Dell PowerConnect/Aruba Networks IAP-105 Virtual Controller

Product Discussion Peplink Balance
1

Hello,

My colleague and I are working on getting our Peplink Balance 580 online at our office and it seems it’s having issues with the client IP addresses that the virtual controller of the Dell PowerConnect W-IAP105/Aruba Networks IAP-105 are assigning. We have the Balance 580 set up so that we’re on the 10.0.0.2/8 (LAN) network but putting it on the 10.0.0.2/2 network doesn’t seem to help address the issue.

Any idea on what could be happening and how we could fix it? The IPs that the IAP-105 is dynamically assigning are in the 192.168.1.1/16 network. What could we be doing wrong? Is our only option to purchase a Pepwave AP One?

Thanks in advance!

2

Any suggestions, anyone? Would appreciate any input. Thanks in advance.

3

Just to make sure we are on the same page, could you please provide us the network diagram of the setup with the IP address information? This will help us to provide the necessary recommendation to you.

4

I’m not all that great with diagrams so I’ll try to first explain the situation better.

Our Peplink Balance is tied to the 10.0.0.2/8 network which is also acting as the DHCP. Behind it are our Dell PowerConnect 5548P managed switches (which are set to defaults). Behind those managed switches are the Dell PowerConnect W-IAP105/Aruba Networks IAP-105 WAPs (there’s three of them).

There are two types of networks that the WAPs can create: virtual controller assigned and network assigned. The network assigned network assigns clients in the same network (10.0.0.2/24) whereas the virtual controller assigns clients in the 192.x.x.x/24 space.

I’m not entirely sure what we’re doing wrong, as this is still pretty new to us, so any assistance here would be appreciated. :slight_smile:

5

It seems like you are having 2 different subnets at the LAN. This article might be able to help you with the setup.

6

So I guess the Peplink Balance 580 isn’t capable of handling multiple subnets internally? Is that due to the fact that the 580 doesn’t support VLANs? I’m not sure I understand why the 580 can’t support different subnets. Would you mind explaining please? Thanks!

We actually originally had a Juniper SRX 220 but we replaced it with the Peplink Balance 580 due to configuration difficulties with the SRX 220. However, it sounds like we may need to implement both units in our network.

7

For the current firmware version 5.4.x, the Balance 580 does not support multiple VLANs on the LAN Interface. Thus a layer 3 switch is required.

Anyway this feature will be available in the coming firmware version 6. Stay tuned!

8

What can we do in the meantime? What device/s would you suggest to hold us over until version 6 is released? Thanks!

9

For now, you will need a layer 3 device (a layer 3 switch, a firewall or a router) to support multiple VLANs at the LAN.

10

Any specific devices in mind that you would recommend?

11

Also, when VPN’d in, it seems that I can only access the Peplink Balance 580 but none of the assets on the network like our NAS’s and other devices on the network. Do we have our Peplink VPN configured incorrectly?

12

A layer 3 switch is good enough and easy to setup. You can find plenty of layer 3 switches in the market and you can further consult your local IT stores.

13

Are you referring to the PPTP VPN connection in Peplink? Please share with us more information on the VPN setup for us to have better understanding. Thanks.

14

Yes, the PPTP VPN connection in the Peplink. We did some searching and we figured out that we needed to set up an inbound rule for the PPTP connection. It’s weird because we thought that would be automatically implied whenever setting up a VPN connection.