Wireless Access

I have a 6.x Master/Local (2 controllers, capacity model/active-active) setup today that I want to upgrade to 8.x. I will also add an Mobility Master. The two controllers will be in a cluster on the MM.

The plan in short is to

1. Deploy Mobility Master

2. Configure Mobility Master

3. Upgrade and "move" the local controller to the MM.

4. Deploy a few new 515 APs on the new 8.x enviroment. (do some tests)

6. Move the APs from the Master to MM.

7. Upgrade and "move" the master to the MM.

Today I have the Master/Local and AP's on the same vlan/subnet.

I use ADP for controller discovery.

Can I add the Mobility Master to the same vlan/subnet that I use today?Will I be able to do the migration process in a smooth and controlled fashion in the same vlan? Without the risk of AP's connecting to a MM/MD before everything is configured and ready?

For exampel if a AP reboot or a new AP is added to the network?

Or is the best plan to setup a new vlan/subnet where I place the MM and migrate APs/controllers to that network?

Just to clarify some stuff for you. The APs will not terminate to the MM. APs will need to be pointed to one of the controllers, or the Cluster VIP. For a cleaner cutover, I would keep the APs on the v6 environment on one of the controllers. Once one of the controllers is upgraded to v8 and is managed by the MM, then point an AP or a group of APs to the v8 controller for testing. Make sure that you have the v8 IP in LMS for the AP system profile to prevent it from bouncing back and forth via ADP.

Assuming you have the configuration configured and ready to go on the MM, follow a process like this:

1 Create Device Backups
2 Upgrade one of the v6 Controllers to v8
3 Add V8 Controller to MM and configure Local settings
4 Move over a select few v6 AP to the v8 MC
5 Verify WLAN Connectivity and Access
6 Decide to Backout, or move forward with the migration
7 Move over the remaining AP groups to v8 MC
8 Verify that the APs moved over
9 Reboot an AP and verify connectivity in the event of a power failure
10 Decide to Backout, or move forward with the migration
11 Upgrade remaining v6 controller to v8
12 Add V8 Controller to MM and configure Local settings and Cluster
13 Verify WLAN Connectivity and Access again, and perform some failover tests

I plan to move all the access points to one 6.x controller before upgrading. Then move one controller to 8.x and a few AP's after that to test and verify.

The concern I have is with how AP's will react during the migration process. Lets say if an access point connected to the 6.x environment reboots. Will it not search for a controller through ADP and then risk getting connected to the 8.x controller?

Something like this.

1. Move all APs to the master controller (6.x).

2. Upgrade and move the local from 6.x to 8.x

3. Now I have one controller in 6.x and one controller in 8.x

4. Lets say that one AP terminating on the master (6.x) now reboots.

5. Since ADP is running on both controllers now. Can the AP end up connecting to the 8.x controller?

If so can I do something about it? Or do I need to do the migration in a relativ short time frame? Reducing the risk of this happening?

You can turn off ADP on the 8.x controllers to prevent reboots on the 6.x infrastructure migrating to the 6.x infrastructure.  That way, only APs that you point will end up on the new infrastructure.

You could also make sure that your LMS and B-LMS settings in the AP system profiles on v6 point to the v8 controllers. This way even if an AP contacts the v6 controller during migration, they get pointed to the v8 controller no matter if it discovers v6 or v8 first.