What is the purpose of the native vlan setting in an AP

[jkrumenacher]

I have 3 aps on a Cisco switch

Each AP is config’d differently.

Manag. VLAN - Native VLAN

G1/0/13 AP07  71             1

G1/0/14 AP12   71            71

G1/0/15 AP14  1               1

The switch ports are config'd as trunk ports (vlan 1 and 71 are included). None of them were manageable from HiveManager NG.

I added switchport trunk native vlan 71 to each port config and now have access to all 3 including AP14 where both MGNT and Native are set to 1.

I haven't gone on site (empty office building) to test client access through APs. I am looking for details on what exactly happens on the native vlan.

Thanks

[bruce_stahlin]

Simply put, the native vlan is the one which untagged traffic traverses. The native vlan must match on both the switch and AP.

If you're dealing with an unconfigured AP, the default management vlan is set to 1 on a non-trunking interface. If you want that traffic on a separate vlan, 71 in this case, temporarily set the native vlan on the switch as you did. Push the config with the management vlan set to 71 and the native vlan to 1. Once the config is pushed and the switch interface bounces as the AP reboots, turn off the native vlan setting on the switch. That should resolve your issue.