Configuring Workgroup Bridges - Cisco Mesh Access Points Deployment Manual

Workgroup Bridge Interoperability with Mesh Infrastructure
If one radio is configured as a WGB, then the second radio cannot be a WGB or a repeater.
Note
The following features are not supported for use with a WGB:
• Idle timeout
• Web authentication—If a WGB associates to a web-authentication WLAN, the WGB is added to the
exclusion list, and all of the WGB-wired clients are deleted (web-authentication WLAN is another name
for a guest WLAN).
• For wired clients behind the WGB, MAC filtering, link tests, and idle timeout

Configuring Workgroup Bridges

A workgroup bridge (WGB) is used to connect wired networks over a single wireless segment by informing
the mesh access point of all the clients that the WGB has on its wired segment via IAPP messages. In addition
to the IAPP control messages, the data packets for WGB clients contain an extra MAC address in the 802.11
header (4 MAC headers, versus the normal 3 MAC data headers). The extra MAC in the header is the address
of the workgroup bridge itself. This extra MAC address is used to route the packet to and from the clients.
WGB association is supported on both the 2.4-GHz (802.11b/g) and 5-GHz (802.11a) radios on the AP1522,
and the 2.4-GHz (802.11b) and 4.9-GHz (public safety) radios on the AP1524PS;
Supported platforms are autonomous WGBs AP1130, AP1240, AP1310, and the Cisco 3200 Mobile Router
(hereafter referred to as Cisco 3200) which are configured as WGBs can associate with a mesh access point.
See the "Cisco Workgroup Bridges" section in Cisco Wireless LAN Controller Configuration Guide for
configuration steps at
guides_list.html
The supported WGB modes and capacities are as follows:
• The autonomous access points configured as WGBs must be running Cisco IOS release 12.4.25d-JA or
later.
Note
• Client mode WGB (BSS) is supported; however, infrastructure WGB is not supported. The client mode
WGB is not able to trunk VLAN as in an infrastructure WGB.
• Multicast traffic is not reliably transmitted to WGB because no ACKs are returned by the client. Multicast
traffic is unicast to infrastructure WGB, and ACKs are received back.
• If one radio is configured as a WGB in a Cisco IOS access point, then the second radio cannot be a WGB
or a repeater.
• Mesh access points can support up to 200 clients including wireless clients, WGB, and wired clients
behind the associated WGB.
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If your mesh access point has two radios, you can only configure workgroup bridge
mode on one of the radios. We recommend that you disable the second radio. Workgroup
bridge mode is not supported on access points with three radios such as the AP1524SB.
Connecting the Cisco 1500 Series Mesh Access Points to the Network
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