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With the availability of the network module versions of the Cisco Wireless LAN Controller (WLC), small business can now take advantage of the simplified deployment of the Cisco controller-based wireless solution.

Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Module, NM-AIR-WLC6, will control six controller-based APs and is designed to be installed into the ISR series of routers as well as other Cisco devices. The instructions that come with the device, and those available from Cisco, are adequate in a simple installation into a flat network. However, if network administrators must consider virtual local area networks (VLANs), the instructions lack clear direction on device configuration. The instructions include that the manager port is preconfigured as a trunk port, but the help stops there. No further details are given. However, the main problem during the configuration is what happens between the port that the router sees and the port that the module sees.

Q:	How do I configure VLANs using the Cisco WLC, NM-AIR-WLC6?
A:	If you have ever configured a switch module in a router, you have probably dealt with this issue. For those who have not, the following step-by-step instructions from a TerraWave network engineer will offer much needed help and save time.

Step-by-Steps Instructions:

When any module is plugged into a router a new port shows up in the interface list. In this example, it appears as “wlan-controller X/0,” where X is the module slot number. If your module was installed into slot 1, the result will be “interface wlan-controller 1/0” or “int w 1/0” for short. In order to configure the module, you must give it an address as part of the routed network and part of the network you want on the WLAN. In this example router, let’s configure the management networks within the router following this schematic, 192.168.x.0/24 where x is the slot of the module. Give the new interface the address of 192.168.1.1/24 and issue the “no shut” command to bring up the interface. After the interface comes up, you will be able to “session” over to it and begin the configuration (service-module w1/0 session).

Be aware that you now have a routed port on one “side” of the device and a trunked port on the other. How do you configure VLANs? The answer is easy enough to anyone who has done it, but difficult to figure out if this is new territory. The answer is sub-interfaces! You may have seen this type of configuration as a “router on a stick” configuration. For every VLAN you want configurable on the WLAN, you must build a sub-interface on the module’s router interface. Just give it an address on that VLAN and then you can configure the virtual interface on the module.

Don’t forget to add the networks into your router. See the example below:

! interface wlan-controller1/0
ip address 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0
!
interface wlan-controller1/0.12
description DATA
encapsulation dot1Q 12
ip address 10.10.12.1 255.255.255.0
service-policy output output-L3-to-L2
!
interface wlan-controller1/0.13
description VOICE
encapsulation dot1Q 13
ip address 10.10.13.1 255.255.255.0
service-policy output output-L3-to-L2
!
router eigrp 100
network 10.10.0.0 0.0.255.255
network 192.168.0.0 0.0.255.255
auto-summary
!

This example has both a data and voice network.

With this portion of the configuration finished, you can now session over to the module and run the configuration. Create WLANs for DATA and VOICE and configure them on the VLANs as indicated in the configuration example; voice on VLAN 13 and data on VLAN 12.

The module management interface is 192.168.1.2 and the VLAN virtual interfaces are 10.10.x.2 /24 where x is the VLAN.

After configuring the appropriate security and QoS on the WLANs, you will be able to install an LWAPP AP and access both WLANs.

SUCCESS!

To learn more, contact GigaWave Technologies at 210.375.0085 or info@giga-wave.com