NX5500 / AP Questions

[Sethg103]

I’m looking at buying a NX5500 Wireless Controller. Could you explain to me what the license packs are for and if I need to purchase one? We currently have AP7632s throughout the building running on a virtual controller so I’m unsure if I would need to buy a license pack for the physical controller. I’d rather purchase the licenses with the controller instead of finding out later that I needed to buy them.

What is the newest version of the WiNG 5.9 software that can be put on the Motorola AP6521? Would I be able to control both the 7632s and the 6521s with the NX5500 controller? The 7632’s have version 5.9.6.0-007R, and the 6521s have version 5.9.1.9-003R currently. The older APs will eventually get upgraded but it would be nice to know for sure if I could control them both in the meantime with the NX5500.

[Christoph_S]

Hello Seth,

1 - Please contact one of our partners in regards to the licenses

2 - The controller will not be able to manage APs that are on different firmware versions. They will all need to be on the same version if you intend to manage all via the controller but in this case it’s not really feasible. on the other hand, It is not recommended to have a controller and let’s say and AP6521 virtual controller on the same subnet. This will mess things up. My only recommendations is to have the AP7632 upgraded and adopted by the NX5500 and the AP6521 managed by one of them configured as virtual controller but to segregate them you can use the area-id parameter (configured on AP6521 VC). https://extremeportal.force.com/ExtrArticleDetail?an=000085119

This should be used temporarily (while hardware is being replaced).

3 - The best and most secure way to create a guest network would be to create a VLAN on your network specifically for guests then on the controller/AP, create the wlan, map it to said vlan, and allow same vlan out of ge 1 port (trunk). Second way would be configuring natting per attached docs.  

I hope this helps,

Christoph

[Sethg103]

Thanks Christoph! That was very very helpful. I guess I have some follow up questions now.

1. Where would I be able to purchase the AP license packs from for the NX5500?
2. If I upgrade the NX5500 and AP7632 to version 5.9.8.3 would I be temporarily able to control the AP6521 on version 9.1.10 simultaneously with the other AP or do they all need to be on the same version? If that’s the case don’t worry I won’t downgrade anything.
3. Would you know if there’s an easy way to make a guest wireless network that’s separate from the main wireless network and if it’s possible to throttle its speed? 

That should be the last of my questions. Thank you again for your time.

[Christoph_S · Accepted solution]

Hello Seth,

When you purchase a physical controller, you’ll need licenses for AP adoption, hence the license packs.

In terms of adoption, the latest firmware supported on the AP6521 APs is 5.9.1.10 and both the NX5500 and AP7632 AP are also supported on said firmware; however, it is NOT advisable to downgrade the AP7632 beyond 5.9.3.0 as many enhancements and fixes have been introduced since then. Actually it’s highly recommended you upgrade the AP7632 APs to the latest 5.9.x.x (5.9.8.3) firmware for optimal performance. 

I hope this helps,

Christoph