Controllerless Networks

I am trying to set up a unified WiFi infra with a set of 3 Aruba IAPs as shown in Fig. 1 with "WPA2 Personal" (local passphrase authentication)

Fig. 1

I have gone through the following steps:

1. Factory reset the IAP-325 that I want to be the "preferred controller" 
2. Logged into the IAP-325 device and set the access point to be the "preferred master controller"
3. I did a factory reset of another IAP-325 (#2) and installed it on the same physical LAN segment.
4. On the "Access Points" page of the preferred master controller, I was expecting AP #2 to show up (Fig. 2).  But it does not. 
5. Also, the "+" button is greyed so I cannot add the AP #2 manually.

I have been referring to the 8.7 online docs

Fig. 2

What am I missing? 

Thanks for your guidance _()_

Does AP 2 come up as a separate VC or just failing once the existing VC has been found?  Does the cable modem provide a true switch functionality and allow full L2 transparency between the APs?  Are the APs all actual IAP models and not a mix of IAP and AP (Campus AP)?

I am trying to set up a unified WiFi infra with a set of 3 Aruba IAPs as shown in Fig. 1 with "WPA2 Personal" (local passphrase authentication)

Fig. 1

I have gone through the following steps:

1. Factory reset the IAP-325 that I want to be the "preferred controller" 
2. Logged into the IAP-325 device and set the access point to be the "preferred master controller"
3. I did a factory reset of another IAP-325 (#2) and installed it on the same physical LAN segment.
4. On the "Access Points" page of the preferred master controller, I was expecting AP #2 to show up (Fig. 2).  But it does not. 
5. Also, the "+" button is greyed so I cannot add the AP #2 manually.

I have been referring to the 8.7 online docs

Fig. 2

What am I missing? 

Thanks for your guidance _()_

Mea culpa -- the original diagram did not include the PoE switch powering the IAP-325s.  Here is an update.

Does AP 2 come up as a separate VC or just failing once the existing VC has been found? 

From what I recall most times, it came up as a separate VC.  In other words, I could log in to it's dashboard and it showed itself as the VC.  However, l also noticed that it would redirect the https://<2nd_AP:4343> to the "preferred" VC's dashboard.

Does the cable modem provide a true switch functionality and allow full L2 transparency between the APs? 

The PoE switch has a "VLAN/Normal" toggle switch.  It was set to VLAN mode, meaning each PoE port was in its own VLAN within the switch.  This turned out to be the root cause for the subsequent APs not joining the first "preferred" virtual controller.  After I set the toggle to "Normal" and rebooted the APs, they all showed up in the Web dashboard of the virtual controller (screenshot below). 

Although I understand why the other 2 APs did not join the preferred VC, I am curious why the "+" remains greyed out. 

Under what circumstances does it become enabled such that one can add an IAP?

Are the APs all actual IAP models and not a mix of IAP and AP (Campus AP)?

Yes, they are all IAP models.

Question -- is it possible to have different IAP models in one group e.g. IAP-325, IAP-225, IAP-215, and IAP-335, and show up as a single SSID within the SOHO? 

Thanks

Does AP 2 come up as a separate VC or just failing once the existing VC has been found?  Does the cable modem provide a true switch functionality and allow full L2 transparency between the APs?  Are the APs all actual IAP models and not a mix of IAP and AP (Campus AP)?

I am trying to set up a unified WiFi infra with a set of 3 Aruba IAPs as shown in Fig. 1 with "WPA2 Personal" (local passphrase authentication)

Fig. 1

I have gone through the following steps:

1. Factory reset the IAP-325 that I want to be the "preferred controller" 
2. Logged into the IAP-325 device and set the access point to be the "preferred master controller"
3. I did a factory reset of another IAP-325 (#2) and installed it on the same physical LAN segment.
4. On the "Access Points" page of the preferred master controller, I was expecting AP #2 to show up (Fig. 2).  But it does not. 
5. Also, the "+" button is greyed so I cannot add the AP #2 manually.

I have been referring to the 8.7 online docs

Fig. 2

What am I missing? 

Thanks for your guidance _()_