Wireless Access

Getting ready to configure two 7210's.  Need to understand the failover setup on these.  I will be most likely running 6.4.4.8 code. 

My understanding is that with Aruba there is a concept of:

 Standalone: This is the only controller on the network.
 Master: This controller will manage other controllers on the network.
 Local: This controller will be managed by a master controller.
 Branch: This controller will be a branch controller on

So if I want to configure redundancy I can do two Masters and create a cluster or I can do Master and  Backup Master.  However the user guide does not really tell me how to configure the WLC redundancy.  Is there any documentation or video/guide lines available?

In Active/Standby configuration if failover happens do the AP's and clients lose connectivity or does the standby controller maintains the session table?

I did find this link but again doesn't really explain how to setup redundancy.

http://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/ArubaOS_6.4.4.x_WebHelp/Web_Help_Index.htm#ArubaFrameStyles/VRRP/HighAvOverView.htm%3FTocPath%3DVirtual%2520Router%2520Redundancy%2520Protocol%2520(VRRP)%7C_____1

Thank you.

Start by reading here:

https://community.arubanetworks.com/aruba/attachments/aruba/unified-wired-wireless-access/13066/1/Redundancy_Design_Guide.pdf

The above PDF will assist you to understand what you need to config.

Thank you for the design guide so after reading that I'm thinking two possible scenarios.

1) I can make one controller Master and second one Local

2) I can have both setup as Master and Master Backup

If I go with option 2 will I need to get licenses for both controllers or just one and they will be shared between the two?

Option 1 I am guessing requires separate licenses on both

Also is the failover seamless or clients/AP's lose connectivity?

You may share licsnese in both options:

http://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/ArubaOS_63_Web_Help/Content/ArubaFrameStyles/New_Licenses/Multi__Network.htm

regarding fast fail-over , read a bit about HA:

http://community.arubanetworks.com/t5/Wireless-Access/HA-fast-failover-configuration-giude/td-p/233085

please read the following :
https://arubanetworkskb.secure.force.com/pkb/articles/FAQ/What-is-AP-fast-failover-In-which-mode-is-it-supported
https://arubanetworkskb.secure.force.com/pkb/articles/HowTo/How-to-configure-AP-Fast-Failover
https://arubanetworkskb.secure.force.com/pkb/articles/FAQ/What-is-High-Availability-Fast-Failover-feature-on-6-3-code

So basically there is no seamless way to move AP's and clients over even with the fast fail over it will be rapid but AP's will deauth clients, move to the standby and clients will need to re auth.

What about VRRP if I am using that AP's will still need to reboot?

Any reason I would want to use Loopback IP's as peer IP's vs just the interface IP?

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@mali77 wrote:

So basically there is no seamless way to move AP's and clients over even with the fast fail over it will be rapid but AP's will deauth clients, move to the standby and clients will need to re auth.

 

What about VRRP if I am using that AP's will still need to reboot?

 

Any reason I would want to use Loopback IP's as peer IP's vs just the interface IP?

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We have seen APs move over in less than 5 seconds.  Clients fail over as fast as they can recover from a deauth, so it is client-specific.  Having a VRRP does not improve failover times, and APs do not reboot in any failover scenarios.  What failover times are necessary for you?

I was hoping to do it without any AP/Client disconnects and a seamless process for the clients as well as the AP's. 

Is there any new code coming up that will support this feature?

Also with VRRP I have seen a setup using Loopback IP's as peer IP's is that a best practice?

When you say "hoping" what is your experience with other wifi failover systems before this?

I was thinking somethin along the lines of Cisco SSO.  Where already authenticated clients do not have to re associate and backup WLC has a copy of their state.

The HA Fast failover mechanism does have Client State Synchronization:  Details are here:  http://www.arubanetworks.com/techdocs/ArubaOS_6.4.4.x_WebHelp/Web_Help_Index.htm#ArubaFrameStyles/VRRP/HighAvFastFailover.htm?Highlight=state sync

How to configure fast failover is here:  http://community.arubanetworks.com/t5/Controller-Based-WLANs/How-does-high-availability-fast-failover-feature-work-and-how-to/ta-p/177468

Thank you I found the client sync, however looks like it is recommended to use the VRRP design if I am doing Master redundancy i.e; two masters.

There are quite a few options.  A common deployment is with a master/backup master, but the access points connect to and are backed up by locals connected to those masters.  You would be able to do state sync between those.  

AP fast failover was introduced back in ArubaOS 6.3 where access points would be capable of failing over to a second controller in 5 seconds or less and clients very soon after.  In practice, this means that the network would recover before most people would be able to make a phone call about it, even without state sync.