NETGEAR ProSAFE WC7500 User manual

Installation
ProSAFE Wireless Controller
Model WC7500 and Model WC7600

2
Hardware Overview
Before you install your wireless controller, familiarize yourself with its
LEDs, buttons, and ports.
Reset
button
Console
port
Ethernet ports
and LEDs
LEDs (top to bottom)
Power, Status, Fan, Stack Master
SD slot
Digital access
point counter
USB
ports
Power inputKensington lock

3
Package Contents
• Wireless controller
• Ethernet cable
• One or more power cords (varies by region)
• Rack-mounting hardware
• Installation guide (this document)
Connect Power
WARNING: DO NOT place equipment in tight spaces or in drawers. Be sure
that your equipment is surrounded by at least 5 cm (2 inches) of air space.
Before deploying the wireless controller, we recommend that you set up
and test the device.
1. Plug the wireless controller into a power outlet.
2. Check the LEDs on the wireless controller.
The following table describes the behavior of the wireless controller LEDs.

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Wireless Controller LEDs
LED Description
ID The number of connected access points.
Power • Green. Power is supplied.
• O. The switch is not receiving power.
If the Power LED is o, check the connections and see if the
power outlet is controlled by a wall switch that is turned o.
Status • Green. Normal operation.
• Yellow. Booting.
• Blinking yellow. Firmware update in progress.
Fan • Green. All fans are operating normally.
• Yellow. One or more fans failed.
• O. No fan is detected.
Stack Master • Green. The controller is acting as master in a stack.
• O. The controller is operating as standalone or a slave in a
stack (WC7600 only feature).
Ethernet port
(le and right)
• Green (le). The port is linked in gigabit mode (WC7600).
• Blinking green (le). Activity is detected.
• O (le). The port is not linked in gigabit mode (WC7600).
• Yellow (right). The port is linked in 10/100 megabit mode.
• Blinking yellow (right). Activity is detected.
• O (right). The port is not linked in 10/100 megabit mode.

5
Configure the Wireless Controller
1. Record your computer’s TCP/IP configuration settings, and then
configure the computer with a static IP address of 192.168.0.210
and with 255.255.255.0 as the subnet mask.
Note: If you are unsure how to do this, visit support.netgear.com and
search for Static IP address on computer.
2. Connect one end of the supplied Ethernet cable to the Ethernet port
on your computer and the other end to the Ethernet port on the front
panel of the wireless controller.
Note: All four Ethernet ports provide equal performance and are
bonded together to form Linux active-backup mode.
3. Open a web browser and enter http://192.168.0.250.
4. Enter the password.
The default password is password.
Note: The first time you log in, you must change the password.
You cannot change the admin user name, but you can create a new
administrative account with a customized user name.
5. Click the Login button.

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6. To set up the wireless controller name and select the country in which
the wireless controller is used, select Configuration > System >
General.
7. To choose the time zone and optionally configure NTP settings, select
Configuration > System > Time.
8. To configure the wireless controller IP settings, select Configuration
> System > IP/VLAN.
When you click the Apply button to save your settings, your
connection to the wireless controller is terminated because you
changed its IP address.
9. Reconfigure your computer with an IP address and subnet mask that
are in the same IP subnet as the wireless controller. Use the new IP
address of the wireless controller to log in again.

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10. Select Configuration > System > DHCP Server and specify the
DHCP server settings.
The Discovery Wizard (see Discover Access Points on page 8)
requires a DHCP server to discover the access points.
If your network already includes a DHCP server, disable the DHCP
server on the wireless controller. Otherwise, configure the DHCP
settings for the DHCP server on the wireless controller.
11. To configure the WLAN settings, select Configuration > Profile.
Basic settings are suitable for a small WLAN. Advanced settings are
suitable for a large WLAN with profile groups.
For information about wireless controller configuration, including profile
groups, see the reference manual.

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Deploy the Wireless Controller
1. Disconnect the power cord from the wireless controller.
2. Disconnect the wireless controller from the computer and place it
where you intend to deploy it.
3. Connect one end of an Ethernet cable to a LAN port on a router or
switch in your network and the other end to the Ethernet port on the
front panel of the wireless controller.
4. Reconnect the power cord from the wireless controller to an AC
power outlet.
The LEDs light as described in Wireless Controller LEDs on page 4.
Discover Access Points
The Discovery Wizard can discover access points over a Layer 2 or Layer 3
network. The following general guidelines apply to the discovery process
(for specific Layer 3 guidelines, see the reference manual):
• The wireless controller can discover access points that are still in their
factory default state and access points that are already deployed in a
standalone configuration.
Both access points in the factory default state and deployed
standalone access points run standalone firmware.

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• Access points in the factory default state that are in the same Layer 2
network and are assigned the same IP address can be discovered.
In the factory default state, AP dynamic IP configuration is disabled
by default. Aer discovering an access point, you can either enable
it from the wireless controller or leave it in its default state. If you
enable dynamic IP configuration on the access points, firmware
upgrades on access points occur in parallel. Otherwise, firmware
upgrades on access points happens sequentially, which takes longer.
• Specifying an internal DHCP server on the wireless controller
automatically enables DHCP option 43 (vendor-specific information)
with the IP address of the wireless controller.
When an external DHCP server is used, Option 43 is not required if
the access points are in the same Layer 2 network as the wireless
controller. If the access points are not in the same L2 network, then
Option 43 with the wireless controller IP must be configured on the
external server.
¾To discover access points and add them to the Managed
AP List:
1. Access the wireless controller at the network IP address that you
configured (see Configure the Wireless Controller on page 5).
2. Select Access Point > Discovery > Discovery Wizard.

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3. Follow the steps onscreen to discover the access points and review
the discovery results.
4. Select Access Point > Discovery > Managed AP List. Add the
access points that you want to be managed by the wireless controller
to the Managed AP List.
While the access points are being converted from standalone mode to
managed mode, the following occurs:
• The wireless controller pushes management firmware onto the
access points.
• The access points become DHCP clients and receive an IP address
from either the DHCP server in your network or the DHCP server
on the wireless controller.
• The profiles that you have configured on the wireless controller
are pushed onto the access points.
Note: For extensive information about the Discovery Wizard and the
discovery process, see the reference manual.