WLAN Troubleshooting
Configuration files

When radio communication problems are encountered, the configuration of the WLAN devices, including clients, APs, and bridges can be the cause of the radio failure. Certain parameters such as SSID, frequency, WEP, data rate, and so on must be configured correctly.

Once these issues have been resolved and the AP is operational, the configuration files should be saved. From the System Software > System Configuration page, right click on the Current Startup Configuration File link to save the config.txt file to the local hard disk . The file can be edited afterwards.

Using the Load New Startup Configuration File, browse to the location where the config.txt file is stored. Click Load to upload the new file to any AP.

Right click on the Technical Support Information link to save the tech-support information to the local hard disk. The information can then be emailed to a technical support staff to assist them in configuring the access point.

The Reset Startup Configuration to Factory Defaults returns all AP settings to their factory defaults, except for a fixed IP address that remains the same if it is configured. Clicking Reset to Defaults causes the access point to restart. The default password for the access point is cisco.

Click Restart to reboot the system without having to find the access point and unplug it. A restart cold boot should be needed only after recovering from network problems caused by power outages or lightning storms.

In order to find an access point, the Locate Access Point feature can be used. This will blink the Access Point LEDs when enabled. Clicking Apply causes the LEDs on the AP to blink so that a specific device can be located.

From a VxWorks Cisco Services Page, it is possible to archive or upload configuration files via the Manage System Configuration link .

To upload and archive configuration files, use the following commands from privileged Exec mode . Figures and show examples saving the configuration to a TFTP and uploading a file from the TFTP server to the AP. Figure displays an example of a TFTP application software.

It is important to have a backup configuration for all network devices in the event of device failure. The AP can be reset back to factory defaults using the erase startup-config command .