Replacing a Controller

The procedure below describes the steps to replace an existing stand-alone controller and/or a redundant controller. Best practice is to replace the backup controller first, and replace the active controller only after the new backup controller is operational on the network. When you remove the active controller from the network to replace it, the new backup controller takes over the active controller role. When you add a second controller to the network, the second controller automatically assumes the role of a backup controller.

For information on the Mobility Controller Virtual Appliance, refer to the Aruba Virtual Appliance Installation Guide.

Replacing an Returned Merchandise Authorization (RMA) Device

If the controller being replaced was returned to Aruba as an RMA Return Merchandise Authorization. RMA is a part of the product returning process that authorizes users to return a product to the manufacturer or distributor for a refund, replacement, or repair. The customers who want to return a product within its Warranty period contact the manufacturer to initiate the product returning process. The manufacturer or the seller generates an authorization number for the RMA, which is used by the customers, when returning a product to the warehouse. device, the license keys on the RMA Return Merchandise Authorization. RMA is a part of the product returning process that authorizes users to return a product to the manufacturer or distributor for a refund, replacement, or repair. The customers who want to return a product within its Warranty period contact the manufacturer to initiate the product returning process. The manufacturer or the seller generates an authorization number for the RMA, which is used by the customers, when returning a product to the warehouse. controller cannot be directly transferred to a new device, and must be regenerated.

To generate a new license key for a controller that is returned as an RMA Return Merchandise Authorization. RMA is a part of the product returning process that authorizes users to return a product to the manufacturer or distributor for a refund, replacement, or repair. The customers who want to return a product within its Warranty period contact the manufacturer to initiate the product returning process. The manufacturer or the seller generates an authorization number for the RMA, which is used by the customers, when returning a product to the warehouse.:

1. Access the My Networking Portal at http://hpe.com/networking/mynetworking/.
2. Log in to the My Networking Portal using the HPE Passport.
3. Click View licenses or Transfer licenses to new platform. All available licenses are displayed.
4. Select the >> icon at the right end of the record to verify the license details before transferring it.
5. Click Transfer License at the bottom of the page.
6. Select a controller from the AOS Controller Type drop-down list.
7. Enter the serial number of the mobility controller in the Serial number text box; or enter the passphrase of the Mobility Master in the PassPhrase text box.
8. Select the license to be transferred.
9. Click Transfer at the bottom of the page. A new license key is generated, which you can apply to the controller.

Procedure Overview

The procedure to replace a backup or active controller consists of the following tasks:

Step 1: (Optional) Change the VRRP Priorities for a Redundant Master Pair

If your deployment uses VRRP Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol. VRRP is an election protocol that dynamically assigns responsibility for a virtual router to one of the VRRP routers on a LAN. to define the primary Mobility Master in a pair of redundant Mobility Masters and you are replacing only the primary Mobility Master, you must change the VRRP Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol. VRRP is an election protocol that dynamically assigns responsibility for a virtual router to one of the VRRP routers on a LAN. priority levels of the controllers so that the primary Mobility Master has a lower priority than the backup Mobility Master. This will allow the configuration from the backup Mobility Master to be copied to the new Mobility Master, and prevent an old or inaccurate configuration from being pushed to the managed devices.

For details on changing VRRP Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol. VRRP is an election protocol that dynamically assigns responsibility for a virtual router to one of the VRRP routers on a LAN. priorities, see Configuring a Primary and Backup Master for Failover Redundancy.

Step 2: Back Up the Flash File System

To start the migration process, access the backup controller or the Mobility Master being replaced and create a backup of the flash file system. You can create a backup file using the WebUI or command-line interfaces.

To create a flash backup from the command-line interface, access the active controller and issue the backup flash command.

To back up the flash from the WebUI, log in to the current backup controller or active controller and create a flash backup using the procedure below:

1. In the Mobility Master node hierarchy, select the device and navigate to the Maintenance > Configuration Management > Backup tab.
2. For the Select what to backup option, select Flash.
3. Click Create Backup. A confirmation message (Backup saved successfully) is displayed.
4. Click Copy Backup to create a copy of the backup file. By default, the flash backup file is named flashbackup.tar.gz.
5. In the Select source file drop-down list, select Flash file system.
6. In the File name drop-down list, select the relevant file name.
7. In the Select destination file drop-down list, select one of the server options to move the flash backup off the controller.
8. In the File name text box, enter the name of the Flash backup file to be exported.
9. Click Copy. A confirmation message (Files copied successfully) is displayed.

Step 3: Stage the New Controller

The next step in the procedure is to stage the new backup controller or active controller with basic IP connectivity. Power up the new controller, connect a laptop computer to the controller’s serial port, and follow the prompts to configure basic settings, such as the controller name, role, VLAN Virtual Local Area Network. In computer networking, a single Layer 2 network may be partitioned to create multiple distinct broadcast domains, which are mutually isolated so that packets can only pass between them through one or more routers; such a domain is referred to as a Virtual Local Area Network, Virtual LAN, or VLAN., gateway Gateway is a network node that allows traffic to flow in and out of the network., country code, and time zone.

Step 4: Add Licenses to the New Controller

To replace a controller with manually added licenses, you will need to transfer those licenses to the new controller as part of the replacement process.

Use the license add command in the command-line interface. Alternatively, in the Mobility Master node hierarchy, navigate to the Configuration > License page to add new or transferred licenses to the new controller.

Step 5: Backup Newly Installed Licenses

Use the license export command in the command-line interface to back up the newly installed licenses to the backup license database.

Step 6: Import and Restore the Flash Backup

Import and restore the backup flash file system from the original controller to the new controller.

The following procedure describes how to import and restore a flash backup:

1. Access the new controller.
2. In the Mobility Master node hierarchy, select the device and navigate to the Diagnostics > Technical Support > Copy Files tab.
3. In the Select source file drop-down list, select any of the source options.
4. In the File name drop-down list, select the relevant source file name.
5. In the Select destination file drop-down list, select Flash file system.
6. In the File name text box, enter the name of the Flash backup file.
7. Click Copy. By default, the flash backup file is named flashbackup.tar.gz. A confirmation message (Files saved successfully) is displayed.
8. Next, to restore the backup of the flash file system, navigate to Mobility Master > host node hierarchy, navigate to Maintenance > Configuration Management > Restore tab.
9. Select Flash and click Restore. A confirmation message (Flash restored successfully) is displayed.

To import and restore a flash backup file using the command-line interface, use the copy and restore flash commands. The following example copies a backup file from a USB Universal Serial Bus. USB is a connection standard that offers a common interface for communication between the external devices and a computer. USB is the most common port used in the client devices. drive:

Step 7: Restore Licenses

Execute the license import command in the command-line interface to import licenses from the license database to the new controller.

Step 8: Reboot the Controller

When all the licenses have been restored, issue the reload command in the command-line interface. Alternatively, in the Mobility Master node, navigate to Maintenance > Software Management > Reboot in the WebUI to reboot the new controller. After rebooting, the controller should not be on the network (or a reachable subnet Subnet is the logical division of an IP network.) with the controller it will replace. This is to prevent a possible IP address conflict.

Step 9. (Optional) Modify the Host Name

Execute the hostname command in the command-line interface to give the new controller a unique host name. (The flash restoration process gives the new controller the same name as the existing controller.)

Step 10: Save your Configuration

Now, you must save the configuration settings on the new controller. Execute the write memory command in the command-line interface, or in the Web UI User Interface. navigate to the Managed Network node hierarchy, click the Configuration tab and select Pending Changes at the top of the WebUI page.

Step 11: Remove the Existing Controller

If you are only replacing a backup controller, remove the existing backup controller and then connect the replacement controller to the network. If you are replacing both an active controller and a backup controller, replace the backup controller first.

When the active controller is removed from the network, the backup controller immediately assumes the role of active controller, and all active APs associate to the new active controller within a few seconds. Therefore, when you add another controller to the network, it will, by default, assume the role of a backup controller.

If you changed the VRRP Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol. VRRP is an election protocol that dynamically assigns responsibility for a virtual router to one of the VRRP routers on a LAN. priorities of your redundant Mobility Master prior to replacing the primary Mobility Master, you may wish to change them back once the new primary Mobility Master is active on the network.