Objective:

This guide will show you how to configure a wireless mesh network using an RV260P router, a CBW140AC access point, and two CBW142ACM mesh extenders.

This article uses the Web User Interface (UI) to set up the mesh wireless network. If you prefer to use the mobile application, which is recommended for easy wireless setup, click to jump to the article that uses the mobile application. If you want to use the Web UI, keep reading!

Topology:

Introduction

Here you are, ready to set up your new network. It’s an exciting day! In this scenario, we are using an RV260P router. This router provides Power over Ethernet (PoE) which allows you to plug the CBW140AC into the router instead of a switch. The CBW140AC and the CBW142ACM mesh extenders will be used to create a wireless mesh network.

If you are unfamiliar with some of the terms used in this document or want more details about Mesh Networking, check out the following articles:

- Cisco Business: Glossary of New Terms

- Welcome to Cisco Business Wireless Mesh Networking

- Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for a Cisco Business Wireless Network

Are you ready? Let’s get to it!

Applicable Devices | Software Version

- RV260P | 1.0.0.17

- CBW140AC | 10.3.1.0

- CBW142ACM | 10.3.1.0 (at least one mesh extender is needed for the mesh network)

Table of Contents

- Before you Get Started

- Configure the RV260P Router

- RV260P Out of the Box

- Set Up the Router

- Troubleshooting the Internet Connection

- Initial Configuration

- Upgrade Firmware if Needed

- Configure VLANs (Optional)

- Edit an IP address (Optional)

- Add a Static IP

- Configure the CBW140AC

- CBW140AC Out of the Box

- Set Up the 140AC Primary Wireless Access Point on the Web UI

- Wireless Troubleshooting Tips

- Configure the CBW142ACM Mesh Extenders Using the Web UI

- Check and Update Software Using the Web UI

- Create WLANs on the Web UI

- Create a Guest WLAN using the Web UI (Optional)

- Application Profiling using the Web UI (Optional)

- Client Profiling using the Web UI (Optional)

Before you Get Started

1. Make sure you have a current Internet connection for setup.

2. Contact your ISP to find out any special instructions they have when using your RV260 router. Some ISPs offer gateways with built-in routers. If you have a gateway with an integrated router, you may have to disable the router and pass the Wide Area Network (WAN) IP address (the unique Internet protocol address that the Internet provider assigns to your account) and all network traffic through to your new router.

3. Decide where to place the router. You will want an open area if possible. This may not be easy because you must connect the router to the broadband gateway (modem) from your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Configure the RV260P Router

A router is essential in a network because it routes packets. It enables a computer to communicate with other computers that are not on the same network or subnet. A router accesses a routing table to determine where packets should be sent. The routing table lists destination addresses. Static and dynamic configurations can both be listed on the routing table in order to get packets to their specific destination.

Your RV260P comes with default settings that are optimized for many small businesses. However, your network demands or Internet Service Provider (ISP) might require you to modify a few of these settings. After you contact your ISP for the requirements, you can make changes using the Web User Interface (UI).

RV260P Out of the Box

Step 1

Connect the Ethernet cable from one of the RV260P LAN (Ethernet) ports to the Ethernet port on the computer. You will need an adapter if your computer doesn’t have an Ethernet port. The terminal must be in the same wired subnetwork as the RV260P to perform the initial configuration.

Step 2

Be sure to use the power adapter that is supplied with the RV260P. Using a different power adapter could damage the RV260P or cause USB dongles to fail. The power switch is on by default.

Connect the power adapter to the 12VDC port of the RV260P, but don’t plug it into power yet.

Step 3

Make sure the modem is turned off.

Step 4

Use an Ethernet cable to connect your cable or DSL modem to the WAN port on the RV260P.

Step 5

Plug the other end of the RV260P adapter into an electrical outlet. This will power on the RV260. Plug the modem back in so it can power up as well. The power light on the front panel is solid green when the power adapter is connected properly, and the RV260P is finished booting.

Set Up the Router

The prep work is done, now it’s time to do some configurations! To launch the Web UI, follow these steps:

Step 1

If your computer is configured to become a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) client, an IP address in the 192.168.1.x range is assigned to the PC. DHCP automates the process of assigning IP addresses, subnet masks, default gateways, and other settings to computers. Computers must be set to participate in the DHCP process to obtain an address. This is done by selecting to obtain an IP address automatically in the properties of TCP/IP on the computer.

Step 2

Open a web browser such as Safari, Internet Explorer, or Firefox. In the address bar, enter the default IP address of the RV260P which is 192.168.1.1.

Step 3

The browser might issue a warning that the website is untrusted. Continue to the website. If you are not connected, jump down to Troubleshooting the Internet Connection.

Step 4

When the sign-in page appears, enter the default username cisco and the default password cisco. Both the username and password are case sensitive.

Step 5

Click Login. The Getting Started page appears. Now that you have confirmed the connection and logged in to the router, jump to the Initial Configuration section of this article.

Troubleshooting the Internet Connection

Dang it, if you are reading this you are probably having trouble connecting to the Internet or the Web UI. One of these solutions should help.

On your connected Windows OS, you can test your network connection by opening the command prompt. Enter ping 192.168.1.1 (the default IP address of the router). If the request times out, you are not able to communicate with the router.

If connectivity is not happening, you can check out Troubleshooting on RV160 and RV260 Routers.

Some other things to try:

1. Verify that your web browser is not set to Work Offline.

2. Check the local area network connection settings for your Ethernet adapter. The PC should obtain an IP address through DHCP. Alternatively, the PC can have a static IP address in the 192.168.1.x range with the default gateway set to 192.168.1.1 (the default IP address of the RV260P). To connect, you may need to modify the network settings of the RV260P. If you are using Windows 10, check out Windows 10 directions to modify the network settings.

3. If you have existing equipment occupying the 192.168.1.1 IP address, you'll need to resolve this conflict for the network to operate. More on this at the end of this section, or click here to be taken there directly.

4. Reset the modem and the RV260P by powering off both devices. Next, power on the modem and let it sit idle for about 2 minutes. Then power on the RV260P. You should now receive a WAN IP address.

5. If you have a DSL modem, ask your ISP to put the DSL modem into bridge mode.

Initial Configuration

We recommend that you go through the Initial Setup Wizard steps listed in this section. You can change these settings at any time.

Step 1

Click Initial Setup Wizard from the Getting Started Page.

Step 2

This step confirms the cables are connected. Since you confirmed this already, click Next.

Step 3

This step covers basic steps to make sure your router is connected. Since you have already confirmed this, click Next.

Step 4

The next screen displays your options for assigning IP addresses to your router. You need to select DHCP in this scenario. Click Next.

Although you must use DHCP for this initial setup, you can select to Learn more about the different connection types toward the bottom of your screen the future reference. For more details on this, check out the following articles:

- WAN Configuration on RV160x and RV260x Devices

- Configuring Static Routing on the RV160 and RV260

Step 5

Here, you will be prompted to set your router time settings. This is important because it enables precision when reviewing logs or troubleshooting events. Select your Time Zone and then click Next.

Step 6

On this screen, you will select what MAC addresses to assign to devices. Most often, you will use the default address. Click Next.

Step 7

The following page is a summary of the selected options. Review and click Next if satisfied.

Step 8

For the next step, you will select a password to use when logging into the router. The standard for passwords is to contain at least 8 characters (both upper and lower case) and includes numbers. Enter a password that conforms with the strength requirements. Click Next. Take note of your password for future logins.

It is not recommended that you select Disable Password Strength Enforcement. This option would let you select a password as simple as 123, which would be as easy as 1-2-3 for malicious actors to crack.

Step 9

Click the save icon.

Upgrade Firmware if Needed

This is an important section, don’t skip it!

Step 1

Choose Administration > File Management.

In the System Information area, the following sub-areas describe the following:

- Device Model - Displays the model of your device.

- PID VID - Product ID and Vendor ID of the router.

- Current Firmware Version - Firmware that is currently running on the device.

- Latest Version Available on Cisco.com - Latest version of the software available on the Cisco website.

- Firmware last updated - Date and time of the last firmware update made on the router.

Step 2

Under the Manual Upgrade section, click on the Firmware Image radio button for File Type.

Step 3

On the Manual Upgrade page, click on a radio button to select cisco.com. There are a few other options for this, but this is the easiest way to do an upgrade. This process installs the latest upgrade file directly from the Cisco Software Downloads webpage.

Step 4

Click on Upgrade.

Step 5

Click Yes in the confirmation window to continue.

The update process needs to run without interruption. You will get the following message on the screen while the upgrade is in progress.

Once the upgrade has been completed, a notification window will pop-up to inform you that the router will be Restarting with a countdown of the estimated time for the process to finish. Following this, you will be logged out.

Step 6

Log back into the web-based utility to verify that the router firmware has been upgraded, scroll to the System Information. The Current Firmware Version area should now display the upgraded firmware version.

Congratulations, your basic settings on your router are complete! You have some configuration options moving forward.

I encourage you to keep scrolling through the article to learn more about these options and if they apply to you. If you prefer, you can click any of the hyperlinks to jump to a section instead.

- Configure VLANs (Optional)

- Edit IP Address (Optional)

- Add static IP addresses (Optional)

- I’m ready to configure the Mesh Wireless portion of my network!

Configure VLANs (Optional)

A Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) allows you to logically segment a Local Area Network (LAN) into different broadcast domains. In scenarios where sensitive data may be broadcast on a network, VLANs can be created to enhance security by designating a broadcast to a specific VLAN. VLANs can also be used to enhance performance by reducing the need to send broadcasts and multicasts to unnecessary destinations. You can create a VLAN, but this has no effect until the VLAN is attached to at least one port, either manually or dynamically. Ports must always belong to one or more VLANs.

If you do not want to create VLANs, you can skip to the next section.

Step 1

Navigate to LAN > VLAN Settings.

Step 2

Click Add to create a new VLAN.

Step 3

Enter the VLAN ID that you want to create and a Name for it. The VLAN ID range is from 1-4093.

We entered 200 as our VLAN ID and Engineering as the Name for the VLAN.

Step 4

Uncheck the Enabled box for both Inter-VLAN Routing and Device Management if desired.

Inter-VLAN routing is used to route packets from one VLAN to another VLAN. In general, this is not recommended for guest networks as you will want to isolate guest users it leaves VLANs less secure. There are times when it may be necessary for VLANs to route between each other. If this is the case, check out Inter-VLAN Routing on an RV34x Router with Targeted ACL Restrictions to configure specific traffic that you allow between VLANs.

Device Management is the software that allows you to use your browser to log into the Web UI of the RV260P, from the VLAN, and manage the RV260P. This should also be disabled on Guest networks.

In this example, we did not enable either the Inter-VLAN Routing or Device Management to keep the VLAN more secure.

Step 5

The private IPv4 address will auto-populate in the IP Address field. You can adjust this if you choose. In this example, the subnet has 192.168.2.100-192.168.2.149 IP addresses available for DHCP. 192.168.2.1-192.168.2.99, and 192.168.2.150-192.168.2.254 are available for static IP addresses.

Step 6

The subnet mask under Subnet Mask will auto-populate. If you make changes, this will automatically adjust the field.

For this demonstration, we will be leaving the Subnet Mask as 255.255.255.0 or /24.

Step 7

Select a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) Type. The following options are:

Disabled – Disables the DHCP IPv4 server on VLAN. This is recommended in a test environment. In this scenario, all IP addresses would need to be manually configured and all communication would be internal.

Server - This is the most often used option.

- Lease Time – Enter a time value of 5 to 43,200 minutes. The default is 1440 minutes (equal to 24 hours).

- Range Start and Range End – Enter the range start and end of IP addresses that can be assigned dynamically.

- DNS Server – Select to use the DNS server as a proxy, or from ISP from the drop-down list.

- WINS Server – Enter the WINS server name.

- DHCP Options:

- Option 66 – Enter the IP address of the TFTP server.

- Option 150 – Enter the IP address of a list of TFTP servers.

- Option 67 – Enter the configuration filename.

- Relay – Enter the remote DHCP server IPv4 address to configure the DHCP relay agent. This is a more advanced configuration.

Step 8

Click Apply to create the new VLAN.

Assign VLANs to Ports

16 VLANs can be configured on the RV260, with one VLAN for the Wide Area Network (WAN). VLANs that are not on a port should be Excluded. This keeps the traffic on that port exclusively for the VLAN/VLANs the user specifically assigned. It is considered a best practice.

Ports can be set to be an Access Port or a Trunk Port:

- Access Port - Assigned one VLAN. Untagged frames are passed.

- Trunk Port - Can carry more than one VLAN. 802.1q. Trunking allows for a native VLAN to be Untagged. VLANs that you don’t want on the Trunk should be Excluded.

One VLAN assigned its own port:

- Considered an Access port.

- The VLAN that is assigned this port should be labeled Untagged.

- All other VLANs should be labeled Excluded for that port.

Two or more VLANs that share one port:

- Considered a Trunk Port.

- One of the VLANs can be labeled Untagged.

- The rest of the VLANs that are part of the Trunk Port should be labeled Tagged.

- The VLANs that are not part of the Trunk Port should be labeled Excluded for that port.

Note: In this example, there are no trunks.

Step 9

Select the VLAN IDs to edit. Click Edit.

In this example, we have selected VLAN 1 and VLAN 200.

Step 10

Click Edit to assign a VLAN to a LAN port and specify each setting as Tagged, Untagged, or Excluded.

In this example, on LAN1 we assigned VLAN 1 as Untagged and VLAN 200 as Excluded. For LAN2 we assigned VLAN 1 as Excluded and VLAN 200 as Untagged.

Step 11

Click Apply to save the configuration.

You should now have successfully created a new VLAN and configured VLANs to ports on the RV260. Repeat the process to create the other VLANs. For example, VLAN300 would be created for Marketing with a subnet of 192.168.3.x and VLAN400 would be created for Accounting with a subnet of 192.168.4.x.

That’s the basics of VLANs. Click on the hyperlink to learn more about VLAN Best Practices and Security Tips for Cisco Business Routers.

Edit an IP address (Optional)

After completing the Initial Setup Wizard, you can set a static IP address on the router by editing the VLAN settings. Skip re-running the initial setup wizard, to perform this change follow the steps below.

If you don’t need to edit an IP address, you can move to the next section of this article.

Step 1

In the left-hand menu-bar click LAN > VLAN Settings.

Step 2

Then select the VLAN that contains your routing device, then click the edit icon.

Step 3

Enter your desired static IP address and click Apply in the upper-right hand corner.

Step 4 (Optional)

If your router is not the DHCP server/device assigning IP addresses, you can use the DHCP Relay feature to direct DHCP requests to a specific IP address. The IP address is likely to be the router connected to the WAN/Internet.

Add a Static IP

If you would like a certain device to be reachable to other VLANs, you can give that device a static local IP address and create an access rule to make it accessible. This only works if Inter-VLAN routing is enabled. There are other situations where a static IP may be useful. For more information on setting static IP addresses, check out Best Practices for Setting Static IP Addresses on Cisco Business Hardware.

If you don’t need to add a static IP address, you can move to the next section of this article to configure the Access Points.

Step 1

Navigate to LAN > Static DHCP. Click on the plus icon.

Step 2

Add the Static DHCP information for the device. In this example, the device is a printer.

Congratulations, you have completed the configuration of your RV260P router. We will now configure your Cisco Business Wireless devices.

Configure the CBW140AC

CBW140AC Out of the Box

Start by plugging an Ethernet cable from the PoE port on your CBW140AC to a PoE port on the RV260P. The first 4 ports on the RV260P can supply PoE, so any of them can be used.

Check the status of the indicator lights. The access point will take about 10 minutes to boot. The LED will blink green in multiple patterns, alternating rapidly through green, red, and amber before turning green again. There may be small variations in the LED color intensity and hue from unit to unit. When the LED light is blinking green, proceed to the next step.

The PoE Ethernet uplink port on the Primary AP can ONLY be used to provide an uplink to the LAN, and NOT to connect to any other Primary capable or mesh extender devices.

If your access point isn’t new, out of the box, make sure it is reset to factory default settings for the CiscoBusiness-Setup SSID to show up in your Wi-Fi options. For assistance with this, check out How to Reboot and Reset to Factory Default Settings on RV260 Routers.

Set Up the 140AC Primary Wireless Access Point on the Web UI

You can set up the Access Point using the mobile application or the Web UI. This article uses the Web UI for setup, which gives more options for configuration but is a little more complicated. If you would like to use the mobile application for the next sections, click to access the mobile application instructions.

If you have trouble connecting, refer to the Wireless Troubleshooting Tips section of this article.

Step 1

On your PC, click the Wi-Fi icon and choose CiscoBusiness-Setup wireless network. Click Connect.

If your access point isn’t new, out of the box, make sure it is reset to factory default settings for the CiscoBusiness-Setup SSID to show up in your Wi-Fi options.

Step 2

Enter the passphrase cisco123 and click Next.

Step 3

You will get the following screen. Since you can configure only one device at a time, click No.

Only one device can be connected to the CiscoBusiness-Setup SSID. If a second device attempts to connect, it will not be able to. If you are unable to connect to the SSID and have validated the password, some other device may have made the connection. Restart the AP and try again.

Step 4

Once connected, the web browser should auto-redirect to the CBW AP setup wizard. If not, open a web browser, such as Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, or Safari. In the address bar, type http://ciscobusiness.cisco and press Enter. Click Start on the webpage.

If you do not see the webpage, wait for a few more minutes or reload the page. After this initial setup, you will use https://ciscobusiness.cisco to log in. If your web browser auto-populates with http://, you need to manually type in the https:// to gain access.

Step 5

Create an admin account by entering the following:

- Admin username (Maximum of 24 characters)

- Admin password

- Confirm admin password

You can choose to show the password by checking the checkbox next to Show Password. Click Start.

Do not use cisco, or variations of it in the username or password fields. If you do, you will get an error message as shown below.

Step 6

Set Up Your Primary AP by entering the following:

- Primary AP Name

- Country

- Date & Time

- Timezone

- Mesh

Mesh should be enabled only if you plan to create a mesh network. By default, it is disabled.

Step 7

(Optional) You can enable Static IP for your CBW140AC for management purposes. If not, the interface gets an IP address from your DHCP server. To configure static IP, enter the following:

- Management IP Address

- Subnet Mask

- Default Gateway

Click Next.

By default, this option is disabled.

Step 8

Create Your Wireless Networks by entering the following:

- Network Name

- Choose Security

- Passphrase

- Confirm Passphrase

- (Optional) Check the checkbox to Show Passphrase.

Click Next.

Wi-Fi protected Access (WPA) version 2 (WPA2), is the current standard for Wi-Fi security.

Step 9

Confirm the settings and click Apply.

Step 10

Click OK to apply the settings.

You will see the following screen while the configurations are being saved and the system reboots. This might take 10 minutes.

During the reboot, the LED in the access point will go through multiple color patterns. When the LED is blinking green, proceed to the next step. If the LED does not get past the red flashing pattern, it indicates that there is no DHCP server in your network. Ensure that the AP is connected to a switch or a router with a DHCP server.

Step 11

Go to the wireless options on your PC and choose the network that you configured. Click Connect.

The CiscoBusiness-Setup SSID will disappear after reboot.

Step 12

Open a web browser and type in https://[IP address of the CBW AP]. Alternatively, you can type https://ciscobusiness.cisco in the address bar and press enter.

Make sure that you type https and not http at this step.

Step 13

Click Login.

Step 14

Log in using the credentials that were configured. Click OK.

Step 15

You will be able to access the Web UI page of the AP.

Wireless Troubleshooting Tips

If you have any issues, check out the following tips:

- Make sure the correct Service Set Identifier (SSID) is selected. This is the name that you created for the wireless network.

- Disconnect any VPN for either the mobile app or on a laptop. You might even be connected to a VPN that your mobile service provider uses that you might not even know. For example, an Android (Pixel 3) phone with Google Fi as a service provider there is a built-in VPN that auto-connects without notification. This would need to be disabled to find the Primary AP.

- Log into the Primary AP with https://<IP address of the Primary AP>.

- Once you do the initial setup, be sure https:// is being used whether you are logging into ciscobusiness.cisco or by entering the IP address into your web browser. Depending on your settings, your computer may have auto-populated with http:// since that is what you used the very first time you logged in.

- To help with problems related to accessing the Web UI or browser issues during the use of the AP, in the web browser (Firefox in this case) click on the Open menu, go to Help > Troubleshooting Information and click on Refresh Firefox.

Configure the CBW142ACM Mesh Extenders Using the Web UI

You are in the home stretch of setting up this network, you just need to add your mesh extenders!

Step 1

Plug the two Mesh Extenders into the wall in the locations you have selected. Write down the MAC Address of each mesh extender.

Step 2

Wait about 10 minutes for the Mesh Extenders to boot up.

Step 3

Enter the Primary Access Points (APs) IP address on the web browser. Click Login to access the Primary AP.

Step 4

Enter your User Name and Password credentials to access the Primary AP. Click OK.

Step 5

Navigate to Wireless Settings > Mesh . Make sure the Mesh is Enabled. Click Apply.

Step 6

If Mesh was not already enabled, the WAP may need to perform a reboot. A pop-up will appear to do a reboot. Confirm. This will take about 10 minutes. During a reboot, the LED will blink green in multiple patterns, alternating rapidly through green, red, and amber before turning green again. There may be small variations in the LED color intensity and hue from unit to unit.

Step 7

Navigate to Wireless Settings > WLAN Users > Local MAC Addresses. Click Add MAC Address.

Step 8

Enter the MAC address and Description of the Mesh Extender. Select the Type as Allow list. Select the Profile Name from the drop-down menu. Click Apply.

Step 9

Be sure to save all your configurations by pressing the save icon on the top-right pane of the screen.

Repeat for each mesh extender.

Check and Update Software Using the Web UI

Don’t skip this important step! There are a few ways to update software, but the steps listed below are recommended as the easiest to execute when you use the Web UI.

To view and update the current software version of your Primary AP, perform the following steps.

Step 1

Click the gear icon at the top-right corner of the web interface, and then click Primary AP Information.

Step 2

Compare the version that is running to the latest software version. Close the window once you know if you need to update the software.

If you are running the latest version of software, you can jump to the Create WLANs section.

Step 3

Choose Management > Software Update from the menu.

The Software Update window is displayed with the current software version number listed at the top.

You can update the CBW AP software and the Current configurations on the Primary AP will not be deleted.

From the Transfer Mode drop-down list, choose Cisco.com.

Step 4

To set the Primary AP to automatically check for software updates, choose Enabled in the Automatically Check for Updates drop-down list. This is enabled by default.

When a software check is done and if a newer latest or recommended software update is available on Cisco.com, then:

- The Software Update Alert icon at the top right corner of the Web UI will be green in color (or gray). Clicking the icon will bring you to the Software Update page.

- The Update button at the bottom of the Software Update page is enabled.

Step 5

Click Save. This saves the entries or changes you have made in both Transfer Mode and Automatically Check For Updates.

The Last Software Check field displays the timestamp of the last automatic or manual software check. You can view the notes of displayed releases by clicking the question mark icon next to it.

Step 6

You can manually run a software check anytime by clicking Check Now.

Step 7

To proceed with the software update, click Update.

The Software Update Wizard appears. The wizard takes you through the following three tabs in sequence:

- Release tab - Specify whether you want to update to the recommended software release or the latest software release.

- Update tab - Specify when the APs should be reset. You can opt to have it done right away or schedule it for a later time. To set the Primary AP to automatically reboot after the image pre-download is complete, check the Auto Restart checkbox.

- Confirm tab - Confirm your selections.

Follow the instructions in the wizard. You can go back to any tab at any time before you click Confirm.

Step 8

Click Confirm.

Create WLANs on the Web UI

This section allows you to create Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs).

Step 1

A WLAN can be created by navigating to Wireless Settings > WLANs. Then select Add new WLAN/RLAN.

Step 2

Under the General tab, enter the following information:

- WLAN ID – Select a number for the WLAN

- Type – Select WLAN

- Profile Name – When you enter a name, the SSID will auto-populate with the same name. The name must be unique and should not exceed 31 characters.

The following fields were left as default in this example, but explanations are listed in case you would like to configure them differently.

- SSID – The profile name also acts as the SSID. You can change this if you would like. The name must be unique and should not exceed 31 characters.

- Enable – This should be left enabled for the WLAN to work.

- Radio Policy – Typically you would want to leave this as All so that 2.4GHz and 5GHz clients can access the network.

- Broadcast SSID – Usually you would want the SSID to be discovered so you would want to leave this as Enabled.

- Local Profiling – You would only want to enable this option to view the Operating System that is running on the Client or to see the User name.

Click Apply.

Step 3

You will be taken to the WLAN Security tab.

In this example, the following options were left as the default:

- Guest Network, Captive Network Assistant, and MAC Filtering were left disabled. Details for setting up a guest network are detailed in the next section.

- WPA2 Personal – Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 with Pre-shared Key (PSK) Passphrase Format – ASCII. This option stands for Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 with Pre-Shared Key (PSK).

WPA2 Personal is a method used for securing your network with the use of a PSK authentication. The PSK is configured separately both on the Primary AP, under the WLAN security policy, and on the client. WPA2 Personal does not rely on an authentication server on your network.

- Passphrase Format - ASCII is left as default.

The following fields were entered in this scenario:

- Show Passphrase – click the checkbox to be able to see the Passphrase you enter.

- Passphrase – Enter a name for the Passphrase (password).

- Confirm Passphrase – Enter the password again to confirm.

Click Apply. This will automatically activate the new WLAN.

Step 4

Be sure to save your configurations by clicking the save icon on the top right panel of the Web UI screen.

Step 5

To view the WLAN you created, select Wireless Settings > WLANs. You will see the number of Active WLANs raised to 2, and the new WLAN is displayed.

Repeat these steps for other WLANs you want to create.

Optional Wireless Configurations

You now have all basic configurations set and are ready to roll. You have some options, so feel free to jump to any of the following sections:

- Create a Guest WLAN using the Web UI (Optional)

- Application Profiling (Optional)

- Client Profiling (Optional)

- I’m ready to wrap this up and start using my network!

Create a Guest WLAN using the Web UI (Optional)

A guest WLAN gives guest access to your Cisco Business Wireless network.

Step 1

Log into the Web UI of the Primary AP. Open a web browser and enter www.https://ciscobusiness.cisco. You may receive a warning before proceeding. Enter your credentials. You can also access it by entering the IP address of the Primary AP.

Step 2

A Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) can be created by navigating to Wireless Settings > WLANs. Then select Add new WLAN/RLAN.

Step 3

Under the General tab, enter the following information:

- WLAN ID – Select a number for the WLAN

- Type – Select WLAN

- Profile Name – When you enter a name, the SSID will auto-populate with the same name. The name must be unique and should not exceed 31 characters.

The following fields were left as default in this example, but explanations are listed in case you would like to configure them differently.

- SSID – The profile name also acts as the SSID. You can change this if you would like. The name must be unique and should not exceed 31 characters.

- Enable – This should be left enabled for the WLAN to work.

- Radio Policy – Typically you would want to leave this as All so that 2.4GHz and 5GHz clients can access the network.

- Broadcast SSID – Usually you would want the SSID to be discovered so you would want to leave this as Enabled.

- Local Profiling – You would only want to enable this option to view the Operating System that is running on the Client or to see the User name.

Click Apply.

Step 4

You will be taken to the WLAN Security tab. In this example, the following options were selected.

- Guest Network – Enable

- Captive Network Assistant – If you use Mac or IOS, you will probably want to enable this. This feature detects the presence of a captive portal by sending a web request on connecting to a wireless network. This request is directed to a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) for iPhone models and if a response is received, then the Internet access is assumed available and no further interaction is required. If no response is received, then the Internet access is assumed to be blocked by the captive portal and Apple’s Captive Network Assistant (CNA) auto-launches the pseudo-browser to request portal login in a controlled window. The CNA may break when redirecting to an Identity Services Engine (ISE) captive portal. The Primary AP prevents this pseudo-browser from popping up.

- Captive Portal – This field is visible only when the Guest Network option is enabled. This is used to specify the type of web portal that can be used for authentication purposes. Select Internal Splash Page to use the default Cisco web-portal-based authentication. Choose External Splash Page if you will have captive portal authentication, using a web server outside your network. Also, specify the URL of the server in the Site URL field.

In this example, the Guest WLAN with an enabled Social login access type will be created. Once the user connects to this guest WLAN, they will be redirected to the Cisco default login page where they can find the login buttons for Google and Facebook. The user can log in using their Google or Facebook account to obtain Internet access.

Step 5

On this same tab, select an Access Type from the drop-down menu. In this example, Social Login was selected. This is the option that allows guests to use their Google or Facebook credentials to authenticate and get access to the network.

Other options for Access Type include:

- Local User Account – The default option. Choose this option to authenticate guests using the username and password which you can specify for guest users of this WLAN, under Wireless Settings > WLAN Users. This is an example of the default Internal Splash Page.

You can customize this by navigating to Wireless Settings > Guest WLANs. From here you can enter a Page Headline and Page Message. Click Apply. Click Preview.

- Web Consent – Allows guests access to the WLAN upon acceptance of displayed terms and conditions. Guest users can access the WLAN without entering a username and password.

- Email Address – Guest users will need to enter their email address to access the network.

- RADIUS – Use this with an external authentication server.

- WPA2 Personal – Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 with Pre-shared Key (PSK)

Click Apply.

Step 6

Be sure to save your configurations by clicking the save icon on the top right panel of the Web UI screen.

You have now created a guest network that is available on your CBW network. Your guests will appreciate the convenience.

Application Profiling using the Web UI (Optional)

Profiling is a subset of features that enable enacting organizational policy. It allows you to match and prioritize traffic types. Like rules make decisions about how to rank or drop the traffic. The Cisco Business Mesh Wireless system features client and application profiling. The act of accessing a network as a user begins with many exchanges of information, among that information is the type of traffic. Policy interrupts traffic flow to direct the path, much like a flow-chart. Other types of policy features include - guest access, access control lists, and QoS.

Step 1

Navigate to the menu on the left-hand side of the screen if you don’t see the left-hand menu bar.

Step 2

The Monitoring menu loads by default when signing into the device. You will need to click Wireless Settings.

The image below is similar to what you will see when your click the Wireless Settings link.

Step 3

Click the edit icon to the left of the Wireless Local Area Network you want to enable the application on.

Since you recently added the WLAN, your Edit WLAN page may appear similar to the below:

Step 4

Navigate to the Traffic Shaping tab by clicking on it.

Your screen may appear as follows:

Step 5

Toward the bottom of the page, you will find the Application Visibility Control feature. This is disabled by default. Click the dropdown and select Enabled.

Step 6

Click the Apply button.

This setting must be enabled, otherwise the feature will not function.

Step 7

Click the cancel button to close the WLAN sub-menu. Then click the Monitoring menu on the left-hand menu bar. Once you are able, click the Applications menu item.

If you’ve had no traffic to any source, your page will be blank as shown below.

This page will display the following information:

- Application – includes many different types

- Groups – Indicates the type of application group for easier sorting

- Data Usage – The amount of data used by this service overall

- Throughput – The amount of bandwidth used by the application

You can click on the tabs to sort from largest to smallest, which can help identify the largest consumers of network resources.

This feature is very powerful for managing your WLAN resources on a granular level. Below are some of the more common groups and application types. Your list is likely to include many more, including the following groups and examples:

- Browsing

- EX: Client-specific, SSL

- Email

- EX: Outlook, Secure-pop3

- Voice-and-video

- EX: WebEx, Cisco Spark,

- Business-and-Productivity-tools

- EX: Microsoft Office 365,

- Backup-and-storage

- EX: Windows-Azure,

- Consumer-Internet

- iCloud, Google Drive

- Social Networking

- EX: Twitter, Facebook

- Software Updates

- EX: Google-Play, IOS

- Instant Messaging

- EX: Hangouts, Messages

Shown here is an example of what the page will look like when populated.

Each table heading is clickable for sorting which is especially useful for Data Usage and Throughput fields.

Step 8

Click the row for the type of traffic you would like to manage.

Step 9

Click the Action drop-down box to select how you will treat that traffic type.

For this example, we’re leaving this option at Mark.

Action to take on traffic

- Mark – Places the traffic type into one of Differentiated Services Code Point (DSCP) 3 tiers -governing how many resources are available to the application type

- Drop – Do not do anything but discard the traffic

- Rate Limit – Enables you to set the Average Rate, Burst Rate in Kbps

Step 10

Click the drop-down box in the DSCP field to select from the following options.

Below are the DSCP options for the traffic to be marked. These options progress from fewer resources to more resources available to the traffic type you are editing.

- Bronze (Background) – Less

- Silver (Best Effort)

- Gold (Video)

- Platinum (Voice) More

- Custom – User set

As a web convention, traffic has migrated toward SSL browsing, which prevents you from seeing what's inside the packets as they move from your network into the WAN. As such, a large majority of web traffic will be using SSL. Setting SSL traffic for a lower priority may affect your browsing experience.

Step 11

Now select the individual SSID you would like this policy to run or click Select All.

Step 12

Now click Apply to begin this policy.

Two cases where this could apply:

- Guests/Users streaming a large amount of traffic preventing mission-critical traffic from getting through. You can either raise the priority for Voice, lower the priority of Netflix traffic to improve things.

- Large software updates downloading during office hours can be deprioritized or rate limited.

You did it! Application profiling is a very powerful tool that can be further enabled by also enabling Client Profiling, as is detailed in the next section.

Client Profiling using the Web UI (Optional)

Upon connecting to a network, devices exchange client profiling information. By default, Client Profiling is disabled. This information may include:

- Host Name – or the name of the device

- Operating System – the core software of the device

- OS Version – The iteration of the applicable software

Statistics about these clients include the amount of data used and throughput.

Tracking client profiles enables greater control over the wireless local area network. Or you could use it as a function of another feature. Such as using application throttling device types that don't carry mission-critical data for your business.

Once enabled, client details for your network can be found on the Monitoring section of the Web UI.

Step 1

Click Wireless Settings.

The below is similar to what you will see when your click the Wireless Settings link:

Step 2

Decide which WLAN you want to use for the application and click the edit icon to the left of it.

Step 3

A pop-up menu may appear similar to the below. This important message may temporarily affect service on your network. Click Yes to move forward.

Step 4

Toggle client profiling by clicking the Local Profiling toggle button.

Step 5

Click Apply.

Step 6

Click the Monitoring section menu item on the left-hand side. You will see the client data begin to appear in the Dashboard of the Monitoring tab.

Conclusion

You now have now completed the setup of your secure network. What a great feeling, now ake a minute to celebrate and then get to work!

We want the best for our customers, so you have any comments or suggestions regarding this topic, please send us an email to the Cisco Content Team.

If you would like to read other articles and documentation, check out the support pages for your hardware:

- Cisco RV260P VPN Router with PoE

- Cisco Business 140AC Access Point

- Cisco Business 142ACM Mesh Extender