With the latest 6.5.x.x & 8.x.x.x versions of the Aruba Instant software, there have been some changes to the configuration required to use an Aruba IAP (or UAP in Instant mode) as a standalone AP for completing site surveys via the APoS (AP on a stick) method. I thought I’d put together a quick post on how to set this up, and throw in some screen shots to make it easier for everyone looking to use the IAP in this manner.

Step 1: Once powered up, connect to the AP. The initial SSID will be something like “SetMeUp-xxxx” and the default username/password is admin/admin. If the GUI doesn’t popup in your browser automatically, browse to https://instant.arubanetworks.com.

Once in the GUI, upgrade the code to whatever version of the latest software you’d like to run. In the case of site survey mode, it doesn’t matter since we only need beacons in the air and no fancy features :).

TIPS:

*You’ll need to plug the AP into an active network connection in order for the initial SSID to appear for configuration purposes. It will take about 3 minutes to boot before the SSID is broadcast.

**For the AP running 8.3.x.x you’ll need to select the country code in the GUI on initial startup and connection to the “SetMeUp-xxxx” SSID.

Step 2: Convert the IAP into standalone mode

Since this should be the only AP you’re working with, select ‘Standalone AP’ from the convert dropdown, and then select the only AP listed in the ‘Access Point to convert’ dropdown. Then hit ‘Convert Now’. AP will reboot after this setting change.

This step is most easily accomplished using the GUI, but you can do this via CLI as well by using the command:

Aruba# swarm-mode standalone

Aruba# show swarm mode

Step 3: Name & Assign IP Address to the IAP

Under the Access Point list, select ‘edit’ to the right of the AP you’ve clicked on. Fill out the info as needed. This will help make it much easier to connect to the IAP SSID later and make changes for power & channel settings during your survey, if needed.

TIP: Add a label with the IP address somewhere on the device for use later. You’ll thank me for this.

Step 4: Create Survey SSID

I like to use something like **ArubaSurvey so it bubbles to the top of the list and is easily identifiable in the survey software.

Step 5: Create local DHCP pool

Complete this during buildout of the SSID by selecting ‘Virtual Controller managed’ under Client IP assignment, and ‘Custom’ under Client VLAN assignment.

Select ‘New’ under the Custom dropdown. At the bottom of the new dialog box for ‘DHCP Servers’, select ‘New’ under ‘Local DHCP Scopes’ and fill in the info as shown below.

Again, this is all about making things easier later when you need to connect to the IAP for any needed changes.

Step 6: Set RF Power & Channel

Select the ‘edit’ option by the AP you’re working on (again should be the only one in the list). Under the ‘Radio’ tab set the channel and power to be used while in survey mode.

TIPS:

*Choosing a channel that’s unused, or less used, in a survey environment might help sorting things later in the survey software. Beware however that in certain regions, different channels have different max EIRP settings.

**For the power, you will want it to match what your predictive survey was modeled at. The power shown here is in EIRP. You will need to make sure to configure the antenna gain options if using an external antenna. (External Antenna option shown below only appears on AP that have external antenna connectors.)

You can see the output here where we verified the RF power EIRP via the CLI using the command:

ArubaAP# show log driver

And Voilà! That’s all there is to it. Simply connect in your power source, such as a Ventev Venvolt, or ReVolt battery pack and you’re off to the races. No more setting uplink enforcement, SSID to broadcast without uplink etc. It’s a bit easier than old versions since you don’t have to tell it to keep the SSID broadcasting in case of an uplink failure. Hopefully this will help expedite your work completing an APoS site survey with Aruba Instant.

-Scott

Information current as of November 13, 2018 and tested on code versions 6.5.4.9 & 8.3.0.3 using an IAP-314 & IAP-335