The procedures below describe the steps to replace an existing stand-alone controller and/or a redundant controller. Best practices are 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, that second controller automatically assumes the role of a backup controller.
For information on the virtual mobility controller (VMC), refer to the Aruba Mobility Master and VMC Installation Guide.
If the controller being replaced was returned to Aruba as a Return Merchandize Authorization (RMA) device, the license keys on the RMA 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:
1. | Access the My Networking Portal (MNP) at http://hpe.com/networking/mynetworking/. |
2. | Log in to MNP using the HPE Passport. |
3. | Click | or . 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 | at the bottom of the page.
6. | Select a controller from the drop-down list. |
7. | Enter the serial number of the mobility controller in the text box; or enter the passphrase of the Mobility Master in the text box. |
8. | Select the license to be transferred. |
9. | Click controller. | at the bottom of the page. A new license key is generated, which you can apply to the
The procedure to replace a backup or active controller consists of the following tasks:
1. | Step 1: (Optional) Change the VRRP Priorities for a Redundant Master Pair |
2. | Step 2: Back Up the Flash File System |
3. | Step 3: Stage the New Controller |
4. | Step 4: Add Licenses to the New Controller |
5. | Step 5: Backup Newly Installed Licenses |
6. | Step 6: Import and Restore the Flash Backup |
7. | Step 7: Restore Licenses |
8. | Step 8: Reboot the Controller |
9. | Step 9. (Optional) Modify the Host Name |
10. | Step 10: Save your Configuration |
11. | Step 11: Remove the Existing Controller |
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If your controller does not have any manually added licenses, skip steps 3, 4, and 6 of the following procedure. |
If your deployment uses VRRP to define the primary Mobility Master in a pair of redundant Mobility Masters, and you are replacing only the primary Mobility Master, and you must change the VRRP 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 priorities, see Configuring a Primary and Backup Master for Failover Redundancy.
To start the migration process, access the backup controller or 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 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 | node hierarchy, navigate to .
2. | Select Flash and click | .
3. | Click | to create a copy of the backup file. By default, the flash backup file is named .
4. | Next, to move the backup of the flash file system to an external server, in the | node hierarchy, navigate to .
5. | In the | section, select .
6. | In the controller, and enter the name of the flash backup file to be exported. | section, select one of the server options to move the flash backup off the
7. | Click | .
8. | The status of the copy operation is displayed under the | section.
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, gateway, country code, and time zone.
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 controller.
command in the command-line interface. Alternatively, in the node hierarchy, navigate to to add new or transferred licenses to the new
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Do not reboot the controller at the end of this step. Do not save the configuration or write it to memory. Reboot only after the flash memory and the licenses have been restored. |
Use the
command in the command-line interface to back up the newly installed licenses to the backup license database.(host)[mynode] #license export <filename>
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Do controller at the end of this step. Do not save the configuration or write it to memory. Reboot only after the flash memory and the licenses have been restored. reboot the |
Import and restore the backup flash file system from the original controller to the new controller.
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Do controller at the end of this step. Do not save the configuration or write it to memory. Reboot only after the flash memory and the licenses have been restored. reboot the |
To import and restore a flash backup using the WebUI:
1. | Access the new controller. |
2. | In the | node hierarchy, navigate to .
3. | In the | section, select any of the source options, or select a method for uploading the file.
4. | In the | section, select .
5. | Enter the filename of the flash backup and click | . By default, the flash backup file is named .
6. | Next, to restore the backup of the flash file system, navigate to | node hierarchy, navigate to .
7. | Select | and click .
8. | The status of the copy operation is displayed under the | section.
To import and restore a flash backup file using the command-line interface, use the
and commands. The following example copies a backup file from a USB drive.(host)[mynode] #copy usb: Partition 1 flashbak2_3600.tar.gz flash: flashbackup.tar.gz
....File flashbak2_3600.tar.gz copied to flash successfully.
(host)[mynode] #restore flash
Execute the controller.
command in the command-line interface to import licenses from the license database to the new(host)[mynode] #license import <filename>
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Do not save the configuration or write to memory at the end of this step. |
When all the licenses have been restored, issue the controller. After rebooting, the controller should not be on the network (or a reachable subnet) with the controller it will replace. This is to prevent a possible IP address conflict.
command in the command-line interface. Alternatively, in the node, navigate to in the WebUI to reboot the new
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Do save the configuration or write to memory at the end of this step. |
(host)[mynode] #reload
Do you want to save the configuration(y/n): n
Do you really want to restart the system(y/n): y
System will now restart!
Execute the controller a unique host name. (The flash restoration process gives the new controller the same name as the existing controller.)
command in the command-line interface to give the new
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Do save the configuration or write to memory at the end of this step. |
Now, you must save the configuration settings on the new controller. Execute the command in the command-line interface, or in the node, click the tab and select at the top of the WebUI page.
If you are only replacing a backup controller, remove the existing backup controller, 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 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.
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When the new controller uses the same IP address of the controller that is being replaced, it is recommended to issue the command after the APs connect to the controller. If the APs were already rebooted before connecting to the controller, the command need not be issued. |