AP-7522 Client Bridging Isn't Working

[Aaron_Wright]

I have two AP-7522 access points. Both have version 5.9.1.4-004R. Both receive their power and network through a Symbol AP-PSBIAS-2P2-AFR "brick". I set the country name to "United States-us" on both because I read the radios will not turn on until you do.

AP#1 - This is the "host" access point connected to the wired LAN with access to the internet. The internal network is 192.168.1.0/24. I've given this AP the IP address 192.168.1.101. I configured a wireless network with SSID "myWireless", Secure-PSK, WPA2-CCMP, and the key is "myWirelessKey". Radio 1 is 2.4GHz, radio 2 is 5GHz.

AP#2 - This is the "client" access point that I want to bridge to AP#1. I have AP#2 connected to an unmanaged 5 port switch, which also connects a desktop PC. It's this desktop PC that needs access to the internet. I've given this AP the IP address 192.168.1.101. For the bridging configuration I followed the directions here (https://extremeportal.force.com/ExtrArticleDetail?an=000082884)

• en
• conf t
• profile
• interface radio 2
• rf-mode bridge
• bridge ssid myWireless
• bridge vlan 1
• bridge encryption-type ccmp
• bridge authentication-type none
• bridge wpa-wpa2 psk 0 myWirelessKey
• no bridge eap username
• no bridge eap password
• bridge eap type peap-mschapv2
• bridge roam-criteria missed-beacons 20
• bridge roam-criteria rssi-threshold -75
• bridge channel-list 5GHz 36,40,44,48
• bridge channel-list 2.4GHz
• comm wr

However when I run "show wireless bridge candidate-ap" it reports 0 candidate APs. AP#1 shows no wireless clients. The workstation can successfully ping AP#2 and vice versa. I am able to reach the web interface and ssh on AP#1 on the 192.168.1.0/24 network. But AP#1 can't ping AP#2 and vice versa. Nothing on the 192.168.1.0/24 network can ping AP#2 or the desktop PC. The desktop PC cannot reach anything on the 192.168.1.0/24 network.

Right now both APs are in the same room, 10 feet from each other, no physical obstacles between them.

In my searching I also found (https://extremeportal.force.com/ExtrArticleDetail?an=000063492) I tried the solution there but it didn't help.

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong, or what I'm missing?

Additional questions:
1 - Do I have to configure any bridging properties on the AP#1 that is connected to the wired network with internet access? None of the guides I've read mention anything about configuration on the "host" AP, but since I can't get this working I'm wondering if some configuration is necessary on AP#1.

2 - Do I have to load a special firmware version to be able to access bridging configuration in the web GUI? Right now none of those configuration options are there and I have to do everything through ssh/command line. I know this was the case for some APs in the past that didn't have a web GUI at all and you had to download the firmware that included the GUI.

Thanks for any help you can provide!
Aaron

[Aaron_Wright]

Thanks Chris, I will try that tomorrow morning

Should I change the configuration of AP#2 to be the "host" AP instead, broadcasting the "myWireless" SSID? If AP#2 does have a hardware problem, will that also affect its ability to act as the host to the client bridge AP?

If that is a possibility then I can try other wireless networks available in our office. My worry there is that I'm introducing other variables that are causing problems, such as a mismatch in encryption settings or something like that.

[ckelly]

Aaron, I've configured a 7532 with the same firmware code and with the exact config setup that I recommended earlier. The bridge sees candidate APs and connects w/o issue.

Wondering if there's a hardware issue now. Can you (if you haven't already) try configuring the other AP as a client bridge AP. The likelihood that you have two bad APs is next to nill. These APs have an extremely low failure rate.

[ckelly]

Aaron, I'll load up a 7532 (shouldn't be different than a 7522) with the same code you're running and configure it the same way. I'll see if I replicate the issue your seeing. That should tell us if this is a bug or not.

[Aaron_Wright]

I attached the 2 antennas to AP#2, then I reconfigured it to use other existing and known working wireless networks in our office. Neither worked, candidate-ap still is 0 in both cases.

I changed the following:

• en
• config t
• profile ap7522 default-ap7522
• interface radio 2
• rf-mode bridge
• bridge ssid NEWmyWireless
• bridge wpa-wpa2 psk 0 NEWmyWirelessKey
• comm wr

Then:

• en
• config t
• profile ap7522 default-ap7522
• interface radio 2
• rf-mode bridge
• bridge ssid NEW2myWireless
• bridge wpa-wpa2 psk 0 NEW2myWirelessKey
• comm wr

Any other ideas?

[Aaron_Wright]

I received a response to my request to access the most recent firmware version. I was told I have to first purchase a support contract. Is that really the case? Client bridging is supposed to be a supported feature, and we have to purchase a support contract to access the latest firmware that might fix an existing bug in the firmware that shipped with the AP? If that is the case I think we will have to return these 7522 access points and never purchase Extreme products again. I have not found the process of troubleshooting this issue to be frustrating, especially with the great help you and Madeline have provided, but I find that very frustrating.