Netgear WC7500-Wireless User Manual - Page 155

ProSAFE Wireless Controller Access Point Discovery Guidelines You must run the Discovery Wizard for the wireless controller to discover supported NETGEAR access points on the LAN or WAN. The wireless controller can discover access points that are still in their factory default state and access points that are already deployed in a standalone configuration. Both access points in the factory default state and deployed standalone access points run standalone firmware. For information about the minimum required standalone firmware versions, see Supported NETGEAR Access Points on page 27. After the access points are discovered, you can add them to the Managed AP List, enabling the wireless controller to automatically upgrade the standalone firmware of the access points to managed-mode firmware. You can then use the wireless controller to configure, manage, and monitor the managed access points. General Discovery Guidelines An access point must run at least its initial firmware release or a newer version. For firmware requirements, see Supported NETGEAR Access Points on page 27. No other firmware requirements exist for the access point to function with the wireless controller. Access points in the factory default state that are in the same Layer 2 network and are assigned the same IP address can still be discovered. Depending on the configuration of the DHCP server, these access points are discovered in parallel or sequentially. Specifying an internal DHCP server on the wireless controller automatically enables DHCP option 43 (vendor-specific information) with the IP address of the wireless controller. Whether you must enable option 43 on an external DHCP server in a Layer 2 network depends on the firmware version that the wireless controller is running: • Firmware version 4.x and earlier versions. Option 43 must be enabled on an external DHCP server in a Layer 2 network. • Firmware version 5.x and later versions. Option 43 is not required on an external DHCP server in a Layer 2 network. Layer 3 Discovery Guidelines The following are the requirements for autodiscovery of local access points across Layer 3 networks: • Enable SNMP and SSH on all standalone access points. (This is the default setting for access points.) • For all access points with a static IP address, access the web management interface of the access point and manually enter the IP address of the wireless controller in the Controller IP field. (This requirement does not apply to Layer 2 discovery.) • Unblock UDP port number 7890 in the firewall. • Assign each access point a unique IP address. (This requirement does not apply to Layer 2 discovery.) If two or more access points are assigned the same IP address, only one of Discover and Manage Access Points 155