topic Re: Replacing RFS7000, still need support for old APs in ExtremeWireless (WiNG)

Replacing RFS7000, still need support for old APs

Scorch — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 17:51:52 GMT

Hi!

We’re finally going to replace the old RFS7000s and, in time, the APs as well.

The issue is that we have production relying on wifi around the clock. We can create a window for the controllers, but the APs needs to be replaced gradually over time (about 120 of them).

That means we need the old APs to work with the new controllers as well. These are:

AP650
AP6521
AP7522
AP7532

I’ve been looking at NX5500 and V2210 to start with. But I’ve find no proof they will work with these APs.

Does anyone have any tips or other useful input on what to chose?
AP recommendations are also appreciated. It’s mainly for use in large warehouses with large stacks of goods.

Re: Replacing RFS7000, still need support for old APs

ckelly — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 19:46:24 GMT

Scorch,

For those four AP models to all be managed by a single WiNG build, the latest common build would be 5.8.6.9. The limiting AP in that set is the AP650. If the 650 was not included, you could run up to 5.9.1.9.

As far as controller models to choose, the first question is whether or not you are running any tunneled WLANs. If you are, you will need to run a hardware controller (versus the VX9000 which is a VM).

If no tunneled WLANs are needed, I’d recommend the VX9000.

If you need tunneling support, then it depends on how many APs you need to manage.

The smallest current hardware controller, the NX5500, can manage up to 512 APs. The next step up would be the NX7500 (up to 2048).

And then finally, the NX9600 supports up to 10K APs

All of these controller models support WiNG version 5.8.6.9 and higher so it would just be a matter of choosing the model that ‘fits’ in terms of sizing.

As for recommendation for replacement APs, if doing a refresh, then it makes sense to look at the new 11ax models. From there, it depends on your pricepoint and specific wireless needs/requirements.

Re: Replacing RFS7000, still need support for old APs

Scorch — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 20:54:14 GMT

Hi Chris and thanks for your reply.

I’m guessing ‘bridging-mode tunnel’ equals tunneled WLANs. In that case, yes we are using tunneled WLANs.

So that probably means 2x NX5500 for us. We won’t ever use more than 512 APs.
And after that it would just be a matter of installing 5.8.6.9 and start preparing to make the switch.

Thanks!

Re: Replacing RFS7000, still need support for old APs

ckelly — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 21:02:45 GMT

Correct on the tunnel mode verbiage.

I didn’t mention it earlier, but if you ARE tunneling WLANs, this cuts down on the number of possible managed APs. For all models, it cuts the number if half (due to the processing overhead of the tunneled traffic). So for the NX5500, the number of manageable APs would be 256, or 1024 for the NX7500.

Re: Replacing RFS7000, still need support for old APs

Extreme_Portal_ — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 22:01:49 GMT

Even though release notes detail that AP650 is not supported in v5.9.1.x, the AP650 images on Wing 5.9.1.x releases is present on the controllers.

The following is from a lab RFS4000 CLI:

RFS4000 uptime is 71 days, 22 hours 33 minutes
CPU is Cavium Networks Octeon CN50XX V0.1, No. of CPUs 2
Model number is RFS-4010-00010-WR
PoE firmware version is 211 build 1
FPGA version is 2.28
Radio HAL version is 92 (DFS:73)

RFS4K-WAN#sh device-upgrade ver
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTROLLER DEVICE-TYPE VERSION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RFS4K-WAN ap621 5.9.1.9-003R
RFS4K-WAN ap622 5.9.1.9-003R
RFS4K-WAN ap650 5.9.1.9-003R
RFS4K-WAN ap6511 none
RFS4K-WAN ap6521 5.9.1.9-003R
RFS4K-WAN ap6522 5.9.1.9-003R
RFS4K-WAN ap6532 5.9.1.9-003R
RFS4K-WAN ap6562 5.9.1.9-003R

Re: Replacing RFS7000, still need support for old APs

Scorch — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 13:03:23 GMT

Thanks everyone!

We’re setting our sights on NX5500 and with 5.8.6.9 until we’ve replaced the APs.

One question though: where can I download 5.8.6.9 for NX5500? I only found VX9000_DEMO_WiNG_v5.8.6.9.zip available for download.

Re: Replacing RFS7000, still need support for old APs

ckelly — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 20:02:21 GMT

Scorch, access to new versions of WiNG code require existing licensing for entitlement.

Or, if licensing has ended (not renewed), you are entitled to access to the last WiNG code version that existed when you license ended.

Otherwise, you can find WiNG controller software HERE