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mannins79
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How to create ap groups in CapsMan?

Sun Feb 26, 2023 8:45 pm

Hi guys,
how to create ap groups in Capsman? In particular I would like to broadcast a second SSID (after creating a new datapath, security...etc) only to a group of selected AP's.
There isn't much documentation online nor youtube relevant content.
I assume the question to my answer lies in the provisioning tab but -after may attempts- I couldn't figure out how to do it.
Any help much appreciated!
 
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mkx
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Re: How to create ap groups in CapsMan?

Sun Feb 26, 2023 9:08 pm

I don't think you can create a group of devices. In provisioning you can add individual devices, each is identified by radio-mac ... which is MAC address of cAP's radio interface. I didn't try, but there's option copy-from ... it might simply copy settings of referenced entry (when executing add command) but it might also establish a reference ... which would then mean you have a group of devices.

And the final remark: as usual, provisioning rules are searched top-to-bottom and if radio-mac matches, it's used. So the absolute last provisioning rule (wildcard rule if you want) should be one with radio-mac unset.
 
holvoetn
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Re: How to create ap groups in CapsMan?

Sun Feb 26, 2023 9:33 pm

Wasn't there something you could do with regex rules or caps names ?
 
mannins79
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Re: How to create ap groups in CapsMan?

Sun Feb 26, 2023 10:02 pm

Thank MKX.
I think I have read somewhere that in Provisioning you can "filter" which AP to apply the config by using Identity "Regexep" and "Common Name Regexep", but I could have misunderstood the explanation...
Otherwise, I found this from Mikrotik WIKI:

"Copy slave interfaces
When copying slave interfaces in the interface menu, interface is copied exactly. This means that all properties are the same. You must change the MAC address manually. Make sure that there are no identical MAC addresses among your access points."

Does it mean that after copying the cap interface I need to create a "virtual" mac address?
 
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mkx
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Re: How to create ap groups in CapsMan?

Mon Feb 27, 2023 7:55 am

Nope. Provisioning doesn't touch radio MAC address. Provisioning can set VAP's MAC address (interface.mac-address) and if it's not set, it's "invented". And I guess it's invented at provisioning time, not at configuration time.

So I imagine that if you add radio-mac=<MAC address> copy-from=X (where you enter MAC address of yet unprovisioned radio and index number of rule you want to copy), it'll come up with usable rule. With condition that you don't set interface.mac-address ...
 
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Re: How to create ap groups in CapsMan?

Mon Feb 27, 2023 12:03 pm

how to create ap groups in Capsman? In particular I would like to broadcast a second SSID (after creating a new datapath, security...etc) only to a group of selected AP's.
I don't quite understand your question, maybe it's the translation.
Do you need some of the access points to transmit a different SSID or an additional SSID?
Either way, there are several ways.
You can set the SSID in Configuration or directly in the interface, if the interface is not created dynamically.
A device group is defined in the Provision and the required configuration, data path, etc. is given to it.
If an additional SSID is required, it is set by the slave configuration. Then a new virtual interface will be created on the access point.
 
mannins79
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Re: How to create ap groups in CapsMan?

Tue Feb 28, 2023 10:21 am

Thanks Ca6ko,
let me rephrase my question and add some screenshots:
I have 90 cap at the moment and they all broadcast the same ssid (called "BWQUEENS"). Just for the reference this is a hotel.
Now I want another SSID (called "BWCorp") for the hotel's back office so, I have created a new configuration (see screenshot).
How do I broadcast the second SSID only on a group of AP's? For example AP1, AP2, AP3.
NOTE: the second SSID (BWCorp) needs to be broadcasted in addition to the first one (BWQUEENS), not instead.

I understand the concept of master/slave but what I am not sure how to apply it to selected AP's.
Do I create new provisioning rules that match the mac address of each AP (AP1,2,3...etc)? Not very efficient.
I am sure there must be a way to match multiple AP's with one step (maybe using Identity Regexp?)
Can somebody show me the procedure step by step?
Thanks guys!
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mkx
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Re: How to create ap groups in CapsMan?

Tue Feb 28, 2023 12:11 pm

If your current provisioning rule looks like this:
add radio-mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 action=create-dynamic-enabled master-configuration=cfg_5G name-format=prefix-identity name-prefix="5G"
then you have to add additional provisioning rule (and move it above the existing one) like this:
add radio-mac=aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff action=create-dynamic-enabled master-configuration=cfg_5G name-format=prefix-identity name-prefix="5Gcorp" slave-configurations=cfg_Corp

Notes:
  1. this specific provisioning rule will only provision cAP with wireless interface whose MAC address matches value set in radio-mac property.
    If you want to have multiple cAPs provisioned in this specific way, then you'll need multiple provisioning rules. You can try to copy-paste them, only adjust value of radio-mac property. If you don't try to manually set MAC address for virtual APs, then those will be "invented" on the fly and single CAPsMAN configuration will do for all of them.
  2. radio hardware specific settings (as set under channel submenu) are ignored by virtual AP interface ... because master interface governs those. Which means that you can have complete setup for vAPs (cfg_Corp in my example above) same for both 2.4GHz and 5GHz ... simply omit channel settings from profile. Then you can provision both 2.4GHz APs and 5GHz APs with same setup for vAP (setups for master interface need to be separate due to radio-specific settings ... just the way you have them now for default).
  3. as I already mentioned, provisioning rules are checked against radio-mac from top to bottom, hence it's vital to have non-wildcard rules above the wild-card rules (which you already have in place).
  4. I just tried how the "copy-from" option (available in CLI) works. When executing add radio-mac=aa:bb:cc:dd:ee:ff copy-from=0 it literally did copy-paste of all provisioning properties, it only changed radio-mac property ... and it placed the new rule right after the referenced one. So you only have to create one "custom" provisioning rule, move it to the top of list (which means it's index is 0), then you can use the indicated command to copy the rule for other MAC addresses and all of rules will neatly be grouped above the rest of provisioning rules.
 
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Re: How to create ap groups in CapsMan?

Tue Feb 28, 2023 12:25 pm

I'll tell you the method I use myself.
In Provision in the action I select "creation enabled", instead of "creating dynamic enabled". Then the interface is created once on connection and it can be edited manually. change all parameters. the first thing I do is to set clear names.
Then I add an additional SSID at the desired points
To do this I press "+" create a new interface and give it a name.
Screenshot_6.jpg
I select the master interface and specify the required configuration.
Screenshot_5.jpg
That is all.
Screenshot_3.jpg
Wifi parameters will be taken from the master interface.
For automation you can use a list of IP addresses of the necessary access points in Provisioning by setting the master configuration and slave configuration. Press the down arrow to add a field for a new address.
Provision with a list of IP addresses should be above Provision that for other points
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mannins79
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Re: How to create ap groups in CapsMan?

Sat Mar 11, 2023 8:13 pm

I am really sorry guys, I know I might sound annoying but so far none of your precious advices seems to solve my problem....
I can't use mac addresses to mach interfaces....I have over 100 caps installed and I need to leverage the cap name rather than its interface mac.
In my test lab I have:
- 5 AP's; all of them are single band except one that is dual band (see screenshot of CAP interfaces)
- 3 configuration rules: one for 2.4GHz ("test-ssid"), one for 5GHz ("test-ssid") and one more for 2.4GHz but different SSID ("BRIDGE2_SSID")
- 3 provisioning rules: one that matches all mac addresses with master and slave 2.4GHz SSIDs ("test-ssid" + "BRIDGE2_SSID"), one that matches all mac addresses with one 2.4GHz SSID ("test-ssid") and one that matches all mac addresses with a 5GHz SSID ("test-ssid")
Now what I want to achieve:
1 - to broadcast "test-ssid" on all AP's (both 2.4 and 5 GHz)
2 - to broadcast "test-ssid" and "BRIDGE2_SSID" only on specific a specific AP; for the sake of this example, only on the AP that contains "wsAP" in its hostname
In order to achieve that I think I need to use the fields "Identity Regexp" and/or "Common Name Regexp" within the top provisioning rule.
Here is where I hit the wall: somehow this doesn't work; I am making a mistake somewhere. I have tried to use the brackets [ ] or the double quotes " " but this doesn't make any difference. I read somewhere that the aforementioned fields accept POSIX expressions, but I don't understand what it does mean.
I hope the screenshots attached are useful.
Unfortunately there is absolutely nothing online nor in youtube on this topic.
Thanks in advance for your precious help!
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mkx
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Re: How to create ap groups in CapsMan?

Sat Mar 11, 2023 8:24 pm

Did you see this thread? viewtopic.php?t=175667
 
mannins79
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Re: How to create ap groups in CapsMan?

Sat Mar 11, 2023 11:33 pm

yes I did but I don't think it's clear at all.
 
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Ca6ko
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Re: How to create ap groups in CapsMan?

Sun Mar 12, 2023 10:37 am

Practice shows that work on process automation takes much more time than doing this work manually.
For example it is not clear to me why users use "creating dynamic enabled" so persistently.
Capsman mediocrely configures WiFi settings in automatic mode. For optimal performance, manual adjustments must be made.
 
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Re: How to create ap groups in CapsMan?

Tue Mar 14, 2023 3:18 pm

Select the radio and disable them.

Or manually alter the SSIDs on the interfaces you need to.

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