Cisco Systems 102079P User Manual

GETTING STARTED GUIDE

Cisco Aironet 3502P Lightweight Access Point

1 About this Guide
2 Safety Instructions
3 Unpacking
4 Overview
5 Configuring the Access Point
6 Mounting the Access Point
7 Deploying the Access Point on the Wireless Network
8 Troubleshooting
9 Declarations of Conformity and Regulatory Information
10 Configuring DHCP Option 43 and DHCP Option 60
11 Access Point Specifications

1 About this Guide

This Guide provides instructions on how to install and configure your Cisco Aironet 3502P Access
Point. This guide also provides mounting instructions and limited troubleshooting procedures.

2 Safety Instructions

Translated versions of the following safety warnings are provided in the translated safety warnings
document that is shipped with your access point. The translated warnings are also in the Translated
Safety Warnings for Cisco Aironet Access Points, which is available on Cisco.com.

Warning

Warning

Warning

Warning

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

This warning symbol means danger. You are in a situation that could cause bodily injury.
Before you work on any equipment, be aware of the hazards involved with electrical
circuitry and be familiar with standard practices for preventing accidents. Use the
statement number provided at the end of each warning to locate its translation in the
translated safety warnings that accompanied this device.

SAVE THESE INSTRUCTIONS

Only trained and qualified personnel should be allowed to install, replace, or service this
equipment.

Statement 1030

In order to comply with radio frequency (RF) exposure limits, the antennas for this
product should be positioned no less than 6.56 ft (2 m) from your body or nearby persons.

Statement 339

Read the installation instructions before you connect the system to its power source.

Statement 1004

Statement 1071

Warning

2

This product must be connected to a Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) IEEE 802.3af compliant
power source or an IEC60950 compliant limited power source.

Statement 353

Warning

Warning

Warning

Caution The fasteners you use to mount an access point on a ceiling must be capable of

Caution This product and all interconnected equipment must be installed indoors within the same

Installation of the equipment must comply with local and national electrical codes.

Statement 1074

This product relies on the building’s installation for short-circuit (overcurrent)
protection. Ensure that the protective device is rated not greater than:
20A.

Statement 1005

Do not operate your wireless network device near unshielded blasting caps or in an
explosive environment unless the device has been modified to be especially qualified for
such use.

maintaining a minimum pullout force of 20 lbs (9 kg) and must use all 4 indented holes
on the mounting bracket.

building, including the associated LAN connections as defined by Environment A of the
IEEE 802.af Standard.

Statement 245B

Note The access point is suitable for use in environmental air space in accordance with section

300.22.C of the National Electrical Code and sections 2-128, 12-010(3), and 12-10 0 of the
Canadian Electrical Code, Part 1, C22.1. You should not install the power supply or power
injector in air handling spaces.

Note Use only with listed ITE equipment.

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3 Unpacking

Follow these steps:

Step 1 Unpack and remove the access point and the accessory kit from the shipping box.
Step 2 Return any packing material to the s hipping container an d save it for future use.
Step 3 Verify that you have received the items listed below . If any item is missing or damaged, contact

your Cisco representative or reseller for instructions.

–

3502P access point

–

Mounting bracket (selected when you ordered the access point)

–

Adjustable ceiling-rail clip (selected when you ordered the access point)

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207613

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3

1

6

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4 Overview

The following illustrations show the access point connections and features.

Figure 1 Access Point Ports and Connections (top)

2.4-GHz antenna connector B

1

(labelled with black text)

2.4-GHz antenna connector C

2

(labelled with black text)

2.4-GHz antenna connector A

3

(labelled with black text)

5-GHz antenna connector A

4

(labelled with blue text)
5-GHz antenna connector C

5

(labelled with blue text)
5-GHz antenna connector B

6

(labelled with blue text)

5

272377

2 3 4

1 5

6 6

Figure 2 Access Point Ports and Connections (bottom)

Kensington lock slot

1

Power connection

2

Ethernet port

3

6

Console port

4

Security padlock and hasp (padlock not

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included)
Mounting bracket pins (feet for desk or

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table-top mount)

5 Configuring the Access Point

This section describes how to connect the access point to a wireless LAN controller. Because the
configuration process takes place on the controller, see the Cisco Wireless LAN Controller
Configuration Guide for additional information. This guide is available on Cisco.com.

The Controller Discovery Process

The 3502P access point uses the IETF standard Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points
Protocol (CAPWAP) to communicate between the controller and other wireless access points on the
network. CAPW AP is a standard, interoperable protocol which enables an access controller to manage
a collection of wireless termination points. The discovery process using CAPWAP is identical to the
Lightweight Access Point Protocol (LWAPP) used with previous Cisco Aironet access points.
LWAPP-enabled access points are compatible with CAPWAP and conversion to a CAPWAP controller
is seamless. Deployments can combine CAPWAP and LWAPP software on the controllers.

The functionality provided by the controller does not change except for customers who have Layer 2
deployments, which CAPWAP does not support.

In a CAPW AP environment, a wireless access point discovers a controller by using CAPW AP discovery
mechanisms and then sends it a CAPWAP join request. The controller sends the access point a
CAPWAP join response allowing the access point to join the controller. When the access point joins
the controller, the controller manages its configuration, firmware, control transactions, and data
transactions.

Note For additional information about the discovery process and CAPWAP, see the Cisco Wireless

LAN Controller Software Configuration Guide. This document is available on Cisco.com.

Note CAPWAP support is provided in controller software release 5.2 or later. However, your

controller must be running release 7.0.116.0 or later to supp ort 3502P access points.

Note You cannot edit or query any access point using the controller C LI if the name of the access

point contains a space.

Note Make sure that the controller is set to the current time. If the controller is set to a time that

has already occurred, the access point might not join the controller because its certificate may
not be valid for that time.

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Access points must be discovered by a controller before they can become an active part of the network.
The 3502P access point supports these controller discovery processes:

• Layer 3 CAPWAP discovery—Can occur on different subnets than the access point and uses IP
addresses and UDP packets rather than MAC addresses used by Layer 2 di scovery.

• Over-the-air provisioning (OTAP)—This feature is supported by Cisco 4400 series controllers. If
this feature is enabled on the controller, all joined access points transmit wireless CAPWAP
neighbor messages, and new access points receive the controller IP address from these messages.
This feature is disabled by default and should remain disabled when all access points are installed.

Additional information about OTAP is available on Cisco.com at the following link:

http://www.ciscosystems.com/en/US/products/ps6366/products_tech_note09186a008093d7 4a.shtml

• Locally stored controller IP address discovery—If the access point was previously joined to a
controller, the IP addresses of the primary, secondary, and tertiary controllers are stored in the
access point’s non-volatile memory. This process of storing controller IP addresses on an access
point for later deployment is called priming the access point. For more information about priming,
see the

• DHCP server discovery—This feature uses DHCP option 43 to provide controller IP addresses to
the access points. Cisco switches support a DHCP server option that is typically used for this
capability . For more information about DHCP option 43, see the
and DHCP Option 60” section on page 27.

• DNS discovery—The access point can discover controllers through your domain name server
(DNS). For the access point to do so, you must configure your DNS to return controller IP
addresses in response to CISCO-CAPWAP-CONTROLLER.localdomain, where localdomain is
the access point domain name. Configuring the CISCO-LWAPP-CONTROLLER provides
backwards compatibility in an existing customer deployment. When an access point receives an IP
address and DNS information from a DHCP server, it contacts the DNS to resolve
CISCO-CAPWAP-CONTROLLER.localdomain. When the DNS sends a list of controller IP
addresses, the access point sends discovery requests to the controllers.

“Performing a Pre-Installation Configuration” section on page 9.

“Configuring DHCP Option 43

Preparing the Access Point

Before you mount and deploy your access point, we recommend that you perform a site survey (or use
the site planning tool) to determine the best location to install your access point.

You should have the following information about your wireless network ava ilable:

• Access point locations.

• Access point mounting options: below a suspended ceiling, on a flat horizontal surface, or on a

desktop.

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Note You can mount the access point above a suspended ceiling but you must purchase

additional mounting hardware: See “Mounting the Access Point” section on page 13 for
additional information.

• Access point power options: power supplied by the recommended external power supply (Cisco
AIR-PWR-B), a DC power supply, PoE from a network device, or a PoE power injector/hub
(usually located in a wiring closet).

Note Access points mounted in a building’ s environmental airspace must be powered using PoE

to comply with safety regulations.

Cisco recommends that you make a site map showing access point locations so that you can record the
device MAC addresses from each location and return them to the person who is planning or managing
your wireless network.

Installation Summary

Installing the access point involves these operations:

• Performing a pre-installation configuration (optional)

• Mounting the access point

• Grounding the access point

• Deploying the access point on the wireless network

Performing a Pre-Installation Configuration

The following procedures ensure that your access point installation and initial operation go as
expected. A pre-installation configuration is also known as priming the access point. This procedure
is optional.

Note Performing a pre-installation configuration is an optional procedure. If your network

controller is properly configured, you can install your access point in its final location and
connect it to the network from there. See the
Network” section on page 13 for details.

“Deploying the Access Point on the Wireless

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