User Guide

Configuring AP access points 227
Nortel WLAN Security Switch 2300 Series Configuration Guide
Resiliency and Dual-Homing Options for APs
APs can support a wide variety of resiliency options. Redundancy for PoE, for data link connections and for WSS
services can be provided to the AP.
• PoE redundancy—On AP models that have two Ethernet ports, you can provide PoE redundancy by connecting
both ports to PoE sources. PoE can come from a directly connected WSS or a PoE injector. Dual-homing support
for PoE is automatically enabled when you connect both AP Ethernet ports.
• Data link redundancy—You can provide data link redundancy by connecting both Ethernet ports directly to one
WSS, two WSS switches, an intermediate Ethernet switch, or a combination of WSS and Ethernet switch. If an
intermediate Ethernet connection is used, you also need a Distributed AP configuration on an WSS somewhere in
the network. Dual-homing support for data link redundancy is automatically enabled when you connect both AP
Ethernet ports.
• WSS redundancy—You can provide redundancy of WSS services by dual-homing the AP to two directly connected
WSSs; or by configuring a Distributed AP configuration either on two or more indirectly connected WSSs, or on a
combination of a directly connected WSS and one or more indirectly connected WSSs. To provide WSS
redundancy on an AP model that has only one AP port, configure a Distributed AP connection on two or more
indirectly connected WSSs.
Bias
On a WSS, configurations for APs have a bias (low or high) associated with them. The default is high. A WSS switch
with high bias for an AP is preferred over a WSS with low bias for the AP.
If more than one switch has high bias, or the bias for all connections is the same, the switch that has the greatest capacity
to add more active APs is preferred. For example, if one switch has 50 active APs while another switch has 60 active
APs, and both switches are capable of managing 80 active APs, the new AP uses the switch that has only 50 active APs.
(To set the bias for an AP configuration, see “Changing Bias” on page 260.)
group None Named set of AP access ports. WSS
Software load-balances user sessions among
the access ports in the group.
upgrade-firmware enable Automatic upgrade of boot firmware.
blink disable LED blink mode—blinking LEDs on an AP
make the AP visually easy to identify.
Note. Bias applies only to WSSs that are indirectly attached to the AP through an
intermediate Layer 2 or Layer 3 network. An AP always attempts to boot on AP port 1 first,
and if a WSS is directly attached on AP port 1, the AP boots from it regardless of the bias
settings.
Table 7: Global AP Parameters (continued)
Parameter Default Value Description