into the controller, I can make the controller behave as a switch. In that case, the controller gets an IP through DHCP from our main's building network (something in the 10.0.0.0/8 range) and all the devices connected to it get an IP on that range as well. The downside of this is that (since the controller is getting its IP through DHCP) I don't know how to reach it in this scenario.

    

Now the question:

Can I combine 1 and 2? I'd like to setup a WiFi network (ssid ArubaTest would work) so all the computers connected to that network get an IP in the 172.16.0.0/12 range, but with a network cable plugged into the controller so those devices could get an output to the internet? I tried plugging one of our building's network cables into the Uplink port of the controller, but it looks like I have to do something else, because when I do that, the AP never creates a WiFi link (the b/g/n and the a/n leds the AP has keep blinking and I lose the ArubaTest network)

It looks like something that has to be definetely doable, but I haven't been able to find any manual or howto do that. Any help, link or tip will be appreciated.  

Thank you in advance.

You can try doing the following :

- Create an SVI/VLAN for the ISP and assigned an IP address in the 10.0.0.0/8 range ( is it possible for you to get a predictable IP address in this range)

(controller) (config) #vlan 10

(controller) (config) #interface vlan 10

(controller) (config) # ip address 10.x.x.x 255.0.0.0

- Create an SVI/VLAN for the wireless users and assigned an IP address in the 172.16.0.0/12

(controller) (config) #vlan 11

(controller) (config) #interface vlan 11

(controller) (config) # ip address 172.16.x.x 255.240.0.0

- Apply an static route with 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 through the address that you assigned the controller on 10.0.0.0/8.

the default route should point to the what is the default gateway for that 10.x subnet.

For the wireless users subnet, make the controller to be the default gateway and then 'ip nat inside' on the vlan.

Should work fine then.

Hi Michael,

I tried this solution, but as soon as I plug an Ethernet cable from the 10.x. subnet into the Uplink port, the AP goes "cu-cu" and doesn't provide any wireless network. Its LEDs keep blinking, as if it was trying to, but it never finishes (so I don't have any wifi ssid I can connect to). Thank you for your reply

You need to change the IP settings for the VLAN that connects to the WAN connection to be DHCP.  

Dang! I thought I had it that way... but I had forgotten to hit "Save" :smileyembarrassed:

It's working now! I still need to deal with the DNS, but maybe that's worth opening another thread. Anyway, it's much better than before! Thank you everybody