Creating Network Domains for Wireless LAN Controllers

A Network Domain enables the functionality of Mobility Domains to be extended over a multiple-site installation. In a Network Domain, one or more controllers act as a seed device. A Network Domain seed stores information about all of the VLANs on the Network Domain members. The Network Domain seeds share this information to create an identical database on each seed.

Each Network Domain member maintains a TCP connection to one of the seeds. When a Network Domain member needs information about a VLAN in a remote Mobility Domain, the member consults a connected Network Domain seed. If the seed has information about the remote VLAN, it responds with the controller’s IP address to the VLAN. A VLAN tunnel is then created between the seed controller and the remote controller.

When there are multiple Network Domain seeds in an installation, a Network Domain member connects to the seed with the highest configured affinity. If that seed is unavailable, the Network Domain member connects to the seed with the next highest affinity.

You can configure multiple seeds in a Network Domain. If you configure multiple Network Domain seeds, a member consults the seed with the highest configured affinity. To configure multiple seeds in the same Network Domain (for example, a seed on each physical site in the Network Domain), you must establish a peer relationship among the seeds.

If you configure multiple controllers as seed devices in a Network Domain, the controllers establish a peer relationship to share information about the VLANs configured on the member devices of the network to create identical VLAN databases. Sharing information in this way provides redundancy in case one of the seed peers becomes unavailable.

In a Network Domain, a member controller consults a seed controller to determine a user VLAN membership in a remote Mobility Domain. You can create a network domain using the Create Network Domain page from the Network Director user interface.

1. Enter a name for the network domain. The name can contain up to 16 characters including alphanumeric values and all special characters except space.
2. Add controllers in the network domain. To add controllers:
   • Click Add from Controllers in Network Domain table. The Select Controllers for Network Domain page appears.
   • Select the devices or controllers that you want add to the network domain by selecting the check boxes. You can select more than one device.
   • Click OK. The selected devices appear in the Controllers in Network Domain table.
3. Select the role for each device or controller from the Role column in the Controllers in Network Domain table. The available roles are:
   • Seed
   • Member
   • Seed and Member

   Note: You must select at least one device as the seed for the network domain. In a Network Domain, at least one seed device must be aware of each member device. The seed is required to maintain an active TCP connection with each member controllers. To configure a controller as a member of a Network Domain, you must specify one or more Network Domain seeds.

4. To delete a controller from the Controllers in Network Domain table, select the controller by clicking the check box and click Delete.

You can edit or delete the network domain that you created.

Procedure

1. Select Wireless Network from My Network in Logical View pane and select the network domain that you want to edit.

   Network Director lists the network domains that you created earlier.

2. Select Edit Network Domain from Domain Management in the Tasks pane. The Edit Network Domain page for the selected network domain is displayed.
3. Follow the tasks described above in the Creating Network Domain procedure.

Procedure

1. Select Wireless Network from My Network in Logical View pane and select the network domain that you want to delete.

   Network Director lists the mobility domains that you created earlier.

2. Select Delete Network Domain from Domain Management in the Tasks pane. The message: Deleting domain “domain-name”. Do you want to continue? is displayed.
3. Click Yes if want to delete the network domain.

Related Documentation

• Understanding Mobility Domains
• Creating a Mobility Domain for Wireless LAN Controllers
• Network Director Documentation home page