Ruckus Wireless ZoneDirector 1100 User manual

Ruckus Wireless™
ZoneDirector™9.5
User Guide
Part Number 800-70401-001 Rev B
Published August 2013
www.ruckuswireless.com

i
About This Guide
This guide describes how to install, configure, and manage the Ruckus Wireless™
ZoneDirector™ version 9.5. This guide is written for those responsible for installing
and managing network equipment. Consequently, it assumes that the reader has basic
working knowledge of local area networking, wireless networking, and wireless
devices.
Note: If release notes are shipped with your product and the information there differs
from the information in this guide, follow the instructions in the release notes.
Most user guides and release notes are available in Adobe Acrobat Reader Portable
Document Format (PDF) or HTML on the Ruckus Wireless Support Web site at:
http://support.ruckuswireless.com/
Document Conventions
Table 1 and Table 2 list the text and notice conventions that are used throughout this
guide.
Tabl e 1. Text Conve ntio n s
Convention Description Example
monospace Represents information as it
appears on screen
[Device name]>
monospace bold Represents information that
you enter
[Device name]> set
ipaddr 10.0.0.12
default font bold Keyboard keys, software
buttons, and field names
On the Start menu, click All
Programs.
italics
Screen or page names Click Advanced Settings.
The Advanced Settings page
appears.

ii
About This Guide
Related Documentation
In addition to this User Guide, each ZoneDirector documentation set includes the
following:
•Online Help: Provides instructions for performing tasks using the Web interface.
The online help is accessible from the Web interface and is searchable.
•Release Notes: Provide information about the current software release, including
new features, enhancements, and known issues.
Documentation Feedback
Ruckus Wireless is interested in improving its documentation and welcomes your
comments and suggestions. You can email your comments to Ruckus Wireless at:
[email protected]
When contacting us, please include the following information:
• Document title
• Document part number (on the cover page)
• Page number (if appropriate)
For example:
• Ruckus Wireless ZoneDirector 9.5 User Guide
• Part number: 800-70401-001
•Page88
Table 2. Notice Conventions
Icon Notice Type Description
Information Information that describes
important features or
instructions
Caution Information that alerts you to
potential loss of data or
potential damage to an
application, system, or device
Warning Information that alerts you to
potential personal injury

iii
About This Guide
1 Introducing Ruckus Wireless ZoneDirector
Overview of ZoneDirector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
ZoneDirector Physical Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
ZoneDirector 1100 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
ZoneDirector 3000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
ZoneDirector 5000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Introduction to the Ruckus Wireless Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Ensuring That APs Can Communicate with ZoneDirector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
How APs Discover ZoneDirector on the Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
How to Ensure that APs Can Discover ZoneDirector on the Network . . . . . . . . 14
Firewall Ports that Must be Open for ZoneDirector Communications . . . . . . . . 20
NAT Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Installing ZoneDirector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Accessing ZoneDirector’s Command Line Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Using the ZoneDirector Web Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Navigating the Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Using Indicator Widgets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Real Time Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Stopping and Starting Auto Refresh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Registering Your Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2 Configuring System Settings
System Configuration Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
Changing the System Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Changing the Network Addressing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
IPv6 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Enabling an Additional Management Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Creating Static Route Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Enabling Smart Redundancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Contents

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Configuring ZoneDirector for Smart Redundancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Forcing Failover to the Backup ZoneDirector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Configuring the Built-in DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Enabling the Built-in DHCP server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Viewing DHCP Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Setting the System Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Setting the Country Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Channel Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Channel Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Changing the System Log Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Reviewing the Current Log Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Customizing the Current Log Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Setting Up Email Alarm Notifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Customizing Email Alarms that ZoneDirector Sends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Enabling Network Management Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Enabling Management via FlexMaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Enabling Northbound Portal Interface Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Configuring SNMP Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Enabling SNMP Trap Notifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Configuring DHCP Relay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3 Configuring Security and Other Services
Configuring Self Healing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
ChannelFly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Background Scanning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
AeroScout RFID Tag Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Active Client Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Tunnel Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Packet Inspection Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Configuring Wireless Intrusion Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Rogue DHCP Server Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Controlling Device Permissions: Blocking and ACLs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
WLAN ACLs and Block Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Configuring Access Control Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Blocking Client Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Configuring Device Access Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

v
Configuring Precedence Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Using an External AAA Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Active Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
LDAP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
RADIUS / RADIUS Accounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
TACACS+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Testing Authentication Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
4 Managing a Wireless Local Area Network
Overview of Wireless Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112
About Ruckus Wireless WLAN Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Creating a WLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .114
Creating a New WLAN for Workgroup Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Customizing WLAN Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Reviewing the Initial Security Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Fine-Tuning the Current Security Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Switching to a Different Security Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Using the Built-in EAP Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Authenticating with an External RADIUS Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
If You Change the Internal WLAN to WEP or 802.1X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Working with WLAN Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Creating a WLAN Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Assigning a WLAN Group to an AP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Viewing a List of APs That Belong to a WLAN Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Deploying ZoneDirector WLANs in a VLAN Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Tagging Management Traffic to a VLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
How Dynamic VLAN Works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Working with Hotspot Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138
Creating a Hotspot Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Creating a Hotspot 2.0 Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Setting the Venue Name for a Hotspot 2.0 AP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Working with Dynamic Pre-Shared Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Enabling Dynamic Pre-Shared Keys on a WLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Setting Dynamic Pre-Shared Key Expiration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Generating Multiple Dynamic PSKs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Creating a Batch Dynamic PSK Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

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5 Managing Access Points
Adding New Access Points to the Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154
Working with Access Point Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
Modifying the System Default AP Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Creating a New Access Point Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Modifying Access Point Group Membership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Modifying Model Specific Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Configuring AP Ethernet Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
DHCP Option 82 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Designating Ethernet Port Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Using Port-Based 802.1X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Viewing AP Ethernet Port Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Reviewing Current Access Point Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .169
Using Limited ZD Discovery for N+1 Redundancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
Managing Access Points Individually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Configuring Hotspot 2.0 Venue Settings for an AP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Optimizing Access Point Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Assessing Current Performance Using the Map View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Improving AP RF Coverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Assessing Current Performance Using the Access Point Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Adjusting AP Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Prioritizing WLAN Traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Load Balancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
6 Monitoring Your Wireless Network
Reviewing the ZoneDirector Monitoring Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182
Importing a Map View Floorplan Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Importing the Floorplan Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Placing the Access Point Markers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184
Using the Map View Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .185
AP Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Reviewing Current Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .188
Reviewing Recent Network Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189
Clearing Recent Events/Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Reviewing Current User Activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

vii
Monitoring Individual Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Monitoring Wired Clients . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Monitoring Access Point Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Using the AP Status Overview Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Monitoring Individual APs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194
Neighbor APs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Access Point Sensor Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Monitoring Mesh Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Detecting Rogue Access Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Evaluating and Optimizing Network Coverage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Moving the APs into More Efficient Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
7 Managing User Access
Enabling Automatic User Activation with Zero-IT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202
Clients that Support Zero-IT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Self-Provisioning Clients with Zero-IT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Self-Provisioning Clients without Ethernet Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205
Provisioning Clients that Do Not Support Zero-IT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Adding New User Accounts to ZoneDirector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Internal User Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208
Managing Current User Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Changing an Existing User Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Deleting a User Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Creating New User Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Managing Automatically Generated User Certificates and Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Using an External Server for User Authentication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Activating Web Authentication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
8 Managing Guest Access
Configuring Guest Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216
Creating a Guest WLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Configuring System-Wide Guest Access Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Working with Guest Passes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Activating Guest Pass Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Controlling Guest Pass Generation Privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

viii
Creating a Guest Pass Generation User Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Assigning a Pass Generator Role to a User Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Generating and Printing a Single Guest Pass . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Generating and Printing Multiple Guest Passes at Once . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Monitoring Generated Guest Passes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Configuring Guest Subnet Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Customizing the Guest Login Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229
Creating a Custom Guest Pass Printout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
9 Deploying a Smart Mesh Network
Overview of Smart Mesh Networking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234
Smart Mesh Networking Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Supported Mesh Topologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Standard Topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235
Wireless Bridge Topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Hybrid Mesh Topology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Deploying a Wireless Mesh via ZoneDirector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239
Step 1: Prepare for Wireless Mesh Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Step 2: Enable Mesh Capability on ZoneDirector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Step 3: Provision and Deploy Mesh Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241
Step 4: Verify That the Wireless Mesh Network Is Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Understanding Mesh-related AP Statuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Using the ZoneFlex LEDs to Determine the Mesh Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .245
On Single-band ZoneFlex APs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245
On Dual-band ZoneFlex APs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246
Using Action Icons to Configure and Troubleshoot APs in a Mesh . . . . . . . . . . . 247
Setting Mesh Uplinks Manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Troubleshooting Isolated Mesh APs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Understanding Isolated Mesh AP Statuses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Recovering an Isolated Mesh AP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251
Best Practices and Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
10 Setting Administrator Preferences
Changing the ZoneDirector Administrator User Name and Password . . . . . . . . .254
Setting Administrator Login Session Timeout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255
Changing the Web Interface Display Language . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

ix
Upgrading ZoneDirector and ZoneFlex APs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .256
Performing an Upgrade with Smart Redundancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257
Working with Backup Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Backing Up a Network Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Restoring Archived Settings to ZoneDirector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258
Restoring ZoneDirector to Default Factory Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Alternate Factory Default Reset Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261
Working with SSL Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Creating a Certificate Signing Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Importing an SSL Certificate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
SSL Certificate Advanced Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Using an External Server for Administrator Authentication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269
Upgrading the License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271
Upgrading the License with Smart Redundancy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
11 Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting Failed User Logins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274
Fixing User Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
If WLAN Connection Problems Persist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Measuring Wireless Network Throughput with SpeedFlex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Using SpeedFlex in a Multi-Hop Smart Mesh Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Allowing Users to Measure Their Own Wireless Throughput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
Diagnosing Poor Network Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Starting a Radio Frequency Scan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282
Using the Ping and Traceroute Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283
Generating a Debug File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .285
Viewing Current System and AP Logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285
Packet Capture and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287
Local Capture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Streaming Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287
Importing a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Enabling Remote Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Restarting an Access Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290
Restarting ZoneDirector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290

x
12 Smart Mesh Networking Best Practices
Choosing the Right AP Model for Your Mesh Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294
Calculating the Number of APs Required . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Placement and Layout Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Signal Quality Verification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296
Mounting and Orientation of APs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .298
Indoor APs - Typical Case: Horizontal Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298
Indoor APs - Vertical Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299
Outdoor APs - Typical Horizontal Orientation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Elevation of RAPs and MAPs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300
Best Practice Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301
Index

1
1
Introducing Ruckus Wireless
ZoneDirector
In This Chapter
Overview of ZoneDirector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
ZoneDirector Physical Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Introduction to the Ruckus Wireless Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Ensuring That APs Can Communicate with ZoneDirector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Installing ZoneDirector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Using the ZoneDirector Web Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Registering Your Product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

2
Introducing Ruckus Wireless ZoneDirector
Overview of ZoneDirector
Overview of ZoneDirector
Ruckus Wireless ZoneDirector serves as a central control system for Ruckus ZoneFlex Access
Points (APs). ZoneDirector provides simplified configuration and updates, wireless LAN security
control, RF management, and automatic coordination of Ethernet-connected and mesh-
connected APs.
Using ZoneDirector in combination with Ruckus Wireless ZoneFlex APs allows deployment of
a Smart Mesh network, to extend wireless coverage throughout a location without having to
physically connect each AP to Ethernet. In a Smart Mesh network, the APs form a wireless mesh
topology to route client traffic between any member of the mesh and the wired network.
Meshing significantly reduces the cost and time requirements of deploying an enterprise-class
WLAN, in addition to providing much greater flexibility in AP placement.
ZoneDirector also integrates network, radio frequency (RF), and location management within
a single system. User authentication is accomplished with an internal user database, or
forwarded to existing Authentication, Authorization and Accounting (AAA) servers, such as
RADIUS or Active Directory. Once users are authenticated, client traffic is not required to pass
through ZoneDirector, thereby eliminating bottlenecks when higher speed Wi-Fi technologies
such as 802.11n are used.
In addition, ZoneDirector supports rogue AP detection and the ability to blacklist client devices
from the network — all of which are easily configured and enabled system-wide. When multiple
APs are in close proximity, ZoneDirector automatically controls the power and the channel
settings on each AP to provide the best possible total coverage and resilience.
This user guide provides complete instructions for using the Ruckus Wireless Web interface,
the wireless network management interface for ZoneDirector. With the Web interface, you can
customize and manage all aspects of ZoneDirector and your ZoneFlex network.

3
Introducing Ruckus Wireless ZoneDirector
ZoneDirector Physical Features
ZoneDirector Physical Features
Three models of ZoneDirector are currently available: ZoneDirector 1100, ZoneDirector 3000
and ZoneDirector 5000. This section describes the physical features of these ZoneDirector
models.
ZoneDirector 1100
This section describes the following physical features of ZoneDirector 1100:
•Buttons, Ports, and Connectors
•Front Panel LEDs
Figure 1. ZoneDirector 1100
Buttons, Ports, and Connectors
Tabl e 1 describes the buttons, ports, connectors on ZoneDirector 1100.
Table 1. Buttons, ports, and connectors on ZoneDirector 1100
Label Description
Power Press this button to power on ZoneDirector.
10/100/1000 Ethernet Two auto negotiating 10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet ports. For
information on what the two Ethernet LEDs indicate, refer to
Tab le 2.
Console DB-9 port for accessing the ZoneDirector command line
interface

4
Introducing Ruckus Wireless ZoneDirector
ZoneDirector Physical Features
Front Panel LEDs
Tabl e 2 describes the LEDs on the front panel of ZoneDirector 1100.
Reset Use the Reset button to restart ZoneDirector or to reset it to
factory default settings.
• To restart ZoneDirector, press the Reset button once for
less than two seconds.
• To reset ZoneDirector to factory default settings, press and
hold the Reset button for at least five (5) seconds. For more
information, refer to “Alternate Factory Default Reset
Method” on page 261.
WARNING: Resetting ZoneDirector to factory default settings
will erase all configuration changes that you made.
Table 2. ZoneDirector 1100 front panel LEDs
LED Label State Meaning
Power (embedded on
the Power button)
Solid Green ZoneDirector is receiving power.
Off ZoneDirector is NOT receiving power.
If the power cable or adapter is
connected to a power source, verify
that the power cable is connected
properly to the power jack on the rear
panel of ZoneDirector.
Status Solid Green Normal state.
Flashing Green ZoneDirector has not yet been
configured. Log into the Web interface,
and then configure ZoneDirector using
the setup wizard.
Red ZoneDirector has shut down (but is still
connected to a power source).
Flashing Red ZoneDirector is starting up or shutting
down.
Table 1. Buttons, ports, and connectors on ZoneDirector 1100
Label Description

5
Introducing Ruckus Wireless ZoneDirector
ZoneDirector Physical Features
ZoneDirector 3000
This section describes the following physical features of ZoneDirector 3000:
•Buttons, Ports, and Connectors
•Front Panel LEDs
Figure 2. ZoneDirector 3000
Ethernet Link Solid Green or
Amber
The port is connected to a device.
Flashing Green or
Amber
The port is transmitting or receiving
traffic.
Off The port has no network cable
connected or is not receiving a link
signal.
Ethernet Rate Green The port is connected to a 1000Mbps
device.
Amber The port is connected to a 100Mbps or
10Mbps device.
Table 2. ZoneDirector 1100 front panel LEDs
LED Label State Meaning

6
Introducing Ruckus Wireless ZoneDirector
ZoneDirector Physical Features
Buttons, Ports, and Connectors
Tabl e 3 describes the buttons, ports and connectors on ZoneDirector 3000.
Front Panel LEDs
Tabl e 4 describes the LEDs on the front panel of ZoneDirector 3000.
Table 3. Buttons, ports, and connectors on ZoneDirector 3000
Label Meaning
Power (Located on the rear panel)
Press this button to power on ZoneDirector.
F/D To reset ZoneDirector to factory default settings,
press the F/D button for at least five (5) seconds.
For more information, refer to “Alternate Factory
Default Reset Method” on page 261.
WARNING: Resetting ZoneDirector to factory
default settings will erase all configuration
changes that you have made.
Reset To restart ZoneDirector, press the Reset button
once for less than two seconds.
USB For Ruckus Wireless Support use only
Console RJ-45 port for accessing the ZoneDirector
command line interface.
10/100/1000 Ethernet Two auto negotiating 10/100/1000Mbps
Ethernet ports. For information on what the two
Ethernet LEDs indicate, refer to Table 4.
Table 4. ZoneDirector 3000 front panel LEDs
LED Label State Meaning
Power Green ZoneDirector is receiving power.
Off ZoneDirector is NOT receiving power.
If the power cable or adapter is
connected to a power source, verify
that the power cable is connected
properly to the power jack on the rear
panel of ZoneDirector.

7
Introducing Ruckus Wireless ZoneDirector
ZoneDirector Physical Features
Status Solid Green Normal state.
Flashing Green ZoneDirector has not yet been
configured. Log into the Web interface,
and then configure ZoneDirector using
the setup wizard.
Solid Red ZoneDirector has shut down (but is still
connected to a power source).
Flashing Red ZoneDirector is starting up or shutting
down.
Ethernet Link Solid Green or
Amber
The port is connected to a device.
Flashing Green or
Amber
The port is transmitting or receiving
traffic.
Off The port has no network cable
connected or is not receiving a link
signal.
Ethernet Rate Amber The port is connected to a 1000Mbps
device.
Green The port is connected to a 10Mbps or
100Mbps device.
Table 4. ZoneDirector 3000 front panel LEDs
LED Label State Meaning

8
Introducing Ruckus Wireless ZoneDirector
ZoneDirector Physical Features
ZoneDirector 5000
This section describes the following physical features of ZoneDirector 5000:
•Front Panel Features
•Front Panel (Bezel Removed)
•Control Panel
•Rear Panel Features
Figure 3. ZoneDirector 5000 Front Panel
Front Panel Features
Table 5. ZoneDirector 5000 front panel features
Feature Description
Control Panel See Control Panel description below.
RJ45 Serial Port COM 2 / Serial B port for accessing the ZoneDirector
command line interface.
USB Port Not used.
Front Bezel Lock Remove this bezel lock to remove the front bezel and gain
access to the hard drive bays.