Installation and Configuration Guide - CiscoWorks 1030 WLSE Express, 2.11 - Configuring the WLSE [CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solution Engine (WLSE) Express]

Table Of Contents

Configuring WLSE Express Software

Factory Defaults

Manual Configuration of the WLSE Express

Guidelines for Using the Setup Program

Running the Setup Program

Changing the Configuration After Running Setup

Configuring Name Resolution

Using the WLSE Without a DNS Server

Verifying the Configuration

Configuring the Web Browser on the WLSE

Supported Browsers

Configuring Internet Explorer

Configuring Mozilla

Auto-Configuration of the WLSE Express

Prerequisites for Auto-Configuration

Configuring the DHCP Server

Configuring the DNS Server

Requirement for TFTP Server

Auto-Configuration Quick Reference

About the Master Configuration File

Creating the Master Configuration File

Start the Reference WLSE

Manually Change Reference WLSE Defaults

Create the Master Configuration File

Creating the Site-Specific Configuration File

Auto-Configuring the Local WLSEs

Verifying the Configuration

Reapplying the Configuration File

Customizing a WLSE Express After Applying a Configuration File

Configuring WLSE Express Software

This chapter describes how to set up the WLSE Express. There are two ways in which you can set up the WLSE Express:

•Manually configure the WLSE Express by using the setup script and entering CLI commands.

•Auto-configure the WLSE Express by creating a special configuration file on a "reference" WLSE Express which is then copied to other WLSEs.

This chapter contains the following information about the configuration process:

•Factory Defaults

•Manual Configuration of the WLSE Express

•Configuring the Web Browser on the WLSE

•Auto-Configuration of the WLSE Express

Factory Defaults

A newly manufactured WLSE Express is configured with the following information in flash memory:

•A superuser account name (admin) and password (admin) is included. The name and password are case-sensitive.

This user can log in through the console, Telnet/SSH, and the Web interface.

Note Telnet access is disabled by default. To enable it, log in as admin and use the telnetenable enable CLI command.

•Hostname is set to "localhost."

•The firewall is set to "private."

•The Ethernet interface is set to DHCP mode.

When powered on, a WLSE in DHCP mode attempts to obtain its network configuration from a DHCP server. This information is then written into the WLSE's flash memory.

If you do not want to configure a DHCP server with this information, you can log in and configure the network parameters manually after the WLSE starts. For more information, see Manually Change Reference WLSE Defaults.

•An unsigned SSL certificate is generated. This certificate is used by the internal AAA server and for logging in to the Web interface via HTTPS.

Note You can erase a WLSE's flash memory by using the erase config CLI command. After flash memory is erased, the WLSE is automatically reset to its newly manufactured state. If the hostname is being set through DHCP, it retains its value. You can use the procedures in this section to reconfigure a WLSE after erasing the configuration.

If you entered a static IP address for the WLSE, but you want to use DHCP for configuration, you must first erase the flash memory.

For more information on the erase config command, see the online help.

Manual Configuration of the WLSE Express

By default, the WLSE Express Ethernet interface is set to DHCP mode. When powered on, a WLSE attempts to obtain its network configuration from a DHCP server. If you do not want to configure a DHCP server with this information, you can log in and configure the network parameters manually after the WLSE starts.

Guidelines for Using the Setup Program

When using the setup program:

•Press the Backspace or Delete key to delete characters when entering a response to a prompt.

•You cannot edit a response after you press the Enter key. You can use CLI commands to change some responses after running setup; see Changing the Configuration After Running Setup.

•You can exit the setup program in two ways:

–Press Ctrl-c.

The login prompt appears. Log in as the user setup to rerun the setup program.

–Enter no at the final prompt:
Would you like to save this configuration? [yes].
The setup program exits without saving the configuration, then restarts.

See Table 3-1 and Table 3-2 for the data you will need to enter into the setup prompts.

Running the Setup Program

To configure the WLSE Express network information, perform the following steps:

Procedure

Step 1 Attach a console terminal or PC to the WLSE's serial/console port and log in. Use the admin username and admin password.

To connect a console, use the console/serial port on the back panel. For more information on the port and cabling, see Connecting Cables.

Note If you are using a Windows terminal emulator, it is recommended that you use the Windows Hyper Terminal application.

You can also log in by using SSH and the admin username and admin password. Telnet is disabled by default. To enable it, log in as admin and use the telnetenable enable CLI command.

Step 2 Enter setup.

Step 3 Enter responses to the first set of prompts to configure the WLSE Express network parameters. Table 3-1 describes how to respond to the prompts. After each response, press Enter to proceed to the next prompt.

Table 3-1 General Configuration

Prompt

Response Description

Sample Response

host name:

System hostname

SolutionEngine

domain name:

System domain name.

Note If you reconfigure the WLSE Express, you must specify the domain name again.

cisco.com

<admin> password:

Sets the password for the default user admin. Characters you type do not appear on screen.

Note Default user admin is reserved and cannot be deleted or changed.

You can use the admin password to log into the Web interface and to connect via Telnet/SSH.

The admin user has system administrator privileges and can use all CLI commands and all functions in the Web interface.

Password length is unlimited, and you can use any characters except the double quote ("), single quote ('), and dollar sign ($). Passwords are case sensitive.

wq1Cvu2pl

confirm password:

eth0 IP address:

IP address of Ethernet 0 interface.

209.165.200.224

eth0 network mask:

Network mask of Ethernet 0 interface.

255.255.255.224

default gateway IP address:

IP address of default router.

209.165.200.224

DNS server IP address:

IP address of DNS server for name/address resolution. The setup program does not validate the IP address you enter.

If you are not using DNS, see Using the WLSE Without a DNS Server before proceeding.

209.165.201.1

Would you like to save this configuration? [yes]:

•Enter yes to save the configuration. The configuration is saved and the system reboots.

•Enter no to exit without saving the configuration and run the setup program again.

Step 4 Answer the next set of prompts to create a self-signed SSL certificate. This certificate will allow you to access the WLSE Express securely, using HTTPS, until you are able to obtain a certificate from a certificate authority (CA). Table 3-2 describes how to respond to the prompts.

To make changes in the certificate after running setup, see Changing the Configuration After Running Setup.

The certificate expires after one year. To obtain a permanent, signed certificate, see the SSL instructions in the online help or in the User Guide for the CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solution Engine, Release 2.11.
Table 3-2 Self-Signed Certificate Creation
Prompt

Response Description

Sample Response
Country Name 
2-character code.

US
State or Province Name
Full name of a state or province.

Snake Desert
Locality Name
City or locality name.

Snake Town
Organization Name
Company name.

Snake Oil, LTD.
Organizational Unit Name
Unit of the company that is using the WLSE.

Webserver Team
Common Name
Fully qualified domain name (FQDN).

www.snakeoil.com
Email Address
Email address.

www@snakeoil.com
Step 5 After you finish configuring the WLSE Express, it will reboot.

Step 6 After the WLSE Express reboots, set up your mail server to send mail to external domains by entering the following command:

mailroute {hostname | ip-address}

where hostname is the hostname of the SMTP server and ip-address is the IP address of the SMTP server. If you do not set the mail server, email can only be sent to the local domain. For more information about this command, see the User Guide for the CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solution Engine, Release 2.11.

Note You can also set up the mail server after you log in to the Web interface. See the online help or the User Guide for the CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solution Engine, Release 2.11.

Changing the Configuration After Running Setup

To change the information in the setup configuration, use the following CLI commands at any time. For more information about CLI commands, see the User Guide for the CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solution Engine, Release 2.11.

You can use CLI commands by attaching a console terminal or PC to the WLSE's serial/console port on the back panel and logging in. (For more information on the port and cabling, see Connecting Cables.) Log in initially as the admin user, using the password you created during setup.

Note If you are using a Windows terminal emulator, it is recommended that you use the Windows Hyper Terminal application.

You can also log in by using SSH and the admin username and admin password. Telnet is disabled by default. To enable it, log in as admin and use the telnetenable enable CLI command.

•To change from obtaining an IP address via DHCP to using a static IP address, use the following commands:

interface eth0 ip_address netmask default-gateway ip_address up
ip name-server ip_address
ip domain-name domain_name

Enter all of these CLI commands if you are using static addressing for the WLSE Express.

•To change the hostname, use the hostname command.

•To change the superuser password, use the username admin password command.

Note You must log out before the password change takes affect.

You can also change this password in the Web interface.

Tip To change any other part of the WLSE's initial configuration, use the erase config command to erase the previous configuration, and rerun the setup program.

You can further customize the WLSE Express by using its Web interface.

Configuring Name Resolution

The WLSE Express resolves hostnames by using a Domain Name System (DNS) server, or you can use the import CLI command to add individual hosts or a UNIX-style hosts file. For information on this command, see User Guide for the CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solution Engine, Release 2.11.

If you are using a DNS server, register the WLSE Express on the DNS server, using the WLSE's hostname as its DNS name.

Using the WLSE Without a DNS Server

The WLSE Express does not require name resolution, but if name resolution is not used, the following problems will occur:

•hostnames will not resolve.

•Discovery will be slow.

•Connecting to the WLSE Express via Telnet will be slow. You will be able to connect to the WLSE only after name resolution on the client times out.

•Ping and traceroute commands will result in 100% packet losses in 4 out of 5 ICMP packets. This occurs because the WLSE Express times out when attempting reverse DNS lookup.

•By default, IP addresses will appear instead of hostnames in WLSE displays.

•You will not be able to download access point firmware directly from Cisco.com to the WLSE Express.

If you are not using a DNS server, perform the steps described in Configuring Name Resolution, with the following exception:

Procedure

Step 1 At the DNS server ip address prompt, enter any IP address.

Step 2 After you finish configuring the WLSE, erase the IP address you entered by entering the following command:

no ip name-server ip-address

where ip-address is the IP address you entered at the DNS server ip address: prompt in the setup program. For more information about the ip name-server command, see the User Guide for the CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solution Engine, Release 2.11.

Verifying the Configuration

While at the console, verify that the WLSE is correctly configured by performing the following steps.

For more information on the CLI commands used in the following procedure, see the User Guide for the CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solution Engine, Release 2.11.

Procedure

Step 1 At the system console, enter admin at the login prompt, and log in with the password you created during setup. You can also use Telnet or SSH to log in as the admin user.

Note For security reasons, Telnet access is disabled by default. To enable it, log in as admin and use the telnetenable enable CLI command.

Step 2 If you are using a DNS server, enter the following command to verify that the WLSE can obtain DNS services from the network:

# nslookup dns-name

where dns-name is the DNS name of a host that is registered in DNS. If the system cannot obtain the IP address of the host from DNS, use the ip name-server command to specify a working DNS server.

Step 3 Enter the following command to verify that the system can communicate with the network:

# ping ip-address

where ip-address is the IP address of a host that is accessible on the network. A DNS server is a recommended host to ping because it should always be running and accessible.

Step 4 Enter the show config command to verify that the configuration is as you expected. For more information on this command, see the User Guide for the CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solution Engine, Release 2.11.

Step 5 Enter the show clock command to verify that the system time and date are correct in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

•If the time or date is incorrect, set the correct time and date using the clock command.

•If your network uses NTP, configure the system to use NTP to set the clock. Use the ntp server CLI command.

Step 6 Enter the exit command to log out.

Configuring the Web Browser on the WLSE

Before you log in to any WLSE Express Web interface, make sure that:

•You are using a supported browser—See Supported Browsers

•Your browser is properly configured—See:

–Configuring Internet Explorer

–Configuring Mozilla

Supported Browsers

The supported browsers for WLSE 2.11 are listed in Table 3-3.

Note Using earlier, unsupported versions of Internet Explorer compromises the security of the WLSE Express.

Table 3-3 Supported Browsers

Client Operating System

Supported Browsers

Windows 2000, Windows NT, and Windows XP

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 with Service Pack 1

Mozilla 1.6

Japanese Windows 2000, Windows NT, and Windows XP

Japanese Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 with Service Pack 1

Mozilla 1.6

Solaris 8 and 9

Mozilla 1.6

Java Plug-in

1.4.2 (Java Plug-in is required for some WLSE functions).

Configuring Internet Explorer

To configure Internet Explorer 6.0, perform the following steps.

Procedure

Step 1 Select Tools > Internet Options.

Step 2 Enable JavaScript:

a. Select Security.

b. Make sure that the Internet icon is selected, and click Custom Level.

c. Scroll to Scripting and select the following:

•Select Enable for Active scripting.

•Select Enable for Allow paste operations via script.

–Select Enable for Scripting of Java applets.

d. Click OK.

Step 3 Configure the browser to accept all cookies:

a. Select Privacy.

b. Move the slider down to until "Accept all Cookies" appears.

c. Click OK.

Step 4 Change the default font to improve readability:

a. Select General, then select Fonts.

b. Select a sans-serif font (for example, Arial) from the Web page font and Plain text font lists.

c. Click OK, then click OK again.

The text in the browser window is redrawn using the new fonts. Not all of the fonts will change after this user-defined font option is set.

Step 5 Disable caching:

a. Select General, then select Settings.

b. Under "Check for newer versions of stored pages," select Every visit to the page.

c. Click OK.

Step 6 Click OK.

Note Windows XP does not come with the Java Plug-in installed on Internet Explorer 6.0. This causes problems when upgrading a WLSE's software. If you plan to use a Windows XP client or server to update WLSE software, configure the browser as described in the procedure for creating a remote repository in the online help.

Configuring Mozilla

Note While using the WLSE Express Web interface, you should disable popup-blocking software or add the WLSE to the "allow" list.

To configure Mozilla 1.6, perform the following steps:

Procedure

Step 1 Select Edit > Preferences.

Step 2 Configure the browser to accept cookies:

a. Under Privacy & Security > Cookies, go to "Enable cookies based on privacy settings."

b. Select Allow all cookies or Allow cookies for the originating web site only.

Step 3 Disable caching:

a. Select Advanced > Cache.

b. Select Every time I view the page.

Step 4 Click OK.

Auto-Configuration of the WLSE Express

After you have installed your WLSE Expresses, you can arrange for them to be auto-configured. As each WLSE is started up for the first-time, a special configuration file is automatically downloaded, and the WLSE is ready for use.

Normally, a "reference" WLSE is used to create a master configuration file that contains all the necessary settings. This file is sent to each location with WLSEs. At each site, the file is customized as necessary and installed on a TFTP server. As each WLSE Express starts for the first time, this site-specific configuration file is downloaded to the local WLSEs.

This following sections contain procedures for setting up the necessary services and for creating the master and site-specific configuration files.

Prerequisites for Auto-Configuration

Before configuring the WLSE Express, you need to configure the Web browser, which is required for using the WLSE GUI. See Configuring the Web Browser on the WLSE.

To use the auto-configuration feature of the WLSE Express, you need to configure the following:

•Configure the DHCP server—Configuring the DHCP Server.

•Configure the DNS server—Configuring the DNS Server.

•Provide a TFTP server—Requirement for TFTP Server.

Configuring the DHCP Server

In most cases, each site has its own DHCP server, and therefore, its own pool of IP addresses.

Note If you do not want to configure a DHCP server with this information, you can log in and configure the network parameters manually after the WLSE starts. For more information, see Manually Change Reference WLSE Defaults.

On the DHCP server, set the following:

•Specify the vendor class ID for the WLSE Express—See Set the Vendor Class ID.

•Create entries for the WLSE Express systems—See Create an Entry for WLSE Express Systems.

•Specify a DNS server for each site—See Configuring the DNS Server.

Set the Vendor Class ID

The vendor class ID tells DHCP what type of device is being configured in the entry. Each type of device has its own vendor class ID. For the WLSE Express, you set the vendor class ID to WLSE_Cisco_Systems_Inc; for example:
class "miniWLSE" {
match if substring (option vendor-class-identifier,0,22) = "WLSE_Cisco_Systems_Inc";
vendor class id
}
Create an Entry for WLSE Express Systems

Create an entry in which you specify the parameters for the IP address pool for the WLSE Express systems:
pool {
	allow members of "miniWLSE";
	range 192.168.0.131 192.168.0.132;
	next-server 192.168.0.7;
	option tftp-server-name "192.168.0.7";
	filename "config_store1.tar";
	option bootfile-name "config_store1.tar;
}
In this example, the required parameters are the following:

•range is the IP address pool for the WLSE Express systems.

•next-server is the TFTP server that will be used to download the master configuration file to the WLSEs.

•filename is the name of the site-specific configuration file that you will create in one of the procedures in this chapter. The filename is configurable by the user who creates the site-specific file.

Configuring the DNS Server

The WLSE resolves hostnames to IP addresses by using a Domain Name System (DNS) server.

Configure the DNS server to resolve the hostnames of your WLSEs and make sure there is an entry in the DHCP server's global settings for the DNS server; for example:
option domain-name-servers 192.168.0.9;
Requirement for TFTP Server

You will need a local TFTP server at each site that is accessible to the WLSEs. The TFTP server stores the site-specific configuration file for the local WLSEs.

Auto-Configuration Quick Reference

The tasks for auto-configuring WLSE Express systems are:

Table 3-4 Configuration Quick Reference

Task

Reference

1. Create the master configuration file:

•Start up the reference WLSE.

•Log in and create the master configuration file.

About the Master Configuration File

2. Create site-specific configuration files.

Creating the Site-Specific Configuration File

3. Start up the production WLSEs.

The WLSEs will be auto-configured by downloading the master configuration file.

Auto-Configuring the Local WLSEs

4. Verify that the production WLSEs are configured as you expect.

Verifying the Configuration

About the Master Configuration File

A WLSE configuration file has 3 components:

•An editable XML file contains all of the WLSE settings that may need to be customized at individual sites.

•A binary file contains the WLSE settings that are the same at all sites.

•An information file contains information used internally during the download and configuration process.

The master configuration file can be copied and then manually edited to create a customized, site-specific configuration file. This site-specific file is then stored on a TFTP server, to be downloaded to the local WLSEs when they start up.

Table 3-6 shows more detail about which information is saved in the XML (.xml) file and which is saved in the binary (.dat) file.

Creating the Master Configuration File

Note The reference WLSE must be running the same software version as the local WLSEs to be configured.

The master configuration file is created on the reference WLSE Express. After creating the file, you can copy it and create a customized, site-specific file. This customized file is then stored on a TFTP server, to be downloaded to the production WLSEs when they start up.

The procedures for creating the master configuration file consist of the following tasks:

1. Start the Reference WLSE

2. Manually Change Reference WLSE Defaults

3. Create the Master Configuration File

Start the Reference WLSE

To turn on the WLSE, press the power button on the front panel. After the WLSE is powered on, it will contain the following information in its flash memory:

•A superuser account with the username admin and password admin. You should change the password as soon as possible; see Manually Change Reference WLSE Defaults.

•The following network information, according to the defaults and the network information you included in the DHCP entry. To change any of this information, you can use CLI commands—See Table 3-5.

–Hostname (set to "localhost" by default)

–Domain name

–IP address

–Netmask

–Default gateway IP address

–DNS server IP address

Manually Change Reference WLSE Defaults

It is recommended that you change the superuser (admin) password. To change the admin password and other network parameters after starting the WLSE, you can use the CLI commands listed in the following procedure.

Procedure

Step 1 Attach a console terminal or PC to the WLSE's serial/console port and log in. Use the admin username and admin password.

To connect a console, use the console/serial port on the back panel. For more information on the port and cabling, see Connecting Cables.

Note If you are using a Windows terminal emulator, it is recommended that you use the Windows Hyper Terminal application.

You can also log in by using SSH and the admin username and admin password. Telnet is disabled by default. To enable it, log in as admin and use the telnetenable enable CLI command.

Step 2 Make changes by setting the parameters show in Table 3-5, as needed.

Table 3-5 CLI Configuration Commands

Parameter

CLI Commands

Change from obtaining IP address via DHCP to using a static IP address

interface eth0 ip_address netmask default-gateway ip_address
ip name-server ip_address
ip domain-name domain_name

Enter all of these CLI commands if you are using static addressing for the reference WLSE.

Hostname

hostname name

Change superuser password (recommended)

username admin password password

You can also change this password in the Web interface.

Enable login via Telnet

telnetenable enable

Note Reboot the WSLE with the reload command after making these changes.

For more details on CLI commands, see the online help or the User Guide for the CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solution Engine, Release 2.11.

.

Create the Master Configuration File

To create the master configuration file:

1. Log in to the Web interface of the reference WLSE—See Log into the Reference WLSE Express.

2. Set the parameters you want to save in the master configuration file—See Set Parameters for the Master Configuration File.

3. Save the master configuration file—See Save the Master Configuration File.

Log into the Reference WLSE Express

To log into the Web interface:

Step 1 Access the WLSE through a supported browser by entering the WLSE's IP address or hostname, followed by :1741 (for example: http://209.165.128:1741).

If you using HTTPS to log in, do not append a port number to the IP address or hostname.

Tip For information on supported browsers, see Configuring Internet Explorer.

Step 2 Enter the admin username and password and click Login.

Set Parameters for the Master Configuration File

The master configuration is created by setting parameters on the reference WLSE and saving them into the master configuration files.

Some parameters cannot be saved from the UI into the master configuration; for example:

•AAA server parameters and other parameters under Administration > Appliance.

•Settings for NTP servers and the Web timeout for logins.

You can add these parameters to the .xml file in the form of CLI commands. For more information on editing the .xml file, see Save the Master Configuration File. For information on CLI commands, see the online help.

On the reference WLSE, set the parameters to be saved in the master configuration file.

Procedure

Step 1 Using Table 3-6, set the desired parameters. For details on how to set these parameters in the UI, see the online help.

Table 3-6 Parameters Saved in the Master Configuration File

Category

Navigation Path

Notes

Faults Settings

Fault Profiles

Faults > Manage Fault Settings

Default fault profile.

Fault Notification

Faults > Notification Settings

Trap, syslog, and email notifications.

Discover Settings

Discovery Schedule and Settings

Devices > Discover > DISCOVER > Discovery Wizard

Settings for scheduled discoveries, including seed devices and CDP distance.

Devices > Discover > DISCOVER > Advanced Options

Device name format, reverse DNS lookup, and auto-management.

Device Credentials

Devices > Discover > Device Credentials > SNMP Communities

SNMP community strings for all managed devices.

Devices > Discover > Device Credentials > Telnet/SSH User/Password

Telnet/SSH credentials for IOS access points.

Devices > Discover > Device Credentials > IOS HTTP/HTTPS Port Settings

HTTP port settings, username, and password for non-IOS access points.

Devices > Discover > Device Credentials > WLCCP Credentials

WLCCP credentials for communicating with wireless domain services (WDS) devices.

Inventory Polling Parameters

Devices > Discover > Inventory > Polling

Polling intervals for client inventory, performance inventory; data aggregation time periods.

AAA Servers

Devices > Discover > AAA Server

Credentials for monitoring external AAA servers.

Client Tracking

Devices > Discover > Client Tracking

Enable/disable client tracking on all WDS devices.

Rule-Based Groups Settings

Groups

Devices > Group Management

Definitions of user-defined rule-based groups.

Configure Settings

Templates

Configure > Templates

Configuration templates.¹

Configure > Auto-Update > Startup Configuration

Startup template assignment.

Configure > Auto-Update > Auto-Managed Configuration > Assign Templates

Auto-config template assignment.

Configure > Auto-Update > Auto-Managed Configuration > Auto-Managed Options

Option to email results of auto-configuration jobs.

Administration Settings

Appliance Settings

Administration > Appliance > Redundancy > Manage Redundancy

Redundancy settings.

Administration > Appliance > Splash Screen

Login message.

User Settings

Administration > User Admin > Manage Roles

Definitions of roles.

Administration > User Admin > Manage Users

User accounts.

¹Any custom commands in templates are saved in the .xml file. Settings made in the other configuration screens are saved in the .dat file.

Save the Master Configuration File

The master configuration consists of a tar archive that contains an editable .xml file, a binary .dat file, and a .info file. The parameters listed in Table 3-6 will be saved to the master configuration files—most parameters will appear in the editable .xml file, but some will be in the binary .dat file, as shown in Table 3-7.

Procedure

Step 1 On the reference WLSE, select Administration > Appliance > Master Configuration.

Step 2 Enter a filename, then click Create Config.

Result: A list of the information that can be saved in the master configuration file is displayed.

The following table shows which information is saved in the editable .xml file and which is saved in the binary .dat file. For details on the parameters that are saved, see Table 3-6.

Table 3-7 Data Saved in the .xml and .dat Files

Category

Parameters

In .xml File

In .dat File

Faults

Default fault profile settings

X

Notification settings

X

Discover

Discovery schedule and seed devices

X

Device credentials

X

Advanced options (filtering, device name format)

X

Inventory polling parameters

X

AAA server monitoring

X

Client tracking enable

X

Rule-Based Groups

User defined rule-based groups

X

Configure

Templates¹

X

X

Startup configuration template assignment

X

Auto-managed configuration template assignment

X

Administration

Appliance settings (redundancy, splash screen)

X

User role definitions

X

Users (usernames, passwords, and privileges)

X

¹Any custom configuration commands are saved in the .xml file; settings made in the other configuration screens are saved in the .dat file.

Step 3 Select the categories of parameters that you want to save in the master configuration file, then click Create Config.

Result: The configuration tar archive and the date it was created appear in the Saved Configurations list.

Step 4 Click Download to save the file to your desktop.

Creating the Site-Specific Configuration File

Use the following procedure to create a custom, site-specific configuration file.

Procedure

Step 1 Using a copy of the master configuration tar file that was created on the reference WLSE, extract the .xml file from the archive.

Step 2 Edit the .xml file as needed to:

•Change or add settings to the file, according to the site-specific requirements.

•Add any necessary CLI commands in the CLI block of the .xml file.

CLI commands are used to set parameters that cannot be automatically saved in the master configuration file; for example:

–AAA server parameters and most of the other parameters under Administration > Appliance.

–Settings for NTP servers and the Web timeout for logins.

Tip For information on the format of the .xml file, see "Configuration File Reference."

Tip For information on the parameters that can be automatically saved in a master configuration file, see Table 3-6.

Note You should use caution when editing the site-specific file; however, most errors in the file will be caught and logged in the dhcp.log file in the logs directory.

Step 3 After editing the .xml file, retar the archive (.xml, .dat, and .info files). Make sure that:

•All files have read permission for "others."

•All filenames are relative pathnames.

•All filenames match; for example, if the configuration tar filename is wlse.tar, the other files must be wlse.xml, wlse.dat and wlse.info.

Step 4 Copy the site-specific configuration tar file to the TFTP server at the local site.

Note The tar file name must be the same as the filename entered on the DHCP server. For more information, see Prerequisites for Auto-Configuration

Auto-Configuring the Local WLSEs

To auto-configure WLSE Express systems, power them on by pressing the power switch on the front panel. When the WLSEs boot up:

•The WLSEs will obtain their IP addresses and other network parameters from DHCP and will download the site-specific configuration file from the TFTP server.

•The WLSE will extract the .dat and .xml files and validate them based on the information from the .info file. Validation ensures that the reference WLSE and WLSEs to be configured are running the same system software version.

•The WLSE will be auto-configured with the settings in the .xml and .dat files.

Verifying the Configuration

You can verify that a production WLSE Express is correctly configured by performing the following steps. Some of the verification is done through the command-line interface (CLI) and some through the Web interface.

Procedure

Step 1 At the system console, or via Telnet or SSH, log in as the admin user.

Note For security reasons, Telnet is disabled on the WLSE by default. To enable it, log in as admin and use the telnetenable enable CLI command. For more information on this command and other CLI commands, see the online help.

a. To verify the IP address, enter the following command:
# show interface
b. To verify that the WLSE can obtain DNS services from the network, enter the following command.
# nslookup dns-name
where dns-name is the DNS name of a host that is registered in DNS. If the system cannot obtain the IP address of the host from DNS, use the ip name-server command to specify a working DNS server.

c. To verify that the WLSE can communicate with the network, enter the following command:
# ping ip-address
where ip-address is the IP address of a host that is accessible on the network. The DNS server is a good host to ping because it should always be running and accessible

d. Enter the following command to verify that the system time and date are correct in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC):
# show clock
If the time or date is incorrect, set the correct time and date using the clock command.

If your network uses Network Time Protocol (NTP), use the ntp server command to configure the WLSE to use NTP.

e. To log out of the CLI, enter the following command:
# exit
Step 2 Log in to the Web interface as the admin user and verify that the parameters in the site-specific configuration file are correctly set on the WLSE.

For information on where to look in the UI, use the Navigation Path column in Table 3-6.

Reapplying the Configuration File

If you change settings in the site-specific configuration file and install a changed file on your TFTP server, the WLSE will automatically download the new file after it reboots and apply the changes to its configuration.

If you need to reapply the configuration file, but the file has not changed, you must first erase the WLSE's configuration by using the erase config CLI command. After you run this command on the WLSE and reboot, the WLSE will download the configuration file and apply settings to its configuration.

For more information on the erase config command, see the online help or the User Guide for the CiscoWorks Wireless LAN Solution Engine, Release 2.11.

Customizing a WLSE Express After Applying a Configuration File

After a WLSE Express starts and loads its configuration from the site-specific configuration file, you can further customize the system by using its Web interface or its CLI command interface.

Caution You might lose your custom settings if the site-specific configuration is reapplied.