[REQUEST] Aironet AIR-AP1121G-A-K9 Setup (Autonomous)

[NviGate Systems]

I did an order a while back on eBay, and the seller was selling a few of these AP's really cheap ($2.50 each) so I grabbed two to play with.

I opened them up and saw what looks to be the upgraded Radio 2.4Ghz G, as the sticker on the module matches the part number for the upgrade. But Cisco is kinda silent on actually setting up an autonomous network. They talk their ears off how certain AP's can do it, but I've yet to see it explained.

The AP boots so from this and the upgraded module, it would have the correct iOS build for autonomous, but it keeps searching for a controller (based on led's) which means it currently in lightweight ap mode.

This is a small project for home for me to slowly get into more networking. I have a bunch of older hardware that I tinker with.

 

[Markverhyden]

I'm under the impression you have to have a controller to set these up.

Edit: Checked and you can directly access these. I was thinking about a large project I had worked on, different AP's and some 45 per campus. Thus the controller.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/doc...12-4_10b_JA/configuration/guide/scg12410b.pdf

Don't know about the non-cisco firmware thing. Doubt there are many options. In many ways Cisco is just as bad a Apple, Adobe, etc, etc.

 

[NETWizz]

Is there different firmware to make these controller free? I have not worked with Cisco APs in a while.

 

[NviGate Systems]

So, Cisco no longer offers iOS firmware files for these devices, but there are a few universities etc that have the firmware files on the ftp, more than likely for easy access for staff to work with older stuff (or someone uploaded it and shouldn't have due to Cisco EULA).

So I forced the AP into TFTP download mode and uploaded c1100-k9w7-tar.123-4.JA1.

It's now running as a standalone autonomous AP. It's limited to WEP unless you have a server to perform WPA, but for fun and learning, it's awesome.

Update:

So I finally got the AP running properly. It's a bit weird the interface. If you don't let the page load all the way and you start making changes, it sometimes resets the page. Must be some sort of script.

I love that it supports VLAN and that I can create Multiple SSID's. I'm settings up a small server for home use and study, seperate my network from the rest of the family.

I name all my wireless networks after Ancilla AI's from Halo. The home network on 5Ghz is "343 Guilty Spark" and the first 1100 is now: "031 Exuberant Witness".

Perhaps I will setup one of my thin clients to do RADIUS or something like that, would be good experience.