When exporting the configuration file, you have the choice of using the FTP, TFTP or SFTP protocol.
In this article, we will focus on exporting the configuration to the FTP server built into a MAC OS machine using the FTP protocol. For the testing we have used a Cisco WLC 2504 running AireOS 8.1.111.0 and a MacBook Air running MAC OS 10.11.3.
1 - Setup the FTP server on MAC OS
- validate that the FTP server is running
- validate which users you can use to connect to the FTP server
To validate that the FTP server is running, open the Terminal app and type the following command: "netstat -na | grep .21 | grep LISTEN". This command will display the listening connections on port 21 (port used by FTP). In the example below, the 2 last lines indicate that the FTP server is running and listening on port 21.
2 - Test the connection to the FTP locally
In order to connect to the FTP server, you will need a username and a password. These are the one listed in the section above.
Open the Terminal application and type the following command: ftp localhost. The FTP server should ask you to enter your username and then your password. You should then be able to connect to the FTP server running on your MAC. Here is an example:
3 - Setup the connection to the Cisco WLC
Here are the different way you may connect your MAC to the WLC:
- Connect your MAC to the wired network on the same vlan that is used for the management interface on the controller
- Connect directly your MAC to the service port (except for WLC 2504 which does not have a service port)
In my case, I performed my testing on a Cisco WLC 2504 so I connected my MAC to a switchport on the same vlan as the one I use for the management interface on the controller. In my case it was vlan 20.
Here is the setup I used to write this article:
4 - Transfer the configuration
As a "Transfer Mode", choose "FTP".
Note: you have the possibility to secure the file by encrypting it before sending it over the network.
In the "Server Details" section, you need to fill out these different fields:
- IP Address: This is the IP address of the FTP server. So this is the IP address of your MAC computer.
- File Path: This is the path where you want to send your file onto the FTP server. If you leave "./", it is going to send the file to the home directory of the user you are using for the transfer.
- File Name: This is the name you want to give to the configuration file onto the FTP server
- Server Login Username: This is your user account name on the FTP server
- Server Login Password: This is the password tied to this user account on the FTP server
- Service Port Number: This is the port used for FTP on the server (21 in my case)
5 - Troubleshoot the transfer
Cheers'
written by François Vergès