Wireless Access

I am looking to setup a small lab environment to get up to speed on Aruba wireless, I am familiar with Cisco, Juniper (Trapeze), Meraki, Avaya and Extricom but have not yet touched Aruba.

I am looking at buying a 620-4US controller from eBay and a AP-93 or AP-105, my questions are:

 

1.)  Will I have regulatory domain compatibility issues with a US controller and APs from another region (ETSI),  I am hoping I can just set the domain to "US" on the AP?

2.)  Am I likely to have license issues, I have asked if the 620 still has SW and licenses installed

3.)  Is this a good enough equipment list for current Aruba OS (checked the EOL and no last supported software is listed so assume latest is supported

4.)  Is it easy enough to get an eval of Airwave and ClearPass for VMWare for the full Aruba experience

5.)  Anything else I should consider?

 

Many thanks

1) You need to make sure the controller regulatory domain (US if you are in the US) matches the regulatory domain of the AP....ONLY if it is an IAP model.   If it is a campus AP model (AP vs. IAP in model number), you do not need to worry.

2) You'll need to find out if it has licenses.  If it is a true 620-4; then it should have 4 AP licenses built-in, but it may lack PEFNG or RFP licenses.

3) It will run the latest code yes.  It should suit your testing needs in the short term, but if you are investing in something that you can work with for future code, I'd suggest looking at something else.  Although last code support has not been annouced, it is an older controller that is having difficulty keeping up with new image sizes and features. For example, the 600 series already loses some functionality in 6.4 (see the release notes for details).

4) EVALs can be obtained from your local Aruba team

 

Thanks clembo!

If it is just the controller with no licenses (though as it has come out of a working environment I am hoping it is licensed) I take it I can just order a LIC-1-AP from an authorised reseller to get me up and running?

 

You can order whatever you need, however to get support/software images, etc. you would need support on the 620.

 

 

I am hoping I can get AOS updates through the existing support contract my company has in place, not too bothered about support on the hardware as it is just for lab use.

1) The controller is tied to a regulatory domain. The APs should be fine.

2) Potentially. The -4 variant should have 4 AP licenses, but that does
not include PEFNG or RFP

3) Those controllers are dated and have a limited featureset. You may not
be able to run the next major release of code.

4) You would need to contact your Aruba account rep