Controllerless Networks

While I was experimenting with migrating an iAP to an 8.x controller, my counterpart was installing a new AP365 in one of our remote locations.

The AP365 came up and rather than noticing the iAP cluster adjacent to it on layer-2, it looked up aruba-master and tried to connect to my 8.x controller.

I have isolated the AP365 so it can't make DNS queries, but rather than fall back to local discovery it just keeps trying.

I have set DHCP options to tell it to be an InstantAP again and it continues to try the DNS query.

How can I (remotely) make it to go back to the cluster?

https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/ArubaOS_83_Web_Help/Web_Help_Index.htm#ArubaFrameStyles/1CommandList/ap_redeploy.htm?Highlight=redeploy

Reading into that, I'm assuming I'll have to get the AP365 back to talking to the 8.x instnace and convert it from there. 

I was really hoping for something I could do local to the AP (DHCP options or something) - short of having a tech pull it down and mail it back to me.

I'll put the aruba-master DNS entry back and get ithe AP online.

Thanks

Please read the AP Deployment Policy here for other options:  https://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/ArubaOS_83_Web_Help/Web_Help_Index.htm#ArubaFrameStyles/AP_Config/AP_Discovery_Logic.htm

I'm disappointed that the assumption is that if I have a controller then I must want all new access points to use it.

We have sites with iAP clusters and sites with controllers - it would be nifty if a new AP would look to the local site first before global checks.

I'd prefer:

1. Check DHCP option
2. Check iAP/ADP by local broadcast
3. Check aruba-master by DNS

You are definitely in the minority.  Very few users have Instant APs and controllers at the same site.  You do have tools in any event to keep them separated.  With UAPs, you also have tools to make them into whatever type of access point you want.

Not at the same site, but DNS is centralized so starting with the DNS lookup means that the UAP never notices the DHCP and iAP broadcasts in the local LAN with it.

We also noticed that an iAP converted to CAP looks the the controller specified in the conversion process, but checks aruba-master to download firmware.

When the AP converted it spoke to the 8.2.2.2 controller to get configuration and noticed that it needed new firmware so it went to aruba-master (which pointed at a 6.4.x.x controller and actually downgraded code before trying to re-attach to the 8.2.2.2 controller.

Needless to say it worked badly until we changed aruba-master to point to 8.2.2.2 (which also broke the 6.4.x.x environment) 

Is there anything else that you changed to accomodate your workflow?

Because it wasn't clear what was happening, or what the causes were we did a fair bit of scatter-shot debugging.

I'm pretty sure that dropping aruba-master from DNS is sufficient to keep the upsets from happening with iAP conversion and UAP new-installs.

That's fine for new gear, but will make our DR process fail for the 6.4.x controller sites.