How to Convert a Cisco CAPWAP AP to a Mobility Express AP

Posted on by Summa Lai

by: François Vergès

This article will explains how to convert a CAPWAP AP to a Cisco Mobility Express AP. The AP model used as an example in this article is a Cisco Aironet 2802i.

Note: if you are planning on doing an AP-on-a-stick site survey with a Cisco Aironet 2800 or 3800, you will have to convert the AP to mobility express first.  Then, read this article on how to configure the mobility express AP for an APoS site survey.
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Step 1 – Download the software images

The first thing that you will need to do is download the proper software images.

Here are the different software images you will need: 

  • The latest AireOS image available for the AP you are using (​Ex: ap3g3-k9w8-tar.153-3.JF1.tar)  (Optional: not required if AP is running v8.3 and up)
  • The latest Mobility Express image available for the AP you are using (Ex: AIR-AP2800-K9-ME-8-3-133-0.tar)

Note: If your CAPWAP AP is currently running a AireOS code lower than 8.3, you will need to upgrade to a version 8.3 or higher before converting the AP to Mobility Express.

Use the “show version” command in order to find out which AireOS version your AP is running. In my case, the AP was running version 8.2.151.0:

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Step 2 – Connect to the AP and perform initial config

Here is my setup:

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​The AP was powered on by a power injector and was directly connected to my laptop via an ethernet cable. This will be used to establish the network connectivity between the laptop and the AP for the TFTP transfer.
The AirConsole unit was connected to the console port of the AP. This will be used to establish the console connection to the AP for initial configurations.

Here is how I configured my wired NIC on my laptop:

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The AP will later be configured with the 192.168.88.10/24 IP address.

But first, we need to connect to the AP using the console connection.
You should then be able to login into the AP using the default credentials:

  • Username: Cisco
  • Password: Cisco
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Note: I like using the logging console disable command as soon as I login in order to keep the log messages away from the console interface. Therefore, they won’t get in my way while I configure the AP and upgrade the software images.

You now can configure the network interface of the AP so it can establish connectivity with your laptop on the 192.168.88.0/24 networks. In order to do so, enter the following command:

  • capwap ap ip 192.168.88.10 255.255.255.0 192.168.88.1
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You can validate this configuration by using the show ip interface brief command:

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You can validate that you have network connectivity with your laptop using ping: ping 192.168.88.1.

At this point, you are ready to upload the new software images and convert the AP.

Step 3 – Start up the TFTP server

You will need a TFTP server to transfer these software images to your AP. In my case, I am using the application called  tftpServer on macOS.

Here is what you need to do regarding the TFTP server setup:

  • Star the application
  • Once the application is started, validate that it is listening on the 192.168.88.1 IP address
  • Validate what is the TFTP root directory (Ex: /private/tftpboot/)
  • Place the software images that you download in the TFTP root directory
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If you want to double check that the TFTP server is up and running and listening on the right port, issue the following command in a terminal session: netstat -an | grep LISTEN | grep .69.

Step 4 – Upgrade the CAPWAP AP (Optional)

From the console connection, via CLI, enter the following command:
ap-type mobility-express tftp://<IP_TFTP_SERVER>/<IMAGE_FILENAME>

Here is an example: ap-type mobility-express tftp://192.168.88.1/ap3g3-k9w8-tar.153-3.JF1.tar

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​The AP will reboot and install the new version.
Once the AP is back up, log back in using the default credentials (Cisco/Cisco) and issue the show version command in order to validate that the new version has been installed:

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Step 5 – Install the Mobility Express image

From the console connection, via CLI, enter the following command:
ap-type mobility-express tftp://<IP_TFTP_SERVER>/<ME_IMAGE_FILENAME>

Here is an example: ap-type mobility-express tftp://192.168.88.1/AIR-AP2800-K9-ME-8-3-133-0.tar

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You will now need to reboot the AP in order to install the new code using the following command:
reload

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The AP will reboot and install the mobility express version.
Once the AP is back up, log back in using the default credentials (Cisco/Cisco) and issue the show version command in order to validate that the new version has been installed:

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You can now see that the Mobility Express code version 8.3.133 has been installed on this AP.
The AP Image type is now MOBILITY EXPRESS IMAGE
The AP Configuration is now MOBILITY EXPRESS CAPABLE

Step 6 – What’s next?

Depending on what you will use this AP for, these following articles will help you configure your Mobility Express AP and controller:

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