WIRELESS LAN SWITCH AND CONTROLLER
MSS VERSION 6.0.4.6 RELEASE NOTES
Related Documentation
What’s New in MSS Version 6.0
MSS Version 6.0 contains the following enhancements:
■ New AP3150 and AP3850 support
Please use these notes in conjunction with the following:
■ Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Quick Start Guide
■ Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Hardware
■ 802.1x Client Diagnostic Enhancement (additional
Installation Guide
debug information)
■ Wireless LAN Switch and Controller
■ SNMP/3ND Support
Configuration Guide
■ AP/DAP Unification
■ Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Command Reference
■ Wireless Switch Manager User’s Guide
■ New Web View interface
■ AeroScout RFID tag support
■ Wireless Switch Manager Reference Manual
■ 3Com Mobility System Antenna Guide
■ Newbury Networks Location appliance support
■ Persistent VLAN assignment for roaming clients
■ Simplified Web-Portal and last-resort configuration
■ RF Auto-Tuning enhancements
You can obtain the latest technical information for
these products, including a list of known problems and
solutions, from the 3Com Knowledgebase:
■ Unscheduled Automatic Powersave Delivery
(U-APSD) support
■ DHCP server enhancements
Software License Agreement
■ RADIUS accounting enhancements
Before you use these products, please ensure that you
read the license agreement text. You can find the
license.txt file on the CD-ROM that accompanies your
product, or in the self-extracting exe that you have
downloaded from the 3Com Web site.
■ Support for special characters in SNMP community
names
■ Increased life span of new self-signed certificates
■ CLI commands to specify location and contact infor-
mation for MAPs
Part No. 10016430 Rev. AA
Published November 2007
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Points to Note When Using the WXR100, WX1200, WX4400, or WX2200
3
backup, refer to the section titled “Backing Up and
Restoring the System” on page 613 of the MSS con-
figuration guide. For details on the procedure for
3WXM, refer to the section titled “Upgrading
3WXM” of the 3WXM Reference Manual.
all Network changes before attempting to deploy any
Local changes.
7 After Network changes have been accepted and the
switch status has been refreshed, carefully examine
any remaining Local changes in 3WXM before decid-
ing whether to deploy them to the wireless switch.
2 Upgrade 3WXM before upgrading the wireless switch
(MSS). Newer versions of 3WXM are designed to
handle older versions of MSS and will change their
configuration model for switches that are running
older versions of MSS. For example, 3WXM 6.0 can
handle switches running 4.0.x, 4.1.x, 4.2.x, 5.0.x, or
6.0.x. However, older versions of 3WXM are not
designed to manage newer versions of MSS. For
example, 3WXM 4.2 is not designed to manage a
wireless switch running 6.0.
8 If you need to downgrade to an older version of MSS,
the system will provide the option to use an automat-
ically archived configuration file that was created
when the system was upgraded. To apply a configura-
tion that is compatible with the older version of MSS,
you may choose to apply this archived configuration
file.
Best Practice When Powering Down a Switch
3 After completing a successful upgrade of 3WXM,
upgrade the wireless switch to the same major soft-
ware version. 3Com recommends always running the
same major version of 3WXM and MSS in a produc-
tion environment. For example, 6.0.x.
If a WXR100 or WX1200 is connected to Power Sourc-
ing Equipment (PSE), it is possible for the switch to
remain powered on even when the power cord is
unplugged. PSE can be a dedicated PoE injector or even
another networking switch such as the WX that is capa-
ble of supplying PoE. To ensure that the switch is pow-
ered off, unplug the power cord, then unplug all
Ethernet cables that are connected to other PoE devices.
4 If the CLI of the wireless switch indicates unsaved
configuration changes after completing the upgrade
(indicated with a * in front of the system name on the
CLI), save the configuration using the 'save configura-
tion' command.
System Configuration Best Practices
5 When upgrading several switches, upgrade one at a
time. After the upgrade has been completed on each
switch, verify that it is operating properly before pro-
ceeding on to the next switch.
3Com strongly recommends that you use 3Com
Wireless Switch Manager (3WXM) for archiving and
version control of network-wide wireless LAN switch
configurations. 3Com also recommends that you
archive the CLI-based configuration files of individual
WX switches by copying the configurations to a
server.
6 After the MSS upgrade has been completed, refresh
the switch status in 3WXM. If Network changes are
detected, they should be reviewed carefully before
deciding whether to accept them into 3WXM. Accept
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4
WIRELESS LAN SWITCH AND CONTROLLER MSS VERSION 6.0.4.6 RELEASE NOTES
Client and AAA Best Practices
Protocol
Advantages
Disadvantages
EAP-TTLS
■ Does not require
client certificates
■ Requires third-party
802.1X client software
Follow these best-practice recommendations during
configuration and implementation to avoid or solve
issues you might experience.
■ Broadest compatibil- ■ Username/pass-
ity with user directo-
ries
word-based access
might not be as
strong as certifi-
cate-based access
Get Clients and AAA Working First
The greatest majority of installation issues are related
to clients and AAA server (authentication, authoriza-
tion, and accounting) operation. 3Com recommends
first establishing a baseline of proper operation with a
sampling of wireless clients and the AAA server you
plan to use. Working out client and AAA configura-
tion methods first provides valuable information as
you scale the deployment.
EAP-TLS
■ Strongest authenti- ■ Client-side certifi-
cation using X.509
certificates.
cates require full PKI
infrastructure and
management over-
head
■ Native support in
Windows XP and
2000
■ Broad support in all
802.1X clients
PEAP-TLS
■ Strongest authenti- ■ Client-side certifi-
The selection of client and AAA server software will
depend heavily on the requirements of your deploy-
ment. First, decide which EAP Protocol you will be using
as that will restrict the available clients and servers. Each
protocol has different advantages and disadvantages,
which you will need to consider in your deployment. For
most enterprise deployments, 3Com recommends using
PEAP-MS-CHAP-V2 as the 802.1X protocol. The follow-
ing table compares the EAP protocols.
cation using X.509
certificates.
cates require full PKI
infrastructure and
management over-
head
■ Native support in Win-
dows XP and 2000
■ Minimal advantage
over EAP-TLS
■ Broad support in all
802.1X clients
Although LEAP uses the same ethertype as 802.1X
(0x888e), the LEAP protocol is proprietary and does
not conform to the IEEE 802.1X standard. Addition-
ally, the LEAP protocol has serious security flaws. For
example, LEAP-authenticated networks can be
breached using a simple dictionary attack.
Protocol
Advantages
Disadvantages
PEAP-MS-CHAP-V2
■ Does not require
client certificates
■ Username/pass-
word-based access
might not be as
strong as certifi-
cate-based access
■ Compatible with
MSS EAP offload
When testing and evaluating MSS, enterprises using
primarily Microsoft platforms are recommended to use
Windows XP clients running PEAP-MS-CHAP-V2 with a
Windows 2000 or 2003 server running Internet
■ Native support in
Microsoft Windows
XP and 2000
Authentication Service (IAS) as the RADIUS back end.
This provides a test environment that is quick to set up
and does not require additional third-party software.
■ Broad support in
802.1X clients
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Points to Note When Using the WXR100, WX1200, WX4400, or WX2200
5
Wireless NICs
As new drivers are released by the manufacturers,
3Com expects general compatibility to improve.
Most wireless NICs available now support 802.1X
authentication. The following table lists the NICs that
have been used successfully with MSS. The majority
were tested using recently available drivers using the
Microsoft native 802.1X client and a Microsoft IAS
RADIUS server. 3Com has not experienced any com-
patibility problems with NICs being unable to support
specific EAP protocols or specific RADIUS servers, so
we have only documented the differences in encryp-
tion type. Entries that have both Windows 2000 and
Windows XP listed together have the same results for
both operating systems. A result of Pass indicates suc-
cessful authentication and roaming with the listed
model and operating system. A result of Fail indicates
an inability to successfully complete authentication. A
result of NA (Not Applicable) indicates that the NIC
does not support the listed encryption type. A result
of NT (Not Tested) indicates that the combination has
not been tested yet.
Mfgr
Model, Driver,
OS
WEP
Mixed TKIP
TKIP/
CCMP Web
and Driver Date
WEP
3Com
3CRPAG175B
1.1.0.21,
10/4/05
XP
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
3Com
3Com
3CRBAG675B
1.1.0.21,
09/19/05
XP
XP
Pass
Pass
3CRPAG175
SL-3040 AA
5.1.2535.0,
7/1/2001
3Com
3CRDAG675
SL-3045 AA
1.0.0.25,
8/1/2003
XP
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
3Com
3Com
3CRWE154A72
3CRXJK10075
3.3.0.156,
12/26/04
XP
XP
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Not
Pass
Not
Not
Tested
Tested Tested
Currently, WPA/CCMP (AES) encryption is supported
only when configured as the only cryptographic type
in service profile. Enabling dynamic WEP or WPA/TKIP
with AES on the same SSID can cause severe connec-
tivity issues as some manufacturers’ drivers do not
work properly when both encryption types are
enabled. 3Com recommends that you set up a sepa-
rate service profile for WPA/CCMP with a different
SSID for compatibility. If you are migrating from
Dynamic WEP to WPA/TKIP, 3Com recommends creat-
ing separate service profiles for each encryption type
and migrating users from one SSID to the other when
they are configured to use TKIP.
3Com
Belkin
3CRUSB10075
6.3.3.2,
06/05/06
XP
XP
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
F5D8010 1000
1.2.0.80,
9/21/2004
Pass*
Buffalo WLI-CP-G54
XP
XP
Pass
Pass
Not
Tested
Pass
NA
Pass
Pass
Not
Tested
Cisco
Cisco
Aironet MPI350
3.8.26.0,
5/4/2004
Pass
Pass
Aironet
AIR-CB20A
3.9.16.0,
9/20/2004
XP
Pass
Not
Tested
Not
Not
Not
Tested Tested Tested
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6
WIRELESS LAN SWITCH AND CONTROLLER MSS VERSION 6.0.4.6 RELEASE NOTES
Mfgr
Model, Driver,
and Driver Date
OS
WEP
Mixed TKIP
TKIP/
WEP
CCMP Web
Mfgr
Model, Driver,
and Driver Date
OS
WEP
Mixed TKIP
TKIP/
WEP
CCMP Web
Cisco
Dell
Aironet 350
XP
Pass
Fail
Pass
Fail
Not
Not
Not
Linksys
WPC54G 1.0
3.60.7.0,
3/22/2004
XP
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Tested Tested Tested
TrueMobile1150† XP
A00
7.43.0.9
NA
NA
Pass
Linksys
Linksys
WPC54GS
3.50.21.10,
1/23/2004
XP
Pass
Pass
Dell
Dell
Dell
Dell
TrueMobile 1150‡ XP
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Fail
Not
Tested
NA
Not
Tested
WPC54G
version 2
XP
XP
Fail
Fail
Fail
Fail
Not
Tested
TrueMobile 1300 XP
TrueMobile 1400 XP
TrueMobile 1450 XP
Not
Tested
Not
Not
Not
Tested Tested Tested
Netgear WG-511 1.0
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Fail‡‡
2.1.25.0,
9/6/2004
Pass
Pass
Pass
Not
Tested
Netgear WAG-511 0.1
XP
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Fail6
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
3.1.1.754,
11/2/2004
3.100.35.0,
11/27/2004
Proxim
Proxim
Orinoco Gold
8410
XP
XP
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
NA
NA
Not
D-link
D-link
DWLAG650
XP
XP
Pass
Pass
Fail
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Not
Tested
Tested
Orinoco Gold
8460***
3.1.2.19,
8/5/2004
Pass
Pass
Pass
DWL-AG660
A1,A2
3.0.0.44,
10/22/2003
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Not
Proxim
Orinoco Gold
8470-WD
3.1.2.19,
8/5/2004
XP
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Intel
Intel
Intel
PRO/Wireless
2200BG
9.0.2.1,
8/23/2005
XP
XP
XP
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
NA
Pass
Pass
NA
Proxim
Proxim
Orinoco Gold
8480
XP
XP
Pass
Fail
Pass
Fail
Pass
NA
NA
NA
Not
Tested
PRO/Wireless
2915ABG
9.0.2.1,
8/23/2005
Harmony 8450
1.4.1.1, 8/1/2002
Fail†††
PRO/Wireless
WCB5000
1.0.1.33,
6/4/2003
SMC
SMC2336A-AG
XP
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
2.0
(99-012084-221)
2.4.1.32,
9/29/2003
Intel
Pro2100(Cen-
trino)**
XP
XP
Pass
Pass
Pass††
Pass
Not
Not
Tested Tested Tested
Linksys
WUSB54GS
Pass
Pass
Pass
1.0.0.1,
6/18/2004
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Points to Note When Using the WXR100, WX1200, WX4400, or WX2200
7
Conversely, some adapters can associate only with a
beaconed SSID. Determine whether to beacon the
clear SSID based on the types of clients in the net-
work.
Mfgr
Model, Driver,
OS
WEP
Mixed TKIP
TKIP/
CCMP Web
and Driver Date
WEP
SMC
SMC2835W
XP
Pass
Pass
Pass
NA
Pass
1.0
(99-012084-163)
Standby mode can prevent some clients from reasso-
ciating. If a laptop PC whose wireless adapter is asso-
ciated with a Managed Access Point (MAP) goes into
standby (hibernate) mode, the operating system can
either freeze or experience a Blue Screen of Death
(BSOD) when the laptop comes out of standby mode
and attempts to reassociate with the access point. To
work around this behavior, disable standby mode.
Alternatively, disable and reenable the wireless
1.0.17.0,
6/16/2003
Symbol LA-4121-1020-US XP
Pass
Pass
Pass
NA
Pass
3.9.71.178,
3/25/2004
* Belkin Wireless Pre-N requires WPA/TKIP on a TKIP/WEP mixed SSID.
† Dell TrueMobile 1150 drivers v7.86 and newer might not work with Dynamic
WEP when you have WPA/TKIP enabled. If you experience problems such as an
inability to associate with the MAP, install the previous revision of the driver,
which is available from Dell’s support site.
adapter after the client emerges from standby mode.
‡ Requires a registry change to work properly; for more information, see “Win-
dows 2000 Many enterprises have a large installed base of Windows 2000 lap-
tops, making this a common choice of platform. Windows 2000 Service Pack 4
includes a native 802.1X client. If you choose to use the 802.1X client built-in
to Windows 2000, please note the following:” on page 9.
** Intel Centrino based chipsets might not associate with the SSID when pow-
er-save mode is enabled. Future drivers or laptop firmware might resolve this
issue, but until then 3Com recommends disabling power-save mode complete-
ly in the driver properties for the NIC.
†† The Intel Centrino based chipset has not been tested with WPA yet, though
Dynamic WEP does operate properly in a mixed TKIP and WEP configuration.
‡‡ NetGear WG511/WAG511 doesn't associate properly to a WebAAA SSID.
The NIC does not support DHCP.
If a client passes authentication but fails authoriza-
tion, the client might indicate that authentication has
succeeded but the MAP nonetheless disassociates
from the client. In this case, the client might indicate
that the network is unavailable. For example, this situ-
ation can occur if the certificate exchange is valid but
the requested VLAN or ACL filter is not available, or a
Mobility Profile™ denies service to the client. Once
the MAP disassociates from the client, the network
continues to be unavailable to the client through the
MAP for the duration of the 802.1X quiet-period
timer, which defaults to 60 seconds. An error mes-
sage indicating that a client has failed authorization
appears in the WX switch’s system log.
*** Use the 848x driver, not the 846x driver.
††† Proxim Harmony 802.11a (8450) cannot associate properly.
Driver Dependent Behavior
Some clients prefer a beaconed clear SSID to their
configured SSIDs. If you configure MSS to beacon a
clear SSID, some client adapters prefer this beaconed
SSID over the SSIDs they are configured to use.
802.1X Clients
Properly preparing your clients for wireless connectiv-
ity is one of the most important things you can do to
ensure an easy rollout. Here are some guidelines for
preparing common 802.1X clients and platforms.
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8
WIRELESS LAN SWITCH AND CONTROLLER MSS VERSION 6.0.4.6 RELEASE NOTES
Windows XP Windows XP is a popular platform for
wireless clients because of its native support of 802.1X
authentication and simplified configuration of wireless
networks. If you choose to use the 802.1X client
built-in to Windows XP, please note the following:
■ Download current drivers for your NICs from the
NIC vendor(s).
■ If your wireless NIC’s driver includes the AEGIS pro-
tocol manager for WPA support, 3Com recom-
mends against installing it. Some drivers install this
automatically if you run the setup.exe utility to
install the driver. 3Com strongly recommends that
you update the driver manually using the driver
properties in the Network control panel instead of
installing the client manager.
■ Microsoft has extensive documentation on how to
configure and use wireless 802.1X authentication
in an Active Directory environment, published on
their website. You can start with Microsoft’s Wi-Fi
center at:
technologies/networking/wifi/default.mspx
■ If you use computer authentication with different
VLANs for the Computer and User accounts and
do not have the WPA hotfix rollup (KB826942) or
Service Pack 2, you need to install Microsoft hotfix
KB822596. Otherwise, DHCP will not operate cor-
rectly after the user authenticates. You must con-
tact Microsoft technical support for this hotfix. It is
not available from their website. For more informa-
tion on computer authentication, see “Computer
Authentication”.
■ Installing Windows XP Service Pack 2 is recom-
mended for all wireless clients as it includes several
important hotfixes.
■ If you are not prepared to install Service Pack 2,
3Com strongly recommends that all wireless clients
use Service Pack 1a with the following hotfixes
installed:
■
KB826942—This is the WPA Hotfix Rollup and is
available through Microsoft Update
■ If MD5 challenge is configured on a Windows XP
client for wired authentication, the quiet period
must be set to 0 to guarantee successful authenti-
cation. In addition, if the authentication is carried
out manually, the timeout value must be set to no
less than 30 seconds in order to allow the user
ample time to enter their username and password.
For example, to configure 802.1X on a WX switch
to allow these users time to log in, type the follow-
ing commands:
■
KB834669—This corrects an 802.1X client issue
which can cause system instability problems in
Windows XP. You will need to contact Microsoft
directly for this hotfix.
■ If your network uses logon scripts, Active Directory
group policies, or your users regularly share their
laptops, you should enable computer authentica-
tion (also known as machine authentication) to
achieve full functionality over your wireless con-
nection.
WX1200# set dot1x quiet-period 0
WX1200# set dot1x tx-period 30
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Points to Note When Using the WXR100, WX1200, WX4400, or WX2200
9
Windows 2000 Many enterprises have a large
installed base of Windows 2000 laptops, making this
a common choice of platform. Windows 2000 Service
Pack 4 includes a native 802.1X client. If you choose
to use the 802.1X client built-in to Windows 2000,
please note the following:
■ Windows 2000 does not include a full implemen-
tation of the Wireless Zero-Config service from
Windows XP, so you will need to use the client
manager software provided with your NIC to con-
figure your SSID and enable WEP encryption.
When using dynamic WEP in Windows 2000,
select static WEP 128bit and enter any static WEP
key as a placeholder. This temporary key config-
ures the driver to use WEP to encrypt packets, and
the Microsoft 802.1X client then overrides the
static WEP key you entered with a dynamic key
after you authenticate successfully.
■ Microsoft has extensive documentation on how to
configure and use wireless 802.1X authentication
in an Active Directory environment, published on
their website. Most of this documentation is
geared towards Windows XP, but both operating
systems have many similarities in the client. You
can start with Microsoft’s Wi-Fi center at:
■ If your wireless NIC’s driver includes the AEGIS pro-
tocol manager for WPA support, 3Com recom-
mends against installing it. Some drivers install this
automatically if you run the setup.exe utility to
install the driver. If you are unable to install the
client manager without the AEGIS component,
contact the driver manufacturer or download an
earlier version that does not contain the AEGIS
component.
technologies/networking/wifi/default.mspx
■ Installing Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 is required
for all wireless clients.
■ Some clients might experience system instability
when using PEAP-MS-CHAP-V2 in an Active Direc-
tory environment. The primary symptom of this is a
message displayed after login informing the user
that the service svchost.exe has stopped unexpect-
edly. If you experience this problem, please contact
Microsoft technical support and request hotfix
KB833865.
■ 16-bit PCMCIA and built-in NICs (some 802.11b
cards in Dell, Toshiba, and other manufacturers’
laptop PCs) might require a registry setting to be
changed before they will be able to associate with
any SSID. Microsoft Knowledge Base article
327947 documents the changes necessary to
resolve the problem. Multi-band cards (A/B or
A/B/G) are generally 32-bit and do not experience
this problem.
■ If your network uses logon scripts, Active Directory
group policies, or your users regularly share their
laptops, 3Com recommends that you enable com-
puter authentication to achieve full functionality
over your wireless connection.
■ If you use computer authentication with different
VLANs for the Computer and User accounts, you
need to install Microsoft hotfix KB822596. Other-
wise, DHCP will not operate correctly after the user
■ Download current drivers for your NICs from the
NIC vendor(s).
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10
WIRELESS LAN SWITCH AND CONTROLLER MSS VERSION 6.0.4.6 RELEASE NOTES
authenticates. You must contact Microsoft techni-
cal support for this hotfix. It is not available from
their website. For more information on computer
authentication, see “Computer Authentication”.
■ The Panther client will only connect successfully to
an SSID which is only dynamic WEP, or only
WPA/TKIP. Any other configuration involving WEP
with WPA enabled or AES is not supported by the
current Panther client. If you need to run both
WPA/TKIP and Dynamic WEP at the same time you
must configured separate service profiles for each
encryption type in order to maintain compatibility
with Macintosh clients.
■ If you experience a delay in receiving your DHCP IP
address wirelessly while using 802.1X authentication,
you might need to install Microsoft hotfix KB829116.
You must contact Microsoft technical support for this
hotfix. It is not available from their website.
■ The Panther client requires you to specify the inner
and outer PEAP-MS-CHAP-V2 usernames in sepa-
rate areas. Depending on your AAA backend, both
usernames might require a domain prefix in the
form of DOMAIN\username.
Funk Odyssey ■The Funk Odyssey client is required
when you require WPA support on Windows 2000,
or when you need to authenticate to an LDAP
MS-CHAP-V2 over LDAP. If you choose to use this
client, please note the following:
Computer Authentication
Windows clients support 802.1X authentication of
the computer itself. This is called computer authenti-
cation (also known as machine authentication). Com-
puter authentication is useful when you want your
computer to be active on the domain even when no
users are logged in to the computer.
■ Download the latest version from Funk’s website
■ Be sure to turn off Wireless Zero Config in Win-
dows 2000 by disabling the service.
■ If your wireless NIC’s driver includes the AEGIS pro-
tocol manager for WPA support, 3Com recom-
mends against installing it. Some drivers install this
automatically if you run the setup.exe utility to
install the driver. 3Com recommends that you
update the driver manually using the driver proper-
ties in the Network control panel instead of install-
ing the client manager.
Some features of Windows XP Professional and Win-
dows 2000 Professional work correctly only with an
active network connection to the domain controller
enabled before a user is logged on to the PC. Using
computer authentication ensures that this network
connection is established during the boot sequence,
providing a wire-like infrastructure that allows you to
use the following features on a wireless network.
Macintosh OS/X ■OS/X Version 10.3, also known
as Panther, includes an 802.1X client that supports
Dynamic WEP and WPA/TKIP. If you choose to use
this client, please note the following:
The following table lists Microsoft networking fea-
tures that require computer authentication.
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Points to Note When Using the WXR100, WX1200, WX4400, or WX2200
tory domain. Microsoft Knowledgebase Article
Scenario Requiring Computer Authentication
11
Feature
KB313407 explains how to enable the automatic
distribution of computer certificates through
Active Directory.
Active Directory computer
Group Policy
Computer–based Group Policy is applied during
computer start up and at timed intervals—even
when no on is logged in to windows.
Network logon scripts
Network logon scripts are run during initial user
login.
■ If the user and machine accounts use different
VLANs, you must install hotfixes on the client PCs
to enable them to DHCP for a new IP address
when the user authentications. Windows XP
requires either the WPA Rollup Hotfix (KB826942)
or Hotfix KB822596. Windows 2000 requires
hotfix KB822596.
Systems management
agents
Systems management application agents such as
those that come with Microsoft Systems Manage-
ment Server (SMS) frequently need network
access without user intervention.
Remote Desktop Connec-
tion
Computers are accessible from Windows Remote
Desktop Connection when no one is logged in to
windows.
Shared folders
Files and folders shared from a computer are still
available, even when no user is logged in.
■ Using PEAP-MS-CHAP-V2 with computer authenti-
cation will allow users who have never logged on
to a PC authenticate wirelessly without having to
login to the PC over a wired connection the first
time. EAP-TLS still requires the user to connect to
the network over a wired connection to generate a
profile on the PC and a user certificate.
Configuring computer authentication on the client is
simple, though it requires the use of the Microsoft
802.1X client built-in to Windows XP and Windows
2000. Keep the following information in mind when
configuring computer authentication on Microsoft
clients:
Enabling computer authentication also requires minor
reconfiguration of Active Directory and IAS. Please
note the following when configuring computer
authentication on an active directory domain:
■ To enable computer authentication, go to the
Authentication tab where you normally select
your 802.1X authentication method and enable
the checkbox labeled Authenticate as computer
when computer information is available.
■ You must grant dial-in access for the computer
accounts in Active Directory that you wish to enable
computer authentication on. If the tab to configure
dial-in access does not appear, follow the directions
in Microsoft Knowledgebase article KB306260.
■ The authentication protocol that is configured for
your user accounts will also be used for the com-
puter account.
■ If the EAP protocol you are using requires client
certificates, you must use the Microsoft Enterprise
Certificate Authority built-in to Windows 2000
Server and Windows Server 2003 to generate
Computer certificates for PCs on your active direc-
■ Review your remote access policies in IAS to insure
that the computer accounts have appropriate
group membership to allow them to match the
proper policy.
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12
WIRELESS LAN SWITCH AND CONTROLLER MSS VERSION 6.0.4.6 RELEASE NOTES
Computer authentication also requires specific con-
figuration considerations on the WX switch:
ture. A result of NT (Not Tested) indicates that the fea-
ture was not tested.
■ The username of a computer authentication connection
will be in the form of host/fully-qualified-domain-name,
for example host/bob-laptop.3Com.com or
RADIUS Servers Tested
Win
Win
Funk
Cisco
ACS
Free-
Configuration
2000 IAS 2003 IAS Steel
Radius
(Linux)
host/tac1-laptop.support.3Com.com. This username is
the same regardless of the configured protocol
(PEAP-MS-CHAP-V2 or EAP-TLS). An appropriate user-
glob would be host/*.domain.com where domain.com
is the Active Directory domain name. Alternatively, in a
smaller deployment you could use a userglob of ** and
have both user and computer authentication go to the
same RADIUS server.
Belted
Radius
PEAP-MS-CHAP-V2 Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
PEAP-MS-CHAP-V2 Pass
Offload
EAP-TLS
Pass
NA
Pass
NA
Pass
Pass
Pass
NT
Pass
NT
EAP-TTLS
NA
Pass
Single-Sign-On
Active Directory &
PEAP-MS-CHAP-V2
Pass
Pass
NA
■ PEAP-MS-CHAP-V2 offload mode is not supported
with computer authentication. You must use
pass-through 802.1X authentication policies with
computer authentication.
Single-Sign-On
LDAP & EAP-TTLS
NA
NA
Pass
NT
NT
3Com VSAs
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
MAC-based
authentication
AAA
The following table lists the AAA servers and configu-
rations that have been tested with MSS. Tests were
performed to a local user database in most cases, and
additionally to Microsoft Active Directory and LDAP
with specific protocols as noted in the table. The tests
were initially performed using Dynamic WEP, though
subsequent testing has revealed no noticeable differ-
ences in RADIUS compatibility when using WPA.
Microsoft Active
Directory computer
authentication
Pass
Pass
NA
Pass
NA
Testing notes Single-Sign-On is defined as clients
being able to use the same username and password
for 802.1X authentication that they use to authenti-
cate with network services and logon to their local PC.
■ A Pass result for 3Com VSAs indicates that the
VSAs were able to be added to the RADIUS server
manually. Future versions of Steel Belted RADIUS
and FreeRadius are planned to include standard
definitions of the 3Com VSAs.
A result of Pass indicates that the combination is sup-
ported by MSS. A result of NA (Not Applicable) indi-
cates that the RADIUS server tested does not support
the feature. A result of Fail indicates that the RADIUS
server does not interoperate with MSS for that fea-
■ Funk Steel Belted Radius version used for testing is
4.53
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Points to Note When Using the WXR100, WX1200, WX4400, or WX2200
13
■ Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4
ent’s re-association attempt because the key infor-
mation presented by the client is invalid.
■ Cisco ACS 3.2 or later is required to support
PEAP-MS-CHAP-V2
If you experience this issue, clear the Session-Time-
out attribute on the affected users.
WPA
The WX switch will not force a reauthentication of
WPA/TKIP and WPA/CCMP users periodically like it
does with dynamic WEP users.
WPA compatibility testing was conducted with a vari-
ety of NICs. See “Wireless NICs” for complete details
of the results. If you choose to use WPA to secure
your wireless network, please note the following:
shared-key-auth command in a WPA configura-
tion. This command does not enable PSK authenti-
cation for WPA. To enable PSK for WPA, use the
set service-profile auth-psk command.
■ CCMP (AES 802.11i draft support) is supported only
when it is the only encryption type enabled on that
SSID. Enabling TKIP or Dynamic WEP on the same
SSID with CCMP can cause serious connectivity
issues as most clients do not properly support this
configuration. 3Com recommends that you create a
■ Use one WPA authentication method per SSID,
either 802.1X authentication or preshared key
(PSK) authentication, but not both.
■ Enabling TKIP and Dynamic WEP on the same SSID
is not recommended. This configuration forces the
group key (multicast/broadcast key) to use the
lowest common encryption type, in this case
Dynamic WEP. Additionally, compatibility with
wireless NICs is reduced.
Security — Best Practice When Mixing Encrypted
Access and Clear Access
It is possible to configure a RADIUS server or a WX
switch’s local authentication database so that a user
with encrypted access and a user with unencrypted
access are authorized to join the same VLAN from dif-
ferent SSIDs. This configuration might allow a hacker
encrypted traffic and unencrypted traffic for compari-
sons. You can either use the MSS SSID VSA or the
encryption assignment VSA to prevent this problem.
■ Downloading the latest drivers for your wireless
NIC is strongly recommended. See “802.1X Cli-
ents” for specific information on installing drivers
for your operating system.
■ When a session key is changed, Microsoft WPA cli-
ents can sometimes incorrectly start using the new
key before the end of the four-way handshake that
is used to establish the key information. This issue
can occur when the session timeout for the client
session expires. As a result, the MAP rejects the cli-
If you only have one VLAN that each MAC-auth client
should connect to, add the SSID VSA to the account
for the MAC-address (either local or RADIUS). This
will force the WX switch to only allow that MAC
address to connect to the specified SSID.
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14
WIRELESS LAN SWITCH AND CONTROLLER MSS VERSION 6.0.4.6 RELEASE NOTES
If you require the same MAC user to be able to con-
nect to more than one SSID, you can use encryption
assignment to enforce the type of encryption a user
or group must have to access the network. When you
assign the Encryption-Type attribute to a user or
group, the encryption type or types are entered as an
authorization attribute into the user or group record
in the local WX switch database or on the RADIUS
server. Encryption-Type is an MSS VSA. Clients who
attempt to use an unauthorized encryption method
are rejected. In this way, a client could connect to any
WEP encrypted SSID, but not a clear SSID. (See the
Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Configuration
Guide for more information.)
If you use a self-signed certificate, configure the cli-
ents to not validate server certificates. If a client is
configured to validate server certificates, the client
will not be able to validate a self-signed certificate
from the WX switch.
Usernames
3Com recommends that you do not create usernames
that have the same spelling but use different case. For
example, do not create both username dang and
username DANG.
Security Best Practices
MSS and 3WXM provide robust options for securing
Passwords
management access, to WX switches and to the
3WXM client and 3WXM monitoring service. To opti-
mize security for management access, use the follow-
ing best practices.
The CLI, as well as 3WXM, can be secured using pass-
words. By default, the following access types do not have
passwords configured. Each uses a separate password.
■ Console access to the CLI. To secure console
access, configure a username and password in the
WX switch’s local database, using the set user
command. After you configure at least one user-
name and password and an access rule to permit
them, access to the CLI through the console
requires a password. (Access through Telnet or SSH
is not possible without a password, even on an
unconfigured switch.)
Certificates
When anyone attempts to access a WX switch, the
switch authenticates itself by presenting a signed cer-
tificate to the management application that is
requesting access. The switch’s certificate can come
from a certificate authority (CA) or it can be gener-
ated and signed by the switch itself.
3Com recommends that you use certificates assigned
by a CA. Certificates from a trusted CA are more
secure than self-signed certificates. Here are some
trusted CAs:
■ Access to the enable (configuration) level of the
CLI, through the console, or through Telnet or SSH.
To secure enable access, configure the enable
password using the set enablepass command.
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Points to Note When Using the WXR100, WX1200, WX4400, or WX2200
15
■ Access to 3WXM. To secure access, configure user
Configure a username and password, so that MSS
requires login even for console access. Usernames
and their passwords are not specific to the type of
management access. You can use the same username
and password for access through the console, Telnet,
or SSH.
accounts within 3WXM.
■ Access to the 3WXM monitoring service. To secure
access, configure user accounts within the moni-
toring service.
■ Do not use passwords that are easy to guess, such
as vehicle registration plates, family birthdays and
names, or common words. Use combinations of
uppercase and lowercase letters as well as num-
bers in all passwords.
Leave Telnet disabled unless you need it. Use SSH
instead.
Web Access
WebView uses HTTPS for encrypted communications
and certificate-based server authentication, and
requires use of the enable password.
SNMP
SNMP is disabled by default. 3Com recommends that
you leave SNMP disabled unless you are using 3Com
Network Director or a similar product to manage your
wired network. If you do need to use SNMP, do not
use the well-known community strings public (com-
monly used for read-only access) or private (com-
monly used for read-write access.) By default, no
SNMP community strings are configured. Use SNMP
on an isolated management VLAN so that the clear
text community strings are not visible on the public
network.
WebView access through HTTPS is disabled by
default. Unless you need to use WebView, leave the
HTTPS server on the WX switch disabled. (Even
though 3WXM also uses HTTPS, disabling the HTTPS
server does not disable access by 3WXM.)
If you do need to use WebView, you can enable it
using the set ip https server enable command. Use
the following best practices to preserve or increase
the security level related to Web access:
To disable SNMP (if not already disabled), use the set
ip snmp server disable command.
■ Use an enable password that follows the password
recommendations given above.
To change the community strings, use the set snmp
community command.
■ Use a CA-signed certificate instead of a self-signed
certificate on the WX switch.
CLI Access
If a user’s client does not trust the certificate, the user
might experience an additional delay during login. To
avoid the additional delay, use a certificate signed by
your CA or an Internet CA.
MSS allows CLI access through the console, through
Telnet, and through SSH. Console and SSH access are
enabled by default. Telnet is disabled by default.
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16
WIRELESS LAN SWITCH AND CONTROLLER MSS VERSION 6.0.4.6 RELEASE NOTES
3WXM
mentation and its configuration requirements
changed in MSS Version 4.0.
By default, access to 3WXM and the 3WXM monitor-
ing service do not require passwords. To secure
access, configure user accounts within each instance
of 3WXM and the monitoring service.
Communication Between the WX Switch and 3WXM
or WebView
Administration certificate requirement (11974)
The monitoring service uses a signed certificate for
authentication. The service has a self-signed certifi-
cate by default. For added security, used a certificate
signed by a CA instead. To use a CA-signed certifi-
cate, install the certificate in a key store file on the
machine where the monitoring service is installed,
and change the name of the key store file used by the
monitoring service from its default to the one where
you installed the certificate signed by the CA.
Before the WX switch can communicate successfully
with 3WXM, you must create an administrative
encryption certificate on the WX switch. For details,
see the Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Installa-
tion and Basic Configuration Guide.
Mobility Domain™ (Multiple WX Switch) Best Practices
3Com recommends that you run the same MSS
version on all WX switches in a Mobility Domain.
Guest Access (unencrypted SSIDs)
If you need to prevent all guest access (access to
unencrypted SSIDs):
Helpful commands
Use the following commands to verify the proper
operation of a Mobility Domain in support of features
such as subnet roaming:
■ Do not create any service profiles for SSID type
clear.
■ Delete any existing service profiles for a clear SSID.
■ display mobility-domain status — In a func-
tioning Mobility Domain, the output on every WX
switch displays every WX switch in the Mobility
Domain.
WebAAA Best Practices
If you plan to use WebAAA, see the “Configuring
WebAAA” section in the “Configuring AAA for Net-
work Users” chapter of the Wireless LAN Switch and
Controller Configuration Guide. The section has con-
figuration requirements and recommendations, in
addition to an overview of the WebAAA process.
■ display roaming vlan — In a functioning Mobility
Domain, the output on every WX switch displays
the network-attached VLAN of every other WX
switch in the Mobility Domain.
Other useful commands, documented in the Wireless
LAN Switch and Controller Command Reference,
include display tunnel and display roaming station.
If you are upgrading from MSS Version 3.2, 3Com
recommends that you read the manual even if the
switch already uses WebAAA. The WebAAA imple-
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Points to Note When Using the WXR100, WX1200, WX4400, or WX2200
17
reports using a 0.0.0.0 source IP address. In this
case, either assign an IP address to the VLAN inter-
face on the WX switch or disable IGMP proxy
reporting. To disable proxy reporting, use the
command set igmp proxy-report disable.
Distributed MAP Best Practice When Using STP
A Distributed MAP is a leaf device. You need not
enable STP on the port directly connected to the MAP.
If Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) is enabled on the port
that is directly connected to a Distributed MAP, you
might need to change the STP configuration on the
port to allow the MAP to boot.
Disabling proxy reporting can increase IGMP over-
head traffic to the multicast router.
■ Enable the IGMP querier only if needed. The IGMP
pseudo-querier function is disabled by default.
Enable it only if the source of a multicast stream is
on a subnet the WX switch is also connected to. If
this is the case, you must assign an IP address to
the VLAN interface. The IP address must be higher
than the IP address of the querier multicast router
on the same subnet. To enable the IGMP
STP on a port directly connected to a Distributed MAP
can prevent the MAP from booting.
Use IGMP Snooping Effectively
Using IGMP (11909, 12863, 12866)
MSS supports the Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF) draft draft-ietf-magma-snoop for controlling
the forwarding of IP multicast traffic by a Layer 2
switch. The draft mandates the use of a 0.0.0.0
source IP address if no IP address is available on the
switch for the subnet. However, some multicast rout-
ers and even other Layer 2 switches report errors in
the presence of the 0.0.0.0 source IP address.
pseudo-querier, use the command set igmp
querier enable.
■ Disable multicast router discovery. This multicast
router solicitation protocol (part of
draft-ietf-magma-snoop) is known to cause error
messages with other IGMP snooping switches and
multicast routers. To disable the protocol, use the
command set igmp mrsol disable. (The protocol
is disabled by default in the current software
version.)
Apply the following methods to use IGMP snooping
effectively:
■ Set IP addresses on all VLAN interfaces. This
straightforward workaround prevents most known
issues. If querier functionality might be needed,
ensure that the IP address of the WX switch VLAN
is higher than the address of any multicast router
servicing the same subnet.
User ACLs Require Explicit Source and Destination
Addresses
A user ACL is an ACL that is applied to a specific user-
name. You can apply ACLs to a user’s inbound or out-
bound wireless traffic. For a user ACL to take effect,
you must explicitly set both the source and destina-
tion addresses in the ACL.
■ Consider disabling IGMP proxy reporting. The
IGMP proxy reporting function is enabled by
default, but some multicast routers do not accept
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18
WIRELESS LAN SWITCH AND CONTROLLER MSS VERSION 6.0.4.6 RELEASE NOTES
Rogue Detection Active Scan Interval Is Longer
During a SpectraLink SVP Call. (23317)
System Parameter Support
The following tables list the recommended or maxi-
mum supported values for major system parameters.
The active scan feature can be used during SVP calls.
However, when a call is active, the interval at which
active scan goes off-channel to look for rogues in-
creases from once a second to once every 60 seconds.
Mobility System Parameter
Supported Value
WX switches in a single Network
Domain
500
Due to the longer interval between active scans, it can
take longer for MSS to detect a rogue AP when an
SVP call is active. Generally, detection of a rogue
while a call is active can take from 3.5 to around 7.5
minutes. To reduce the detection time, add more
MAPs to the coverage area.
WX switches in a single Mobility
Domain
32
Roaming VLANs per WX switch
300
Does not include local statically config-
ured VLANs
VLANs per Mobility Domain
400
This number consists of 300 roaming
VLANs plus 100 local statically config-
ured VLANs.
Active Scanning and the AP3850
MAPs per WX
WX4400:
Active Scanning is not supported and must not be
used with the AP3850 for the following countries:
■ 300 configured
■ Up to 120 active, depending on
the MAP type and licensing
Argentina (AR)
Australia (AU)
Bolivia (BO)
Brazil (BR)
Canada (CA)
Malaysia (MY)
Mexico (MX)
New Zealand (NZ)
Panama (PA)
Puerto Rico (PR)
Singapore (SG)
South Africa (ZA)
Taiwan (TW)
United States (US)
Uruguay (UY)
WX2200:
■ 320 configured
■ Up to 120 active, depending on
the MAP type and licensing
China (CN)
WX1200:
Colombia (CO)
Dominican Republic (DO)
Guatemala (GT)
Hong Kong (HK)
■ 30 configured
■ 12 active
WXR100:
■ 8 configured
■ 3 active
IPv6 Support
Includes directly attached MAPs and
Distributed MAPs. Inactive configura-
tions are backups.
MSS 6.0 can forward IPv6 traffic transparently, at
Layer 2. IPv6 clients in the same subnet can communi-
cate with one another through a WX switch. How-
ever, MSS 6.0 does not support communication of
IPv6 clients across subnets.
Minimum link speed within a Mobility 128 Kbps
Domain
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System Parameter Support
19
Network Parameter
Supported Value
Management Parameter
Supported Value
Forwarding database entries
WX4400: 16383
WX2200: 16383
WX1200: 8192
WXR100: 8192
Maximum instances of Wireless Switch
Manager (3WXM) simultaneously
managing a network
3
Telnet management sessions
WX4400: 8
WX2200: 8
WX1200: 4
WXR100: 4
The maximum combined number of
management sessions for Telnet and
SSH together is 8, in any combination.
Statically configured VLANs
100
Virtual ports (sum of all statically con- 256
figured VLAN physical port member-
ships)
Spanning trees (STP/PVST+ instances) 64
SSHv2 management sessions
WX4400: 8
WX2200: 8
WX1200: 4
WXR100: 4
ACLs and Location Policies
ACEs per switch:
■ WX4400: 2308
■ WX2200: 2308
■ WX1200: 700
Telnet client sessions (client for remote WX4400: 8
login)
■ WXR100: 700
ACEs per ACL:
WX2200: 8
WX1200: 4
WXR100: 4
■ WX4400: 267
NTP servers
3
8
4
■ WX2200: 267
SNMP trap receivers
Syslog servers
RADIUS servers
■ WX1200: 267
■ WXR100: 25
Location Policies per switch: 1
100 configured on the switch
10 in a server group
4 server groups in a AAA rule
The Location Policy can have up to 150
rules.
IGMP streams
500
Replication of a stream on multiple
VLANs counts as a separate stream on
each VLAN.
Client and Session Parameter
Supported Value
Authenticated and associated clients
per radio
100
Clients who are authenticated but not
yet associated are included in the total.
Active clients per radio
50
Total number of active clients simulta-
neously sending or receiving data.
Wired authentication users per port
500
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20
WIRELESS LAN SWITCH AND CONTROLLER MSS VERSION 6.0.4.6 RELEASE NOTES
When upgrading systems with large
Client and Session Parameter
Supported Value
configurations, it may be necessary to save the
configuration to a backup file. (41330)
Active AAA sessions (clients trying to
establish active connections) per WX
switch
WX4400: 2500
WX2200: 3200
WX1200: 300
WXR100: 75
These are the suggested maximums.
The switch might be able to support
even more sessions, but performance
or system stability might be affected.
When upgrading systems with very large configura-
tions, for example, hundreds of APs or hundreds of
users, it may be necessary to save the configuration to
a backup file, generate a minimal configuration, per-
form the update, load the backup configuration from
the command line, and then save the configuration.
AAA users configured in local data-
base
WX4400: 999
WX2200: 999
WX1200: 250
WXR100: 250
Time and date do not synchronize with an NTP
server, if the switch's NTP client is enabled
before the NTP service is started on the server.
(20382)
Known Problems
Using set ap <apnum> boot configuration
commands. (38517)
System Configuration Issues
The set ap <apnum> boot-configuration switch
switch-ip cannot be set at the same time as set ap
<apnum> boot-configuration switch name
<switch-name> dns <ip addr>. The commands
overwrite each other when used.
Adding a static VLAN with the same name as a
VLAN whose traffic is being tunneled through
the switch can cause the switch to restart.
(18367)
MSS can tunnel traffic for a VLAN through a WX
switch that does not have that VLAN statically config-
ured. If you attempt to add a static VLAN to a switch
that is already tunneling traffic for a VLAN with the
same name, the switch can restart.
The auto-config feature does not work properly
if the 3WXM server is unreachable when the
auto-config feature is enabled. (44477)
To work around this issue, be sure that the 3WXM
server is reachable from the wireless switch before
you enable auto-config. If auto-config is enabled by
default on the wireless switch, be sure that the
3WXM server is reachable before you boot the wire-
less switch.
To create the VLAN, clear the Mobility Domain config-
uration from the switch, create the VLAN, and then
configure the Mobility Domain again.
The default value for RADIUS “deadtime” shown
in the CLI help is incorrect. (41689)
The correct default value is 0.
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Known Problems
21
Static IP settings do not work on the 8x50 or
AP7250 Access Points. (28529)
Mixing Autonegotiation with full-duplex mode
on a link causes slow throughput and can cause
a WX port to stop forwarding. (26276)
The configuration of static settings including VLAN
tag, WX IP, WX name, AP IP and AP IP mask are not
supported on the AP8750, AP8250, or AP7250.
3Com recommends that you do not configure the mode
of a WX port so that one side of the link is set to autone-
gotiation while the other side is set to full-duplex.
Switching and Port Issues
Although MSS allows this configuration, it can result
in slow throughput on the link. The slow throughput
occurs because the side that is configured for autone-
gotiation falls back to half-duplex. A stream of large
packets sent to a WX port in such a configuration can
cause forwarding on the link to stop.
Port Mirroring is not active after the switch is
rebooted. (29684)
Port mirroring configuration cannot be saved and is
not retained through reboots of the WX switch.
Router redundancy protocol on intermediary
devices between WX switches in a Mobility
Domain can interfere with communication
among the switches. (16910)
Antenna sensing has been deprecated from
system software. The antenna configuration is
the authoritative source to enabling external
antenna operation on the AP, even if the
external antenna isn't actually connected.
(34904)
If the Mobility Domain contains intermediary switches
or routers that use a router redundancy protocol, WX
switches that communicate through those intermedi-
ary devices might lose communication with one other
due to the way some router redundancy protocols
handle MAC addresses. If this issue occurs, log mes-
sages appear periodically on the seed WX switch indi-
cating that member WX switches are entering or
leaving the Mobility Domain.
FDB entry is not cleared when tagging mode on
a port changes. (44970)
When the tagging mode on a port is changed,
learned entries in the fdb are not cleared. As a result,
connectivity may be lost. To work around this issue
and restore connectivity, clear the fdb manually.
Set the FDB timer (default 300 seconds) and the ARP
timer (default 1200 seconds) to the same values on
the WX switches. 3Com recommends using 300 sec-
onds as the value for both timers. To set the FDB
timer, use the set fdb agingtime command. To set
the ARP timer, use the set arp agingtime command.
Client connecting to local switched untethered
AP causes Mesh APs to time out. (44982)
In some configurations, a client connecting to a mesh
AP that also has local switching enabled will cause
other mesh APs in the network to time out and
reboot.
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22
WIRELESS LAN SWITCH AND CONTROLLER MSS VERSION 6.0.4.6 RELEASE NOTES
A distributed AP may not successfully boot if
Port 1 of the AP has an operational Ethernet
link, but an WX is unreachable via this data link.
(38807)
Mesh Issues
The Ethernet port is not brought up on the
bridge link if it was not up when the mesh link is
established. (46037)
All other combinations of power and data connectiv-
ity are fully supported.
If the mesh AP is brought up without the Ethernet
port connected, after the mesh link is established, the
bridge link will not come up and no traffic will flow
through the AP to the Ethernet port. To work around
this issue and restore connectivity, reset the mesh AP
ensuring that the Ethernet port is always up by con-
necting a hub or switch to the mesh AP Ethernet port.
Distributed MAP can change IP addresses during
boot sequence in environments with multiple
DHCP servers. (16499)
To become fully active, a Distributed MAP does a full
restart after downloading its software image. The first
time the MAP is powered up, it sends a DHCP dis-
cover for an IP address, uses DNS to find its config-
ured WX switch, and then downloads its software
image from that WX.
MAP Issues
Distributed MAPs and Link Autonegotiation (16726)
The Ethernet interfaces on a MAP are configured to
autonegotiate the link speed (10 Mbps or 100 Mbps)
and mode (half duplex or full duplex). The setting
cannot be changed. A common setting on third-party
switches is 100 Mbps, with full duplex. If you connect
a Distributed MAP to a port that is set for 100 Mbps
with full duplex, the MAP operates at 100 Mbps with
half duplex. This results in an unusable link. Configure
the port on the other device to autonegotiate.
After downloading the image, the MAP restarts itself
with the downloaded image and sends a second
DHCP discover to again obtain its IP address. In a net-
work containing more than one DHCP server, it is pos-
sible for the MAP to use one IP address when
downloading the image, but end up with a second IP
address after rebooting the second time. This can
occur if the DHCP server that responds to the DHCP
request after the second reboot is not the same server
that responded to the first request.
Wireless clients connected to directly attached
APs may not display as connected in the show
system output information. (41792)
This issue does not prevent the MAP from operating
normally but can make managing the MAP more diffi-
cult if the address the MAP receives the second time is
not predictable. To prevent the MAP from using more
than one address, use static address assignment in
your DHCP server.
When connected to the network using an Intel
2100 wireless network card, large file transfers
may cause the wireless client to disconnect.
(40721)
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Known Problems
23
configured to automatically use the user’s Windows
login information as the network login information,
the interval is too short for users who must manually
enter their network login information.
WebView Issues
Unless otherwise noted, the workaround for Web-
View issues is to use the CLI or 3WXM.
WebView does not display more than 32 service
profiles. (18374)
If the network has clients that do not automatically
use the Windows username and password as the net-
work username and password, use the set dot1x
tx-period command to increase the retransmit time.
WebView allows configuration of duplicate SSID
names in the same service profile. (18375)
CAUTION: Changes to 802.1X parameters affect all
SSIDs managed by the WX switch.
In WebView, self-signed certificate for network
user is not accepted with only a Common Name
value. (15651)
Deleting a user group or MAC user group does
not delete membership from its members.
(14833)
If you use WebView to configure a self-signed certifi-
cate for network users, the switch does not generate
the certificate if you enter information only in the
Common Name field and not in other fields.
If you type the clear usergroup or clear mac-user-
group command to delete a user group or MAC user
group, the display aaa command shows that the
user group is gone. However, the user profiles for the
users still list them as members of the deleted groups.
This issue does not affect the CLI. In the CLI, you can
generate a self-signed certificate with only the
common name specified. Use the CLI to generate the
certificate or use the additional fields in WebView.
Use the clear user group and clear mac-user group
commands in addition to the clear usergroup and
clear mac-usergroup commands to explicitly remove
individual users or MAC users from a group.
If you are running Linux Redhat 9 and use
Firefox 2.0 to open WebView, the browser may
become unresponsive. (40676)
This behavior is noted on the WX2200 and WX4400.
CLI allows set authentication dot1x command
with invalid combination of pass-through and
local options. (15562)
AAA and RADIUS Issues
The CLI allows you to enter a command such as the
following:
Default 802.1X retransmit interval is too short
for manual login. (18032)
set authentication dot1x ssid any * pass-through
local
The default 802.1X retransmit interval is 5 seconds.
Although this interval is adequate for clients that are
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24
WIRELESS LAN SWITCH AND CONTROLLER MSS VERSION 6.0.4.6 RELEASE NOTES
The pass-through and local AAA methods are mutually
exclusive. Even if a server group named local exists,
MSS does not use the group. In either case, the EAP
session fails and the 802.11 session is deauthenticated
CAUTION: Changes to 802.1X parameters affect all
SSIDs managed by the WX switch.
WebAAA Issues
when the client responds to the first identity request.
WebAAA using a Windows client and a WX
switch that has a self-signed certificate can
intermittently fail if Windows is configured to
update root certificates. (18597)
Do not name a server group local and do not attempt
to mix mutually exclusive authentication methods in
the same command.
If the WX switch uses a self-signed certificate (as
opposed to a CA-issued certificate), and the Microsoft
OS on the WebAAA client is configured to update
root certificates (the default setting), Windows tries to
contact microsoft.com to get updated certificates.
Incorrect zero value for Acct-Authentic appears
in accounting statistics. (14851)
In the output of the display accounting statistics
command, the Acct-Authentic field in accounting
records always displays 0 (zero) to indicate the loca-
tion where a user was authenticated for the session.
The correct value is 1 (one) if RADIUS performed
authentication or 2 if authentication took place in the
local WX database.
This causes a 15-second delay, after which IE displays
a popup dialog asking whether the user wants to
accept the untrusted certificate from the WX.
Even when the user selects Yes, IE sometimes does
not display the WebAAA Login page served by the
WX switch.
Ignore the Acct-Authentic value in display account-
ing statistics output.
Clients using Intel 3945ABG wireless NIC were
unable to connect reliably to network. (28863)
This issue occurs intermittently. If the issue occurs,
reattempt the login.
Some client laptops using the Intel 3945ABG adapter
card were not able to connect reliably to the network
because the client ignored the initial GKHS message
sent by the WX switch, timed out, and deassociated
before the switch could retransmit the GKHS mes-
sage.
IPv6 clients cannot authenticate using Web
Portal. (26291)
The web-portal ACL does not work on IPv6 traffic.
IPv6 clients will not be able to authenticate using Web
Portal unless the clients also run IPv4.
To work around this problem, set the 802.1X suppli-
cant timeout to 1 second. To do this, use the set
dot1x timeout supplicant command.
This issue affects Web-Portal authentication only. The
other authentication types (802.1X, MAC, and Last
Resort) can be used with IPv6 clients.
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Known Problems
25
The Unicast bytes fields in display sessions
network sessions-id output can show a negative
number. (18174)
ACL Issues
ACE names that begin with CLI keywords are not
supported. (17521)
IGMP Snooping and IP Multicast Issues
When configuring an access control entry (ACE), if
the name you specify for the ACE begins with a word
that is also a keyword used by the CLI, the CLI rejects
the ACE name. In the following examples, the ACE
names that begin with port and vlan are rejected, but
the ACE name that starts with abc, which is not a CLI
keyword, is accepted:
IP multicast streams can stop for all receivers on
a MAP if IGMP snooping is disabled. (15971)
If you disable IGMP snooping, all clients that are
receiving a multicast group stream through a MAP
stop receiving the stream if one of the clients leaves
the group.
WX1200# set security acl ip port_abc deny
0.0.0.0 255.255.255.255
Do not disable IGMP snooping. (The feature is
enabled by default.)
error: Wrong ACL name input = port_abc
WX1200# set security acl ip vlan_abc deny
0.0.0.0 255.255.255.255
Invalid IP multicast forwarded. (12784)
error: Wrong ACL name input = vlan_abc
IGMP multicast streams with an invalid source IP
address (for example, 0.0.0.0) are forwarded by the
WX switch.
WX1200# set security acl ip abc_port deny
0.0.0.0 255.255.255.255
Do not use a CLI keyword in the beginning of an ACE
name.
AP Issues
APs that are part of the Mobility System are
identified as Rogues. (44686)
Session Issues
In some cases, valid APs that are part of the 3Com
Mobility System may appear as rogue APs. This condi-
tion may be safely ignored.
The display session network wired command
does not list wired authentication sessions.
(17829)
If you use the wired option with the display ses-
sions network command, no sessions are listed.
AP3850 times out with high traffic on Bridge
link. (45538)
Use the display sessions network command, with-
out the wired option. In this case, the wired authen-
tication sessions are included in the output.
The AP3850 may time out and reboot when in bridg-
ing mode if a high level of traffic is sent across the
bridge.
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26
WIRELESS LAN SWITCH AND CONTROLLER MSS VERSION 6.0.4.6 RELEASE NOTES
Microsoft’s directions on how to change the default
behavior of the Vista wireless client:
Local Switching Issues
In some instances, an error message containing
Connecting to non-broadcast wireless networks in
Windows Vista:
“SSR setup failed.mac” and a multicast address
can be ignored. (44605)
Windows VISTA Issues
IE 7 issues with self-signed web-portal
certificates
Windows Vista clients cannot connect to
“hidden” SSIDs.
Microsoft has introduced more strict client security in
Internet Explorer 7.0 which makes the use of
self-signed certificates more confusing for end-users.
When the WX attempts to process a client’s web-
portal login request, a screen displays this notice:
“There is a problem with this website’s security certifi-
cate” every time a client attempts to authenticate if
the WX is using a self-signed certificate. While it is
possible to choose the “Continue to this website”
option, the user is discouraged from doing so for
security reasons. This situation may lead to a notice-
able increase in support calls from confused
end-users.
In its default configuration, Windows Vista does not
connect to hidden “non-broadcast” SSIDs. Microsoft
has changed this behavior in both Vista and the latest
Windows client update for XP (KB# 917021) as part
of an effort to increase security on wireless clients. For
more information, please check the following URLS
on Microsoft’s website:
Non-broadcast Wireless Networks with Microsoft
Windows:
network/wifi/hiddennet.mspx
Description of the Wireless Client Update for Win-
dows XP with Service Pack 2:
3Com recommends that you do not use self-signed
certificates for Web-Portal. In addition to the security
issues with using an unverified certificate, the user
experience is severely affected for IE 7 users. Use Veri-
sign or another less expensive certificate authority to
purchase a third-party verified certificate. If you are
not using one of the major Internet certificate author-
ities (CA), verify that the CA’s public certificate is
included with all of the web browsers that you sup-
port on your network.
3Com recommends that, if you do not have direct
control over the configuration of the wireless clients
accessing your network, do not configure your service
profiles with hidden SSIDs.
If you do have direct control over client configuration,
you can change the default behavior. Here is a link to
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Upgrading MSS
27
If you choose not to purchase a signed certificate
from a third-party CA, you may choose to install the
self-signed certificate into the trusted certificate store
on every client that uses Web-Portal. IE 7 must be run
with administrative privileges to perform this change,
and it must be performed on each client who will use
Web-Portal.
3WXM support in Windows Vista
3WXM does not officially support Windows Vista yet,
so there may be some interoperability issues. Official
support will be included in an upcoming release of
3WXM. Known issues include installer issues for the
standalone client and the server, as well as intermit-
tent failures to launch the Webstart Client.
Wildcard Certificates in Web portal not working
with IE 7
3Com recommends that you do not run the 3WXM
server on Windows Vista or Longhorn; use Windows
Server 2003 instead. For clients accessing a 3WXM
server who have no other choice of OS, run the Java
Webstart client or use Microsoft’s “Remote Desktop”
client to connect to a Windows XP computer and run
the client from there.
Internet Explorer’s handling of wildcard certificates
changes between IE 6 and IE 7, and for older versions
of MSS, wildcard SSL certificates will not work in IE 7
with Web-Portal. A wildcard certificate is one that
includes an asterisk as the hostname portion of the
certificate’s common name. For example, a wildcard
certificate for 3Com Corporation would have a
common name of “*.3com.com”.
Vista Client interoperability issues
Vista client PCs have an interoperability problem with
a Windows 2003 certificate server. The Windows
2003 certificate server must be patched with some
files from a Windows Longhorn server. This URL gives
the details:
3Com recommends that you upgrade to MSS
5.0.11.4 or later. The Web Portal feature now handles
wildcard certificates in a manner that is compatible
with both IE 6 and IE 7.
Windows Vista Driver interoperability issues
Windows Vista drivers are relatively new and have not
yet reached the maturity level of Windows XP drivers.
Upgrading MSS
Preparing the WX Switch for the Upgrade
3Com recommends that you use the most recent
Vista drivers available from the manufacturer’s web-
site. If that does not resolve the issue, you can try to
run the Windows XP drivers for your wireless NIC;
some of them may run under Vista and provide better
results.
CAUTION: Create a backup of your WX switch
files before you upgrade the switch. 3Com rec-
ommends that you make a backup of the switch
before you install the upgrade. If an error occurs
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28
WIRELESS LAN SWITCH AND CONTROLLER MSS VERSION 6.0.4.6 RELEASE NOTES
during the upgrade, you can restore your switch
to its previous state.
You can copy the image file only into the boot parti-
tion that was not used for the most recent restart. For
example, if the currently running image was booted
from partition 0, you can copy the new image only
into partition 1.
Use this command to back up the switch’s files:
backup system [tftp://ip-addr/]filename
[all | critical]
4 Set the boot partition to the one with the upgrade
image for the next restart.
To restore a switch that has been backed up, use the
following command:
To verify that the new image file is installed, type dis-
play boot.
restore system [tftp://ip-addr/]filename
[all | critical] [force]
5 Reboot the software.
To restart a WX switch and reboot the software, type
the following command:
“Upgrade Scenario” on page 28 of these Release
Notes shows a sample use of the backup command.
For more information about these commands, see the
“Backing Up and Restoring the System” section in the
“Managing System Files” chapter of the Wireless LAN
Switch and Controller Configuration Guide.
reset system [force]
When you restart the WX switch, the switch boots
using the new MSS image. The switch also sends the
MAP version of the new boot image to MAPs and
restarts the MAPs. After a MAP restarts, it checks the
version of the new MAP boot image to make sure the
boot image is newer than the boot image currently
installed on the MAP. If the boot image is newer, the
MAP completes installation of its new boot image by
which takes about 30 seconds, then restarts again.
The upgrade of the MAP is complete after the second
restart.
If you have made configuration changes but have not
saved the changes, use the save config command to
save the changes before you backup the switch.
If the switch is running an earlier version of MSS, use
the copy tftp command to copy files from the switch
onto a TFTP server.
Upgrading an Individual Switch Using the CLI
1 Back up the switch, using the backup system com-
mand. (See “Preparing the WX Switch for the
Upgrade” on page 27.)
Upgrade Scenario
To upgrade a switch (WX1200 used in this example)
type commands such as the following.
2 Copy the new system image onto a TFTP server.
3 Copy the new system image file from the TFTP server
This example copies the image file into boot
partition 1. On your switch, copy the image file into
the boot partition that was not used the last time the
to a boot partition in the switch’s nonvolatile storage.
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Upgrading MSS
29
switch was restarted. For example, if the switch
booted from boot partition 1, copy the new image
into boot partition 0. To see boot partition informa-
tion, type the display boot command.
Command Changes During Upgrade
The following table lists the commands that are dep-
recated in MSS Version 4.2, and their replacements.
4.1 Command
4.2 Command
WX1200# save config
success: configuration saved.
set radio-profile wmm
set radio-profile long-retry
set radio-profile short-retry
set radio-profile qos-mode
set service-profile long-retry
set service-profile short-retry
success: sent 28263 bytes in 0.324 seconds
[ 87231 bytes/sec]
boot1:wb042302.rel
success: received 10266629 bytes in 92.427
seconds [ 111078 bytes/sec]
During upgrade, MSS makes the following changes to
commands in 4.1 configuration files:
■ set radio-profile name wmm enable is changed
to set radio-profile name qos-mode wmm
WX1200# set boot partition boot1
success: Boot partition set to
boot1:wb042302.rel (4.2.3.2.0).
■ set radio-profile name wmm disable is changed
to set radio-profile name qos-mode svp
WX1200# display boot
■ set radio-profile name long-retry and set
radio-profile name short-retry are removed. The
retry counts are reset to their default values and must
be reconfigured manually, in the service profiles.
Configured boot version:
4.2.3.2.0
Configured boot image:
boot1:wb042302.rel
Configured boot configuration:
file:configuration
In addition, MSS automatically adds a new option,
encrypted, to set radius and set radius server com-
mands that use the key option. The encrypted option
encrypts the key string displayed in the configuration.
Backup boot configuration:
Booted version:
file:backup.cfg
4.1.5.1
Booted image:
boot1:wx040105.020
The option encrypts display of the string but does not
encrypt the actual string sent to RADIUS servers.
RADIUS servers still receive the string that was entered
with the set radius or set radius server command in
MSS Version 4.0.
Booted configuration:
file:configuration
Product model:
WX1200
WX1200# reset system force
...... rebooting ......
To ensure that the command change is saved after you
upgrade, after you load the new image and restart the
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30
WIRELESS LAN SWITCH AND CONTROLLER MSS VERSION 6.0.4.6 RELEASE NOTES
Mobility System Software Copyright (c) 2002,
2003 reserved.
Build Information: (build#67) TOP
switch, enter the save config command as soon the
switch finishes restarting.
Model:
Hardware
Mainboard: version 24 ; revision
PoE board: version 1 ; FPGA
Serial number 1234567890
Flash: 4.1.0.14 - md0a
WX
For complete syntax information about the new com-
mands and options, see the Wireless Switch Manager
Command Reference.
Installing Upgrade Activation Keys on a
WX4400 or WX2200
Kernal: 3.0.0#20: Fri May
BootLoader: 4.10 / 4.1.0
3 Install the license using the following command:
The WX4400 and WX2200 can boot and manage up
to 24 MAPs by default. You can increase the MAP
support up to 120 MAPs, by installing activation keys.
set license
The following example shows how to install an
upgrade license and activation key:
To obtain an activation key, access the 3Com web site
pair allows the switch to actively manage an addi-
tional 24 MAPs. You can install up to four upgrade
license and activation key pairs, to actively manage up
to 120 MAPs.
WX4400# set license WXL-076E-93E9-62DA-54D8
WXA-3E04-4CC2-43OD-B508
Serial Number: 1234567890
License Number: 245
License Key: WXL-076E-93E9-62DA-54D8
Activation Key: WXA-3E04-4CC2-43OD-B508
Feature: 24 additional ports
Expires: Never
To upgrade a WX license:
48 ports are enabled
success: license was installed
1 Obtain a license coupon for the upgrade from 3Com
or your reseller.
2 Establish a management session with the WX switch
Copyright © 2007, 3Com Corporation. All rights reserved.
to display the switch’s serial number.
Unless otherwise indicated, 3Com registered trademarks are registered in the
United States and may or may not be registered in other countries.
To use the CLI to display the serial number, type the
following command:
3Com and the 3Com logo are registered trademarks of 3Com Corporation.
Mobility Domain, Mobility Point, Mobility Profile, Mobility System, Mobility System
Software, MP, MSS, and SentrySweep are trademarks of Trapeze Networks,
Inc.Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. Microsoft,
MS-DOS, Windows, Windows XP, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation.
display version
In the following example, the switch serial number is
1234567890:
All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective
companies with which they are associated.
WX1200> display version
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