Creating an Aruba IAP Cluster and SSID

This uses the Aruba 315 model IAPs.

BOOTING THE ACCESS POINTS

You need to power up the access points and ensure they can get an IP address via DHCP, you can manually specify one if you have the console cable. 

If you push down the reset button as it powers up, it should reset the access point. You will see if this has happened when the lights flash and flash for a second time 10 seconds later. Let the access point boot up.

CONNECTING TO THE SETMEUP SSID

Once the AP has booted up, got an IP address and is broadcasting the SetMeUp SSID you can begin to configure the access point. You should see a network named SetMeUp-XX:XX:XX which is the Aruba AP.

CONNECTING TO THE ADMIN PORTAL

Once you are connected you can access the admin portal via your web browser entering the IP address of the access point or using the URL 'setmeup.arubanetworks.com' to access the web portal. The username will be admin and the password is the serial number on the back of the access point.

USING THE PORTAL

Under Configuration you can change the controller's name, change network and access point settings, etc. Below you can see me setting the name of the IAP controller to JakeOnSysadmin.

CREATING AN SSID

To create a new SSID, you need to go to Configuration then Networks which will show the existing SSIDs. Click on the Plus sign to create a new SSID.

Go through the wizard setting the name, VLAN settings, security settings, etc.

Once finished you should now see the SSID broadcasting.

CLUSTERING THE ACCESS POINTS

If you boot up another access point within the same VLAN, it should cluster with the existing access point and broadcast the same SSIDs to extend your wireless coverage.

Setting Up DHCP on a HPE 5130 Switch

This covers setting up a HPE 5130 switch as your DHCP server.

ENABLING DHCP GLOBALLY

First you need to enable DHCP globally on the switch. You do so with the command below.

CREATE A VLAN AND VLAN INTERFACE

Now we need to create a VLAN and a VLAN interface which will be the gateway for the VLAN. Below are the commands used to create the VLAN and it's interface along with an IP address.

CREATING THE POOL

With the VLAN created, the pool needs to be created. You need to define the network address and mask as well as the range of addresses you can get via DHCP. The commands are shown below.

ASSIGN A DHCP POOL TO A VLAN INTERFACE

The newly created DHCP pool now needs to be assigned to the VLAN interface. This is done with the command shown below.

TESTING THE DHCP SERVER

That should be all, just to confirm I have plugged in an access point to see if it gets an IP address.

The command 'display dhcp server ip-in-use' will show the leases, as we can see there's a lease which shows DHCP is working.