General Controller Procedures And Guidelines; Using Master, Standby Master, And Local Controllers; Pushing Device Configurations To Controllers - Dell PowerConnect W-AirWave 7.6 Configuration Manual

Some profiles provide configurations for additional profiles that reference them. When this is the case, this
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document describes the interrelationship of such profiles to each other.
Profiles can be configured in standalone fashion using the procedures in this chapter, then applied elsewhere as
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desired. Otherwise, you can define referenced profiles as you progress through Dell PowerConnect W AP Group
or WLAN setup. In the latter case, AirWave takes you to profile setup on separate pages, then returns to the Dell
PowerConnect W AP Group or WLAN setup.
For additional information about Profiles, refer to

General Controller Procedures and Guidelines

Using Master, Standby Master, and Local Controllers

AirWave implements the following general approaches to controllers:
Master Controller—This controller maintains and pushes all global configurations. AirWave pushes configurations
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only to a master controller.
Standby Controller—The master controller synchronizes with the standby master controller, which remains ready
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to govern global configurations for controllers should the active master controller fail.
Local Controller—Master controllers push local configurations to local controllers. Local controllers retain settings
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such as the interfaces and global VLANs.
AirWave is aware of differences in what is pushed to master controllers and local controllers, and automatically
pushes all configurations to the appropriate controllers. Thin AP provisioning is pushed to the controller to which a
thin AP is connected.
You can determine additional details about what is specific to each controller by reviewing information on the
Groups > Dell PowerConnect W Config page and the Groups > Monitor page for any specific AP that lists its
master and standby master controller.

Pushing Device Configurations to Controllers

When you add or edit device configurations, you can push device configurations to controllers as follows:
Make device changes on the Dell PowerConnect W Configuration page and click Save and Apply.
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If global configuration is enabled, also make devices changes on the Groups > Dell PowerConnect W Config
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page and click Save and Apply.
A device must be in Manage mode to push configurations in this way.
NOTE: If you click Save and Apply when a device is in Monitor mode, this initiates a verification process in which AirWave advises
you of the latest mismatches. Mismatches are viewable from the APs/Devices > Mismatched page. Additional Audit and Group pages
list mismatched statuses for devices.
Normally, devices are in Monitor mode. It may be advisable in some circumstances to accumulate several
configuration changes in Monitor mode prior to pushing an entire set of changes to controllers. Follow these general
steps when implementing configuration changes for devices in Monitor mode:
1. Make all device changes using the Dell PowerConnect W Configuration pages. Click Save and Apply as you
complete device-level changes. This builds an inventory of pending configuration changes that have not been
pushed to the controller and APs.
2. Review the entire set of newly mismatched devices on the APs/Devices > Mismatched page.
3. For each mismatched device, navigate to the APs/Devices > Audit page to audit recent configuration changes as
desired.
Dell PowerConnect W-AirWave 7.6 | Configuration Guide
"Profiles" on page 43.
Dell PowerConnect W Configuration in Daily Operations | 21