MAST DIGITAL AC50 Wi-Tek Smart Cloud Cube Mini AP Controller User Guide
- June 6, 2024
- MAST DIGITAL
Table of Contents
Wi-Tek AC50 Cloud Cube Configuration
This guide will run through how to configure Wi-Tek Access Points via the WI-
AC50 Cloud Cube Controller and setup of the remote tunnel link via the Wi-Tek
Cloud portal for remote management.
In this guide we will be configuring the WI-AP217-3PBUN which includes the
following items:
- 3x WI-AP217 Dual band 1200Mbps 802.11ac Access Points
- 1x WI-PS305G 4 Port GB PoE Switch
- 1x WI-AC50 Cloud Cube
Note: The following steps will apply to each bundle except for the 5Ghz band configuration with the WI-AP210 bundles as these are 2.4Ghz only.
Initial Connection
We recommend laying everything out locally during the initial configuration,
this will make troubleshooting any issues a lot easier.
All Wi-Tek devices come set with a fallback IP of ‘192.168.1.88’ – This
is used if there is no network router with DHCP connected or if DHCP fails to
issue an IP address to each device.
If you are connecting all the devices to the switch in one go, make sure you
are also connected to the network router, you will end up with IP conflicts
otherwise. You will need to use an IP scanner to find the DHCP issued IP
address of the WI-AC50 Cloud Cube.
If you are setting up without a network router, ensure you only connect one
device at a time and change the devices IP address before doing any
configuration. This will also require setting your laptop to a static IP
address, more on this below.
In this guide we will be configuring without the use of a network router.
Step 1 – Connecting the Cube and Laptop
Simply connect the WI-AC50 Cloud Cube to a PoE port on the switch via the
included patch lead and connect your laptop to on the of the uplink ports.
Now we need to set our laptop to a static IP address to be able to communicate with the cube.
Step 2 – Putting your laptop on a Static IP
Now we have everything connected and powered on, to be able to talk to the AP
we need to set our laptop on a static IP address in the same range.
To do this, right click on the network icon in the bottom right and click
‘Open Network & Internet Settings’
From here select ‘ Change adapter options’
From here right click your Ethernet adapter and select ‘Properties’.
Select ‘Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)’ and click the ‘Properties’ button.
Select ‘Use the following IP address:’ and enter the following details.
Click ‘OK’ and then ‘CLOSE’.
Your laptop is now set on a static IP address in the same range as the access
points and cloud cube controller.
Note: If the network the system is going to be installed in is not on the ‘192.168.1.x’ range, for example Sky / Virgin that use ‘192.168.0.x’, once you have changed all the devices into this range you will need to re-adjust your laptop to be in the same range to continue configuration.
Step 3 – Logging into the Controller
Open Internet Explorer and enter ‘192.168.1.88’ into the address bar. This
will take you to the login page of the controller.
The default username & password is admin/admin
You will now be at the dashboard of the controller.
From here the first thing we need to do is change the IP of the cube. To do this, navigate to Network > Interface. Change the IP of the unit to the desired IP, preferably outside of the site networks DHCP range. In this case I have set it to ‘192.168.1.10’.
Click ‘ CONFIRM’ to save.
NOTE: Once the IP is changed you will need to navigate to the new IP
address and log back into the Cube.
Step 4 – Configure the AC50 Global Parameters
Navigate to Wireless > Overview. From here we can setup a few options on how
we want the AC50 Controller to manage the Access Points.
To be able to control the access points they need to know where the AC50 is,
to do this we set the Distribute AC Address to Using LAN IP. This will ensure
the cube issues its IP to each access point that is connected.
Enable AC-AP Time Sync – This will make sure all the access points are set to
the same time & date as the Cube.
Enable AP Auto Upgrade – This will enable you to remotely upload firmware to
the AC50 for it to distribute to the connected access points.
Enable AP Scheduled Reboot – Most WiFi related issues are fixed by a quick
reboot, set a Daily / Weekly / Monthly time & day to automatically reboot the
WiFi to avoid having to do manual reboots. At minimum we recommend setting
this to once a month.
Enable AC Scheduled Reboot – Same as the above but for the controller.
Enable Wireless Optimization – This enables the controller to manage the
signal channels from the access points to give optimal performance.
AP Watchdog – This enables you to set an IP of one of the access points, if
this IP is unable to be found the APs will start to emit a Rescue SSID for
diagnosis.
Set the Country for All AP to United Kingdom.
Once complete you should have something that looks similar to below.
Click CONFIRM to save.
Navigate to System > System Time and set the correct time and date.
Click CONFIRM to save.
Step 5 – Connecting the Access Points
Connect the first access point to the PoE switch and wait for it to boot.
From the controller navigate to Wireless > AP List.
Once the AP appears in the list select the tick box and click ‘Network Config’. Change the Network Mode to Static IP Address and enter the new desired IP and network details.
Click ‘CONFIRM’ to push the new settings to the AP.
Repeat this process for each Access Point until all are configured with the
desired IP Addresses. You may also want to rename each access point to make it
easier to differentiate between them. For example, Master Bedroom, Kitchen,
Lounge etc.
Step 6 – Configuring the WiFi Group Settings
Navigate to AP Group and click Edit for the default group. From here we can
set the desired SSID and password details for both 2.4G and 5G signals.
Select 2.4G at the top and edit the template for the WiFi.
SSID – This is the name you want the WiFi to show up as.
Encryption – The type of wireless encryption you want to use. Recommended
to leave this as WPA2-PSK. If you have devices that only utilise WPA-PSK, set
this to WPA-PSK+WPA2-PSK to enabled WPA-Mixed encryption.
KEY – This is the desired WiFi Password.
Advance Features
– Isolate – Enable/Disable WiFi Isolation.
– Hidden – Enable/Disable SSID Hiding.
– QR Code – Enable/Disable the use of QRcodes for connecting users.
MAX Num of User – Set the maximum number of clients for the WiFi.
AuthType – If utilising the local portal feature enable it here.
VLAN Binding – If deploying on a managed network with VLANs you can set a
VLAN number for the SSID.
Click the Advanced dropdown and enable the 802.11kvr Roaming (make sure to do
this under both the 2.4G and 5G settings) everything else can be left default
here.
Click CONFIRM to save and then repeat for the 5Ghz settings.
Step 7 – Binding the APs to the WiFi Group
Navigate to Wireless > AP List
Select all the access points, click BIND.
Select the group and click Confirm.
The access points will now reboot and be updated with the WiFi configuration.
The group each AP is bound too is displayed under AP Group to the right.
Connect the switch back into the rest of the network via the Uplink. Connect
to the WiFi and if everything is correct you can get online. If you are unable
to connect to the Internet, double check your cable connections and that the
network gateway is set correctly for the access points.
Deploy the access points in the desired locations.
Step 8 – RF Planning
Once deployed, log back into the controller and navigate to Wireless > RF
Planning.
Click Start Scan, this will have all the access points check for the best
channels to be used with the least interference.
Once the scan completes, click Save Results to push the channel changes to the
access points.
Note: You may temporarily lose connection to the WiFi during this process.
Step 9 – Unified Cloud Tunnel
Login to your Wi-Tek Cloud Account via cloud.wireless-tek.com. If you don’t
already have a cloud account, click register and follow the steps to get
started. Once logged in, click Unique Code in the top bar to see your unique
binding code. Click Copy.
From the cloud cube and navigate to Unified Cloud and paste your unique
Binding Code.
Give the device a relevant description to make it easy to identify from the
cloud. You can also enter co-ordinates of the location; this will enable you
to see the location of the system on the map in your Wi-Tek Cloud account.
Click Confirm to save. The WI-AC50 will now show up in your cloud account
under ‘Gateway’.
Note: It can take around 10-15 minutes to show up in your account.
Once the device is visible in the cloud, click InfoMessage to see more details
about the cloud cube. Scroll down and under service click Enable for the
‘Tunnel’. This will generate a direct tunnel link to the WI-AC50 to enable
remote monitoring and management.
Note: The tunnel connection can take from 15 minutes up to 24 hours to become
fully operational.
Using this tunnel, you can access the cloud cube and manage the access points remotely in the same manner as you can whilst onsite.
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