Configuring a Wireless LAN Connection [Support]

Table Of Contents

Configuring a Wireless LAN Connection

Configure the Root Radio Station

Configure Bridging on VLANs

Configure Radio Station Subinterfaces

Configuration Example

Configuring a Wireless LAN Connection

The Cisco 850 and Cisco 870 series routers support a secure, affordable, and easy-to-use wireless LAN solution that combines mobility and flexibility with the enterprise-class features required by networking professionals. With a management system based on Cisco IOS software, the Cisco routers act as access points, and are Wi-Fi certified, IEEE 802.11a/b/g-compliant wireless LAN transceivers.

You can configure and monitor the routers using the command-line interface (CLI), the browser-based management system, or Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). This chapter describes how to configure the router using the CLI. Use the interface dot11radio global configuration CLI command to place the device into radio configuration mode.

See the Cisco Access Router Wireless Configuration Guide for more detailed information about configuring these Cisco routers in a wireless LAN application.

Figure 9-1 shows a wireless network deployment.

Figure 9-1 Wireless Connection to the Cisco Router

1

Wireless LAN (with multiple networked devices)

2

Cisco 850 or Cisco 870 series access router connected to the Internet

3

VLAN 1

4

VLAN 2

In the configuration example that follows, a remote user is accessing the Cisco 850 or Cisco 870 series access router using a wireless connection. Each remote user has his own VLAN.

Configuration Tasks

Perform the following tasks to configure this network scenario:

•Configure the Root Radio Station

•Configure Bridging on VLANs

•Configure Radio Station Subinterfaces

A configuration example showing the results of these configuration tasks is provided in the "Configuration Example" section.

Note The procedures in this chapter assume that you have already configured basic router features as well as PPPoE or PPPoA with NAT. If you have not performed these configurations tasks, see Chapter 1 "Basic Router Configuration," Chapter 3 "Configuring PPP over Ethernet with NAT," and Chapter 4 "Configuring PPP over ATM with NAT," as appropriate for your router. You may have also configured DHCP, VLANs, and secure tunnels.

Configure the Root Radio Station

Perform these steps to create and configure the root radio station for your wireless LAN, beginning in global configuration mode:
Command

Purpose
Step 1
interface name number

Example:
Router(config)# interface dot11radio 0
Router(config-if)# 
Enters interface configuration mode for the radio interface.
Step 2
broadcast-key [vlan vlan-id] change seconds

Example:
Router(config-if)# broadcast-key vlan 1 
change 45
Router(config-if)# 
Specifies the time interval, in seconds, between rotations of the broadcast encryption key used for clients.

Note Client devices using static Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) cannot use the access point when you enable broadcast key rotation—only wireless client devices using 802.1x authentication (such as Light Extensible Authentication Protocol [LEAP], Extensible Authentication Protocol-Transport Layer Security [EAP-TLS], or Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol [PEAP]) can use the access point.

Note This command is not supported on bridges.

See the Cisco IOS Commands for Access Points and Bridges for more details.
Step 3
encryption method algorithm key

Example:
Router(config-if)# encryption vlan 1 mode 
ciphers tkip
Router(config-if)# 
Specifies the encryption method, algorithm, and key used to access the wireless interface.

The example uses the VLAN with optional encryption method of data ciphers.
Step 4
ssid name

Example:
Router(config-if)# ssid cisco
Router(config-if-ssid)# 
Creates a Service Set ID (SSID), the public name of a wireless network.

Note All of the wireless devices on a WLAN must employ the same SSID to communicate with each other.
Step 5
vlan number

Example:
Router(config-if-ssid)# vlan 1
Router(config-if-ssid)# 
Binds the SSID with a VLAN.
Step 6
authentication type

Example:
Router(config-if-ssid)# authentication open
Router(config-if-ssid)# authentication 
network-eap eap_methods
Router(config-if-ssid)# authentication 
key-management wpa
Sets the permitted authentication methods for a user attempting access to the wireless LAN.

More than one method can be specified, as shown in the example.
Step 7
exit

Example:
Router(config-if-ssid)# exit
Router(config-if)# 
Exits SSID configuration mode, and enters interface configuration mode for the radio interface.
Step 8
speed rate

Example:
Router(config-if)# basic-1.0 basic-2.0 
basic-5.5 6.0 9.0 basic-11.0 12.0 18.0 24.0 
36.0 48.0 54.0
Router(config-if)# 
(Optional) Specifies the required and allowed rates, in Mbps, for traffic over the wireless connection.
Step 9
rts [retries | threshold]

Example:
Router(config-if)# rts threshold 2312
Router(config-if)# 
(Optional) Specifies the Request to Send (RTS) threshold or the number of times to send a request before determining the wireless LAN is unreachable.
Step 10
power [client | local] [cck [number | maximum] | ofdm [number | maximum]]

Example:
Router(config-if)# power local cck 50
Router(config-if)# power local ofdm 30
Router(config-if)# 
(Optional) Specifies the radio transmitter power level.

See the Cisco Access Router Wireless Configuration Guide for available power level values.
Step 11
channel [number | least-congested]

Example:
Router(config-if)# channel 2462
Router(config-if)# 
(Optional) Specifies the channel on which communication occurs.

See the Cisco Access Router Wireless Configuration Guide for available channel numbers.
Step 12
station-role [repeater | root]

Example:
Router(config-if)# station-role root
Router(config-if)# 
(Optional) Specifies the role of this radio interface.

You must specify at least one root interface.
Step 13
exit

Example:
Router(config-if)# exit
Router(config)# 
Exits interface configuration mode, and enters global configuration mode.
Configure Bridging on VLANs

Perform these steps to configure integrated routing and bridging on VLANs, beginning in global configuration mode:
Command or Action

Purpose
Step 1
bridge [number | crb | irb |mac-address-table]

Example:
Router(config)# bridge irb
Router(config)# 
Specifies the type of bridging.

The example specifies integrated routing and bridging.
Step 2
interface name number

Example:
Router(config)# interface vlan 1
Router(config)# 
Enters interface configuration mode.

We want to set up bridging on the VLANs, so the example enters the VLAN interface configuration mode.
Step 3
bridge-group number

Example:
Router(config)# bridge-group 1
Router(config)# 
Assigns a bridge group to the interface.
Step 4
bridge-group number parameter

Example:
Router(config)# bridge-group 1 
spanning-disabled
Router(config)# 
Sets other bridge parameters for the bridging interface.
Step 5
interface name number

Example:
Router(config)# interface bvi 1
Router(config)# 
Enters configuration mode for the virtual bridge interface.
Step 6
bridge number route protocol

Example:
Router (config) # bridge 1 route ip
Router(config)# 
Specifies the protocol for the bridge group.
Step 7
ip address address mask

Example:
Router(config)# ip address 10.0.1.1 
255.255.255.0
Router(config)# 
Specifies the address for the virtual bridge interface.
Repeat Step 2 through Step 7 above for each VLAN that requires a wireless interface.

Configure Radio Station Subinterfaces

Perform these steps to configure subinterfaces for each root station, beginning in global configuration mode:
Command

Purpose
Step 1
interface type number

Example:
Router(config)# interface dot11radio 0.1
Router(config-subif)# 
Enters subinterface configuration mode for the root station interface.
Step 2
description string

Example:
Router(config-subif)# description Cisco open
Router(config-subif)# 
Provides a description of the subinterface for the administrative user.
Step 3
encapsulation dot1q vlanID [native | second-dot1q]

Example:
Router(config-subif)# encapsulation dot1q 1 
native
Router(config-subif)# 
Specifies that IEEE 802.1Q (dot1q) encapsulation is used on the specified subinterface.
Step 4
no cdp enable

Example:
Router(config-subif)# no cdp enable
Router(config-subif)# 
Disables the Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) on the wireless interface.
Step 5
bridge-group number

Example:
Router(config-subif)# bridge-group 1
Router(config-subif)# 
Assigns a bridge group to the subinterface.

Note When the bridge-group command is enabled, the following commands are automatically enabled, and cannot be disabled. If you disable these commands you may experience an interruption in wireless device communication.

bridge-group 1 subscriber-loop-control

bridge-group 1 spanning-disabled

bridge-group 1 block-unknown-source
Step 6
exit

Example:
Router(config-subif)# exit
Router(config)# 
Exits subinterface configuration mode, and enters global configuration mode.
Repeat these steps to configure more subinterfaces, as needed.

Configuration Example

The following configuration example shows a portion of the configuration file for the wireless LAN scenario described in the preceding sections.
!
bridge irb
!
interface Dot11Radio0
 no ip address
 !
 broadcast-key vlan 1 change 45
 !
 !
 encryption vlan 1 mode ciphers tkip 
 !
 ssid cisco
    vlan 1
    authentication open 
	wpa-psk ascii 0 cisco123
    authentication key-management wpa
 !
 ssid ciscowep
    vlan 2
    authentication open 
 !
 ssid ciscowpa
    vlan 3
    authentication open 
 !
 speed basic-1.0 basic-2.0 basic-5.5 6.0 9.0 basic-11.0 12.0 18.0 24.0 36.0 48.0 54.0
 rts threshold 2312
 power local cck 50
 power local ofdm 30
 channel 2462
 station-role root
!
interface Dot11Radio0.1
 description Cisco Open
 encapsulation dot1Q 1 native
 no cdp enable
 bridge-group 1
 bridge-group 1 subscriber-loop-control
 bridge-group 1 spanning-disabled
 bridge-group 1 block-unknown-source
 no bridge-group 1 source-learning
 no bridge-group 1 unicast-flooding
!
interface Dot11Radio0.2
 encapsulation dot1Q 2
 bridge-group 2
 bridge-group 2 subscriber-loop-control
 bridge-group 2 spanning-disabled
 bridge-group 2 block-unknown-source
 no bridge-group 2 source-learning
 no bridge-group 2 unicast-flooding
!
interface Dot11Radio0.3
 encapsulation dot1Q 3
 bridge-group 3
 bridge-group 3 subscriber-loop-control
 bridge-group 3 spanning-disabled
 bridge-group 3 block-unknown-source
 no bridge-group 3 source-learning
 no bridge-group 3 unicast-flooding
!
interface Vlan1
 no ip address
 bridge-group 1
 bridge-group 1 spanning-disabled
!
interface Vlan2
 no ip address
 bridge-group 2
 bridge-group 2 spanning-disabled
!
interface Vlan3
 no ip address
 bridge-group 3
 bridge-group 3 spanning-disabled
!
interface BVI1
 ip address 10.0.1.1 255.255.255.0
!
interface BVI2
 ip address 10.0.2.1 255.255.255.0
!
interface BVI3
 ip address 10.0.3.1 255.255.255.0
!

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Configuring a Wireless LAN Connection

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Table Of Contents

Configuring a Wireless LAN Connection

Configure the Root Radio Station

Configure Bridging on VLANs

Configure Radio Station Subinterfaces

Configuration Example