Description:
For an access point to be managed by multiple WLAN controllers (WLC cluster), they must either be discovered by the access point automatically, or they have to be announced manually.
This article describes the steps necessary to connect an access point to multiple WLAN controllers.


Scenario 1:
  • The WLAN controllers are all located in the same local network.
  • The access points are located in the same local network as the WLAN controllers.

In this case, there is no need for any further configuration. The access points find the WLAN controllers by broadcasting a discovery request.



Scenario 2:
  • The access points are located at a site without a WLAN controller.
  • The WLAN controllers are at a separate location accessible via VPN.

The access points cannot find the WLAN controllers by broadcasting a discovery request. For this reason, they then send a DNS request with the name wlc-address to their assigned DNS server. This must be able to resolve the IP addresses of the WLAN controllers.



Scenario 3:
  • A WLAN controller is located in the same local area network as the access points.
  • Another WLAN controller is located in a routed network that can be reached via VPN.

In this case, the local WLAN controller is found by the access point’s discovery request. In order for WLAN controller 2 to be announced at the other location, its IP address must be entered into the configuration of WLAN controller 1. This is then sent to the access point in the discovery response.
1) Open the configuration of WLAN controller 1 in LANconfig and navigate to the menu WLAN controller → Profiles → WLAN profiles.
2) Open the existing WLAN profile and add the IP address of WLAN controller 2 to the List of alternative WLCs.