Huawei AC6005 Layer 2 GE/Combo Port POE WIFI Access Controller

 

Appearance

Specifications

Specifications	AC6005
Ports	6 x GE + 2 x GE Combo
PoE	8-port PoE or 4-port PoE+
Power Supply	AC
Forwarding Capability	4 Gbit/s
Maximum Number of Managed APs	256
Maximum Number of Access Users	2K
AP-AC Networking	Layer 2 or Layer 3 networking
Forwarding Modes	Direct forwarding (distributed forwarding or local forwarding) or tunnel forwarding (centralized forwarding)
AC Active/Standby Mode	1+1 HSB or N+1 backup
Radio Protocols	802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ac wave2

Deployment scenarios

The AC transmits control flows over Control And Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) tunnels. Data flows are or are not transmitted over CAPWAP tunnels depending on requirements.

 

CAPWAP defines how APs communicate with ACs and provides a general encapsulation and transmission mechanism for communication between them. CAPWAP defines data tunnels and control tunnels. Data tunnels encapsulate 802.3 data packets to be sent to the AC. Control tunnels transmit control flows for remote AP configuration and WLAN management.

The AC is connected to an aggregation switch in chain or branched mode. You can select either depending on requirements. You can configure direct forwarding for some APs and tunnel forwarding for others. In tunnel forwarding mode, all wireless user traffic is aggregated to an AC. However, this may create a switching bottleneck so tunnel forwarding is rarely used.

In inline networking mode, APs or access switches are directly connected to the AC. The AC functions as both an AC and an aggregation switch to forward and process APs’ data and management services.

 

The AC sets up CAPWAP tunnels with APs to configure and manage them over CAPWAP tunnels. Wireless user service data can be forwarded between APs and the AC over CAPWAP data tunnels or directly forwarded by APs. Direct forwarding is often used so user service data can be forwarded on APs.

In direct forwarding mode, only control flows are transmitted in CAPWAP tunnels. Data flows sent from APs are transmitted to the upstream device by the AC and are identified by VLAN IDs. When data flows are not transmitted in CAPWAP tunnels, configure management VLANs and data VLANs as follows:

 

• On the AC and its upstream devices, configure an AC management VLAN to transmit control flows between the AC and the NMS
• On the switches between APs and the AC, configure AP management VLANs to transmit control flows between APs and the AC
• On all switches between APs and the AC, configure data VLANs to differentiate WLAN service flows

n direct forwarding mode, wireless user service data is translated from 802.3 packets into 802.11 packets, which are then forwarded by an uplink aggregation switch.

The bypass networking mode is often used on enterprise networks. The AC does not need to process wireless user service data so bypass networking eliminates the bandwidth bottleneck and facilitates using existing security policies. Huawei recommends bypass networking for integrated network deployment.

 

The AC only manages APs, so all AP control flows must reach the AC. Interfaces connected to the AC are reserved on the aggregation switch and it acts as the DHCP server to allocate IP addresses to APs. APs obtain the IP address of the AC using DNS, DHCP Option 43, or DHCP Option 15 in DHCP packets.

Compared with a traditional WLAN, a Wireless Mesh Network (WMN) has several advantages:

• Fast deployment: Mesh nodes can be easily installed to construct a WMN in a short time, much shorter than the construction period of a traditional WLAN
• Dynamic coverage area expansion: As more mesh nodes are deployed on a WMN, the WMN coverage area can be rapidly expanded
• Robustness: A WMN is a peer-to-peer network that will not be affected by the failure of a single node. If a node fails, packets are forwarded to the destination node along other paths
• Flexible networking: An AP can join or leave a WMN easily, allowing for flexible networking
• Multiple application scenarios: Besides traditional WLAN scenarios such as enterprise networks, office networks, and campus networks, a WMN also applies to scenarios such as large-scale warehouses, docks, MANs, metro lines, and emergency communications
• Cost-effectiveness: Only MPPs need to connect to a wired network, which minimizes the dependency of a WMN on wired devices and saves cost on wired device purchasing and cable deployment

Nodes on a WMN can be classified into the several types based on function:

 

• Mesh Point (MP): A mesh-capable node uses IEEE 802.11 MAC and physical layer protocols for wireless communication. This node supports automatic topology discovery, automatic route discovery, and data packet forwarding
• Mesh Portal Point (MPP): An MP that connects to a WMN or another type of network. This node has the portal function and enables mesh nodes to communicate with external networks