ExtremeCloud IQ - AP and WLAN configuration

Note: At the time of writing this article, it's about ExtremeCloud IQ 24.4.0.72.

Access credentials (password) for devices

• Where can I find username/password for devices in XIQ when the default credential does not work?

The default username for Extreme Networks devices is admin and the password is aerohive (or Aerohive1). It's important to change this, of course, and it happens automatically after connecting the device to ExtremeCloud IQ and applying the configuration.

Login credentials for devices can be set in three places in ExtremeCloud IQ. They are listed in order of priority. If the configuration is in the next step, it overwrites the previous one.

• global settings - click on the account name in the top right corner and select Global Settings, in the left menu choose Device Management Settings
• Network Policy - in the left menu, choose Configure - Network Policies, click Edit next to the policy for our AP, in step 1 Policy Details on the left side, select Device Credentials (under Policy Details)
• device settings - in the left menu, choose Manage - Devices, open the AP details (click on Host Name), in the lower left part switch to Configure and select Device Credential

Upgrade Firmware AP (IQ Engine OS)

• How to upgrade AH AP firmware on XIQ?

We can easily perform an update of the AP's operating system version (IQ Engine) in the web management.

• log in to ExtremeCloud IQ
• in the left menu, choose Manage - Devices
• select the AP(s) we want to update
• click on Update Devices above the list on the right
• (alternatively, we can open the AP details and click on Update in the top right corner)
• select Upgrade IQ Engine and Extreme Network Switch Images and Upgrade to the latest version (10.6r7) (in my case)
• click on Perform Update

The update will start shortly, and we can see its progress for the AP in the Updated On column. It goes through a few quick steps. The actual upgrade took less than 1 minute, then the AP restart takes place, which was about 2.5 minutes here.

Deploy Policy and update device configuration

• Push the Device-Level Configuration to the Device
• Deploy a Network Policy

When a new network policy is created, or an existing one is modified, we must perform (send) a policy deployment to the device. Similarly, if we make a device-level configuration, we must transfer the configuration changes to the device.

If the running configuration of the device does not match the configuration in ExtremeCloud IQ, a Configuration Audit Mismatch icon with an exclamation mark is displayed next to the device. See Device Status Icons.

Note: By the way, the Configuration Audit icon opens the Configuration View, where we can view the entire AP configuration (commands).

We can perform policy deployment as the last step 6 Deploy Policy when editing a network policy in Configure - Network Policies. Or in a similar way as firmware update.

• log in to ExtremeCloud IQ
• in the left menu, choose Manage - Devices
• select the devices where we want to update the configuration
• click on Update Devices above the list on the right
• select Update Network Policy and Configuration and choose
  • Delta Configuration Update - attempts to update only configuration changes, if a complete update is required, we will be notified, does not require AP restart, used in most cases
  • Complete Configuration Update - necessary for major changes that affect radio operation, or when connecting a new device, performs a complete configuration update, will restart the AP, we can set the time when it should be performed
• click on Perform Update (we can monitor the progress in the Updated On column)

Configuring Network Policy for AP

• Configure Network Policies
• Configure the SSID for a Standard Wireless Network
• Configure AP Templates

Device configuration in ExtremeCloud IQ is typically done using Network Policy. We create a common policy for devices that share the same characteristics. A policy can contain configuration only for devices of a certain type, such as AP or Switch, but also their combination.

For a wireless network (Wi-Fi) in the policy, we also configure WLANs (Wireless Local Area Network). The documentation uses the term SSID (Service Set Identifier), which is more precisely the identifier of the wireless network.

Note: I described certain basics of wireless networks in the article Cisco WLC C9800 - generally about Wi-Fi 6 and 6E, WPA3 and other standards.

• log in to ExtremeCloud IQ
• in the left menu, choose Configure - Network Policies
• click on Add Network Policy

• step 1 Policy Details
  • Policy Type - choose only Wireless and name the policy
  • perform further policy settings configuration
  • click on Save and Next

• step 2 Wireless
  • Wireless Networks - add a new wireless network, enter SSID, on which band (radio) it should be broadcast, authentication methods, optionally MAC authentication and a number of other network parameters

• • AP Template - we can add a device template, prepared for specific Extreme Networks models, in the template we can set wireless interfaces (radios), wired interfaces, USB and more

• • a range of other optional configuration is available
• step 6 Deploy Policy
  • we deploy the policy to selected APs, see the previous chapter