AP 1200 Radio Upgrade

[sunil_vakharia]

Hi,

I am fairly new to this and have seen some related posts on this topic, but didn't get much clarity on my doubts.

*My primary requirement is WPA2 with AES*

I upgraded my 1200 AP from VxWorks to IOS 12.3(8) JA2 and realized that I still need a 802.11g radio.

As per the configuration screens, I have only one radio - Radio0- 802.11B (Radio Type: Radio 350 series).

As I understand, I need to buy another radio - an 802.11G radio.

Can someone point me to a link on Cisco site for buying an 802.11G radio?

Any other specifications that I need to care about for me to run WPA2 with AES?

What happens to my Radio 0 which is already there?

Will this new radio have to be 5GHz or 2.4?

Thanks.

[Rob Huffman]

Hi Sunil,

You are on the right track for sure! You will need to upgrade /replace the old b-radio with one listed below to be able to use WPA2-AES.You could go with an A (5GHz) radio if your clients can support it but most likely the g (2.4GHz) radio will be a better fit as it is backward compliant to support b clients.

Here is some further info;

Cisco Aironet 1200 Series Access Point Radio Upgrade Instructions

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/wireless/ps430/products_quick_start09186a00800c7515.html#wp16089

Q. What Cisco Aironet access points support WPA2 and AES?

A. The following Cisco Aironet autonomous and lightweight access points support WPA2 and AES: Cisco Aironet 1240AG Series, 1230AG Series, 1130AG Series and 1000 Series access points. Cisco Aironet 1100 Series, 1200 Series and 1300 Series 802.11g radios support WPA2 with a Cisco IOS Software upgrade via Cisco IOS Software Release 12.3(2)JA or later.

Q. Which Cisco Aironet 1200 Series 802.11a radio modules support WPA2 and AES?

A. Cisco Aironet 1200 Series radio modules with the part numbers AIR-RM21A or AIR-RM22A support WPA2 and AES. The Cisco Aironet 1200 Series radio module with the part number AIR-RM20A does not support WPA2 or AES.

Q. Which Cisco Aironet 1200 Series 802.11a radio modules support WPA2 and AES?

A. Cisco Aironet 1200 Series radio modules with the part numbers AIR-RM21A or AIR-RM22A support WPA2 and AES. The Cisco Aironet 1200 Series radio module with the part number AIR-RM20A does not support WPA2 or AES.

Q. Which Cisco Aironet 802.11b access points support WPA2 and AES?

A. Cisco Aironet 802.11b access points are not upgradeable to support WPA2 and AES.

From this doc;

Cisco Wi-Fi Protected Access, WPA2 AND IEEE 802.11I

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns339/ns395/ns176/ns178/netqa0900aecd801e3e59.html

Cisco Ordering Solutions (can help locate a Cisco Partner reseller)

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/ordering/or13/or8/o25/ordering_solutions_category_home.html

Or Resellers like (from Google search);

http://www.genesistechintl.com/acatalog/Cisco_Wireless_LAN.html

http://qisvonline.com/lantana/search.cfm?stype=Description&ClassItem=204-64&Count=101&keyword=&rpp=20

Hope this helps!

Rob

Please remember to rate helpful posts.....

[sunil_vakharia]

Thanks Rob for the clarifications.

I will take your suggestion of going with 802.11g (since 11b AP's from Cisco doesn't support WPA2 and AES) and 11a is not supported by my client machines.

However, I still have a few questions.

The links that you have given (regarding ordering of parts) talk about 11a only. What are the radio part numbers for 11g?

[jolmo]

Hi Sunil

Maybe this is what you are looking for:

"Cisco Aironet 802.11G 1100 and 1200 Series Access Point Upgrade Kit (AIR-MP21G-A-K9, AIR-MP21G-E-K9, AIR-MP21G-J-K9, AIR-MP21G-I-K9)"

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/wireless/ps430/products_data_sheet0900aecd801b9233.html

Hope this helps

[Rob Huffman]

Hi Sunil,

Sorry about that, here are the 802.11G radio part numbers;

802.11g Radio Modules

IEEE 802.11g compliant

Mini-PCI form factor

2.4 GHz operations

Up to 54 Mbps

Dual RP-TNC connectors for externally attached antennas (not included)

Requires IOS image version 12.2(13)JA or later

AIR-MP21G-A-K9

FCC (Americas) Configuration

AIR-MP21G-E-K9

ETSI (Europe) Configuration

AIR-MP21G-I-K9

Israel Configuration

AIR-MP21G-J-K9

TELEC (Japan) Configuration

From this doc;

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/wireless/ps430/prod_technical_reference09186a00800c9435.html

Hope this helps!

Rob

Please remember to rate helpful posts.....

[sunil_vakharia]

Jolmo, Rob: Thanks!

I think I now know what to buy: AIR-MP21G-A-K9

This should work in India (as per the compliance page) and costs around $120.

Thanks!