NETGEAR ProSafe WC7520 User manual

September 2010
202-10686-01
v1.2
350 East Plumeria Drive
San Jose, CA 95134
USA
ProSafe 20-AP Wireless
Controller WC7520
Reference Manual

2|
ProSafe 20-AP Wireless Controller WC7520 Reference Manual
©2010 NETGEAR, Inc. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated
into any language in any form or by any means without the written permission of NETGEAR, Inc.
Technical Support
Thank you for choosing NETGEAR. To register your product, get the latest product updates, or get support online,
visit us at http://support.netgear.com.
Phone (US & Canada only): 1-888-NETGEAR
Phone (Other Countries): See Support information card.
Trademarks
NETGEAR, the NETGEAR logo, ReadyNAS, ProSafe, Smart Wizard, and Auto Uplink are trademarks or
registered trademarks of NETGEAR, Inc. Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, and Vista are registered trademarks
of Microsoft Corporation. Other brand and product names are registered trademarks or trademarks of their
respective holders.
Statement of Conditions
To improve internal design, operational function, and/or reliability, NETGEAR reserves the right to make changes
to the products described in this document without notice. NETGEAR does not assume any liability that may occur
due to the use, or application of, the product(s) or circuit layout(s) described herein.
Revision History
Publication Part Number Version Publish Date Comments
202-10686-01 2v1.2 September 2010 Add new content to
chapters 1-4
202-10686-01 v1.2 August 2010 Initial publication

Table of Contents |3
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction and Overview
Key Features and Capabilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Package Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Hardware Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Front Panel Ports and LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Rear Panel Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Bottom Panel With Product Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
WC7520 Wireless Controller System Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
NETGEAR ProSafe Access Points: WNAP210 and WNDAP350 . . . . . 11
What Can You Do With the WC7520 Wireless Controller? . . . . . . . . . . 11
Licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Maintenance and Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Understanding the Web Management Interface Menu Layout . . . . . . . . . 14
Initial Connection and Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Understanding Basic and Advanced Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Deploy the Wireless Controller. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Chapter 2 System Planning and Deployment Scenarios
System Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Single Controller Configuration With Basic Profile Group . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Single Controller Configuration With Access Point Groups . . . . . . . . . . 23
Stacked Controller Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Management VLAN and Data VLAN Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Deployment Scenarios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Scenario Example 1: Basic Network with Single VLAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Scenario Example 2: Advanced Network with VLANs and SSIDs. . . . . 28
Scenario Example 3: Advanced Network With Redundancy. . . . . . . . . 30
Chapter 3 RF Planning
RF Planning Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Planning Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Defining and Editing Buildings and Floors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Planning Access Point Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Viewing and Managing Heat Maps for Deployed Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
RF Plan Example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Chapter 4 Access Point Discovery and Management

ProSafe 20-AP Wireless Controller WC7520 Reference Manual
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Access Point Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Understanding the Discovery Results. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Requirements for Auto Discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Managing the Access Point List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Adding Access Points to the Managed List After Discovery . . . . . . . . . .46
Editing Access Point Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Rebooting Access Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50
Chapter 5 Configuring Network Settings
Configuring General Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Time Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Configuring IP and VLAN Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Management VLANs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Untagged VLANs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Managing the DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Managing Certificates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
Configuring Syslog and Alarm Notification Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Configuring Syslog Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58
Configuring Alarm Notification Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59
Configuring the Email Notification Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
Chapter 6 Managing Access Point Groups
Configuring Access Point Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62
Managing Access Point Groups in the WLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Chapter 7 Configuring Wireless Settings
Configuring the Radio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65
Basic Radio Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Advanced Radio Configuration for Access Point Groups . . . . . . . . . . . .66
Configuring Wireless Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67
Basic Wireless Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
Advanced Wireless Configuration for Access Point Groups. . . . . . . . . .69
Configuring Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Specifying RF Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
Basic RF Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73
Advanced RF Management for Access Point Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74
Configuring QoS for Access Point Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
Configuring Load Balancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Configuring Rate Limiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78
Basic Rate Limiting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Advanced Rate Limiting for Access Point Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .79
Chapter 8 Configuring Security and Wireless Security Profiles
Managing Wireless Security Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81

ProSafe 20-AP Wireless Controller WC7520 Reference Manual
Table of Contents |5
Small-Scale WLAN Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Larger Deployments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Configuring Basic Security Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
Configuring Advanced Security Profiles for Access Point Groups . . . . .85
Managing Rogue Access Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
Configuring Basic Rogue Detection Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87
Configuring Advanced Rogue Detection Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Managing MAC Authentication and MAC Authentication Groups . . . . . . .90
Configuring Basic MAC Authentication Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91
Configuring MAC Authentication Settings for Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
Managing Authentication Servers and Authentication Server Groups . . . .93
Configuring Basic Authentication Server Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Configuring Advanced Authentication Server Settings for Groups. . . . .95
Managing Guest Network Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
Configuring Captive Portal Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .96
Managing Users and Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
Chapter 9 Maintaining the Controller
Managing the Configuration File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Backing Up and Restoring the Configuration File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Upgrading the Configuration File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Rebooting or Resetting the Wireless Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103
Managing Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Managing Remote Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .105
Specifying Session Timeouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106
Viewing Alerts and Events and Saving Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107
Saving Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Viewing Alerts and Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Managing Licenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Viewing Your Licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .111
Configuring the License Server Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
Registering Your Licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113
Chapter 10 Managing Stacking and Redundancy
Managing Stacking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115
Configuring Stacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116
Managing Redundancy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .117
Configuring Redundancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .118
Appendix A Notification of Compliance

Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview |6
1. Introduction and Overview 11
This chapter includes the following sections:
• Key Features and Capabilities on this page
• Package Contents on page 8
• Hardware Features on page 8
• WC7520 Wireless Controller System Components on page 11
• What Can You Do With the WC7520 Wireless Controller? on page 11
• To manage your licenses, see Managing Licenses on page 111. on page 13
• Maintenance and Support on page 14
• Initial Connection and Configuration on page 15
• Understanding the Web Management Interface Menu Layout on page 14
• Deploy the Wireless Controller. on page 18
Key Features and Capabilities
The ProSafe 20-AP Wireless Controller WC7520 is for medium-sized businesses, schools,
and hospitals. In a stacked configuration and with the appropriate licenses, a wireless
controller can support up to 150 access points (APs) with up to 1,500 users or more. The
wireless controller supports the IEEE 802.11a/b/g protocols and is upgradable to support the
IEEE 802.11n protocol. The wireless controller allows you to manage your wireless network
from a central point, implement security features centrally, support layer 2 and layer 3 fast
roaming, configure a guest access captive portal, and support Voice over Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi).
The wireless controller provides the following key features and capabilities:
• Scalable architecture with stacking and redundancy
-Support for 20 access points (APs) on a single wireless controller with no additional
license
-Purchased licenses (WC7510L) in increments of 10 APs allow for support of up to a
maximum number of 50 APs on a single wireless controller

Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview |7
ProSafe 20-AP Wireless Controller WC7520 Reference Manual
-A maximum of three stacked wireless controllers allows for up to 150 APs in a single
network
-Support of 1:1 redundancy
-Support of 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g modes by default with the option to
purchase a license (WC75NL) to support the 802.11n mode
• Auto discovery of APs
-Auto-discovery of APs in the same layer 2 domain
-Auto-discover of APs across a layer 3 domain
-Automatic download of wireless controller-based firmware to discovered APs that are
added to the managed AP list.
• Centralized management
-Single point of management for the entire wireless network
-Visualization of live coverage and heat maps for the wireless network
-Automatic firmware upgrade to all managed APs
-DHCP server for IP address provisioning
-Configurable management VLAN
• Security
-Identity based security authentication with an external AAA server- RADIUS, Active
Directory, or internal authentication server.
-Up to 8 profiles per Group and 8 groups per radio.
-Depending on the AP model, support for up to 1281AP profiles per wireless controller
(8 profiles per Group and 8 groups per radio). Each AP profile supports settings for
SSID, network authentication, data encryption, client separation, VLAN, MAC ACL
groups, and wireless QoS.
-Depending on the AP models used, support for up 16 AP profile groups per wireless
controller
-Rogue AP detection and classification
-Guest access and captive portal
-Scheduled wireless on/off times
• Wi-Fi Multimedia Quality of service and advanced wireless features
-Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) support for video, audio, and voice over Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi)
-WMM power save option
-Automatic ling
-mechanism ensures seamless coverage for wireless users
-Layer 2 and layer 3 seamless roaming support (FRS)
-Local layer 2 traffic switching at AP level for fast processing and roamed layer 3 traffic
processing at controller level
1. Number of profiles depends on AP model used with the controller.

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ProSafe 20-AP Wireless Controller WC7520 Reference Manual
• RF planning and management
-RF planning tool to predict the number and placement of APs based on signal
strength and the number of users per building floor. Displays the predicted coverage
-Automatic control of AP transmit power and channel allocation to reduce interference
-Automatic load balancing of clients across APs
-Rate limiting per SSID
• Monitoring and reporting
-AP heat maps by wireless band and signal strength for real-time status view of the
WLAN
-Monitoring of the status of the network, wireless controllers, WLANs, and clients, and
network usage statistics
-Specific health monitoring of APs
-Logging and emailing of system events, RF events, load balancing events, rate
limiting events, and redundancy failover events
For a list of all features and capabilities of the wireless controller, see the datasheet at
http://www.netgear.com/products/service-providers/access-points-wireless-controllers/wirele
ss-management/WC7520.aspx.
Package Contents
The ProSafe 20-AP Wireless Controller WC7520 product package contains the following
items:
• ProSafe 20-AP Wireless Controller WC7520 appliance
• One AC power cable
• Rubber feet (4) with adhesive backing
• One rack-mount kit
• Straight-through Category 5 Ethernet cable
• WC7520 ProSafe Wireless Controller Installation Guide
• Resource CD
If any of the parts are incorrect, missing, or damaged, contact your NETGEAR dealer. Keep
the carton, including the original packing materials, in case you need to return the product for
repair.
Hardware Features
The front panel ports and LEDs, rear panel components, and bottom label of the wireless
controller are described in this section.

Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview |9
ProSafe 20-AP Wireless Controller WC7520 Reference Manual
Front Panel Ports and LEDs
The following figure shows the front panel ports and status LEDs of the wireless controller.
Figure 1.
From left to right, the wireless controller’s front panel shows the following ports and LEDs:
• Power LED.
• Test LED.
• USB port for external storage, for example for more floor heat maps and extended
statistics history.
• Four 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN Ethernet ports with RJ-45 connectors, left LEDs, and right
LEDs. All Ethernet ports provide switched N-way, automatic speed-negotiating, auto
MDI/MDIX technology.
Note: The four ports of the wireless controller function as a single switch.
The function of each LED is described in the following table:
Table 1.
LED Status Description
Power LED On The green power LED should be lit when the wireless controller is on.
Off If the power LED is not lit when the wireless controller is on, check the
connections and check to see if the power outlet is controlled by a wall switch that
is turned off.
Test LED On The wireless controller is initializing. After approximately 2 minutes, when the
wireless controller has completed its initialization, the Test LED turns off. If the
Test LED remains on, the initialization has failed.
Off The wireless controller has completed its initialization successfully. The Test LED
should be off during normal operation.
Blinking Indicates firmware upgrade.
Left LAN
port LED
(one for
each port)
Off The port has no physical link, that is, no Ethernet cable is plugged into the
wireless controller.
On (green) The port has detected a link with a connected Ethernet device.
Blink (green) Data is being transmitted or received by the port.

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ProSafe 20-AP Wireless Controller WC7520 Reference Manual
Rear Panel Features
The following figure shows the rear panel components of the wireless controller.
Figure 2.
From left to right, the wireless controller’s rear panel components are:
• Console port. RS232 port for connecting to an optional console terminal. The port has a
DB9 male connector. The default baud rate is 9600 K. The configuration is 8 bits, no
parity, and 1 stop bit.
• Factory default reset button. Using a sharp object, press and hold this button for about
10 seconds until the front panel Test light flashes and the wireless controller returns to
factory default settings.
Note: If you reset the wireless controller, all configuration settings are lost
and the default passwords are restored.
• Kensington lock. Attach an optional Kensington lock to prevent unauthorized removal of
the wireless controller.
• AC power socket. Attach the power cord to this socket. (There is no separate on/off power
switch.)
Bottom Panel With Product Label
The product label on the bottom of the wireless controller’s enclosure displays the default IP
address, default user name, and default password, as well as regulatory compliance, input
power and other information.
Figure 3.
Right LAN
port LED
(one for
each port)
Off The port is operating at 10 Mbps.
On (amber) The port is operating at 100 Mbps.
On (green) The port is operating at 1000 Mbps.
Table 1.
LED Status Description