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Aironet 1140: from lwap to autonomous AP

Carlo Zaina
Level 1
Level 1

Just this: is it possible to downgrade a 1140 from lwap to autonomous AP?

33 Replies 33

brian.kachel
Level 4
Level 4

There is no autonomous image for an 1140 series yet.

Hopefully soon!

blarkins1
Level 1
Level 1

There is an Autonomous IOS available for the 1140 now, however I have yet to figure out how to get a command prompt to convert it while consoled in. When the LAP cannot find a controller it just continues to error without timing out.

Thank you for the news.

I was waiting for the release of an autonomous IOS

I have been waiting anxiously too... We have several 1140's but no controller yet. If you know how to get a command prompt without the AP joining a controller please let me know. Mine just keeps erroring and will not give me a prompt.

Here is the release notes for the IOS and support for the 1140's:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/wireless/access_point/ios/release/notes/12_4_21a_JA1rn.html

Got it figured out... the 1142's need to get a DHCP IP address, then they'll create an AP hostname, THEN you will get a command prompt to work from.

If you're working in a test environment, just build a DHCP pool on your switch and the AP will grab an IP from there.

So far i worked only with Autonomous AP, so i may be wrong..

When AP boots, can't you halt the normal boot process and go in a maintenance mode, much like with a catalyst switch? And then, upload the image?

I'll have to wait until my 1142 get shipped

Typically, yes. But with the 1142 pre-loaded with a lightweight image, I was not able to break into rommon at all, and I could not get a prompt after it finished loading its image. It kept erroring that there was no IP and it could not find a controller, so I setup a DHCP pool on my switch and once it got an IP, it created a hostname for itself then went into a > prompt. Once that was done, a debug command was needed to get into config mode, THEN I was able to TFTP the new image on, and force a reload. .... Wasn't the easiest thing to do, but I know how to do it now. Only 19 more AP's to convert... :-)

What i can say: have fun with the upgrade :-) (In this circumstance i would opt for a wireless controller).

Anyway, thank you for sharing these info

I've successfully downgraded my 1420 to autonomous AP using the monitor mode (Press and hold MODE while you reconnect power to the access 
point). In this state you can easily configure the TFTP server and the Lan interface to download the Autonomous image.

Probably too late now, but perhaps someone could try these steps to get into monitor mode (which work on other lightweight Cisco AP's when converting to autonomous):

This is what I've done on 1242's. Does it not work on an 1140?

Step 1 The static IP address of the PC on which your TFTP server software runs should be between 10.0.0.2 and 10.0.0.30.

Step 2 Make sure that the PC contains the access point image file (such as c1200-k9w7-tar.122-15.JA.tar for a 1200 series access point) in the TFTP server folder and that the TFTP server is activated.

Step 3 Set the timeout value on the TFTP server to 30 seconds.

Step 4 On the PC where the TFTP server is located, perform these steps:

a. Disable any software firewall products, such as Windows firewall, ZoneAlarm firewall, McAffee firewall, or others.

b. Ensure all Windows files are visible. From Windows Explorer, click Tools > Folder Options > View; then uncheck the Hide extensions for known file types check box.

Step 5 Rename the access point image file in the TFTP server folder to c1200-k9w7-tar.default for a 1200 series access point, c1130-k9w7-tar.default for an 1130 series access point, c1240-k9w7-tar.default for a 1240 series access point, and c1250-k9w7-tar.default for a 1250 series access point.

Step 6 Connect the PC to the access point using a Category 5 (CAT5) Ethernet cable.

Step 7 Disconnect power from the access point.

Step 8 Press and hold MODE while you reconnect power to the access point.

Step 9 Hold the MODE button until the status LED turns red (approximately 20 to 30 seconds) and then release.

Step 10 Wait until the access point reboots, as indicated by all LEDs turning green followed by the Status LED blinking green.

Step 11 After the access point reboots, reconfigure it using the GUI or the CLI.

The process works perfectly without issue.

Use a tftp server from Solarwinds (free) and you'll see your file transferring over - process took about 5 minutes total including the reload.

Since running on the autonomous 1142.. I'm noticing some buggy behavior. Random drops of the wlan while using wpa2 and PSK.

And some clients just can't join at all (noticed this on a Cisco 305 old PC card, as well as a recent IBM with Intel 5500 ABGN card.)

I am comparing this to a 1242 that is also autonomous on a recent code.

I think there are some known issues in this first release for teh 1142 - hopefully a new rev coming out soon!

Did you enable ClientLink?

To enable ClientLink, enter this CLI command in interface configuration mode on 802.11n radio interfaces:

beamform ofdm

I've only recently enabled it but have been working with the 1252 more so than the 1142 - I'll know in a day or three if the 1142 behaves better with the Intel client with clientlink enabled.

I've been playing with a 1252 on the same code level with an Intel 5300, some Atheros card (in an iMac), an Intel 3945, and a Cisco CB21. ClientLink is enabled. Not nary a drop so far, a, g, or n. I am single channel 802.11n on the 2.4 and dual channel (bonded channel, 40mhz channel width, whatever) 802.11n on the 5Ghz radio. There is little to no interference where I'm testing, so it's kind of ideal for performance testing, but not ideal for real-world testing.

I hope to be testing a converted 1140 this week or next (the 1252 was CAPWAP, is now autonomous).

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