My trusty Aruba IAP-514 has been sitting collecting dust for a while since I’ve let my Aruba Central license expire. But I’ve renewed interest in my Aruba IAP because apparently I can run it in standalone mode.

There’s an upcoming project where I need to use my IAP for an AP-on-a-Stick survey so I thought I should give it a shot and convert my IAP-514 to standalone to get more familiar with ArubaOS.

Aruba IAP + Ventev Venvolt

Reset Aruba AP

Since this was previously set up to Aruba Central, I needed to reset it and start fresh. The easiest way to do that is to hold the Reset button for 15 seconds while booting up the IAP.

When doing this step, your IAP will need network access. It won’t properly boot up without DHCP. You can check out this Aruba document for more information.

Wait for the IAP to fully boot up. The system LED will stay green while the radio LED will blink occasionally to show that the radio is up and running.

Join SetMeUp-XX:XX:XX SSID which is used for setting up the IAP. Or browse to the IP address of the AP if you know the IP.

A log in screen will be presented to you.

On firmware version 8.6+ the credentials the username will be “admin”. The password will be the serial number of the AP.

After logging in, select the correct Country Code and click OK.

You will be placed on the dashboard and you’re ready to configure your IAP!

Configure Standalone Mode

On the left navigation, click on Maintenance and about to see which version you’re running. On my IAP-514 I’m running 8.6.0.4.

Go to Maintenance > Convert and from the Convert one or more Access Points to select “Standalone AP”.

For the Access Point to convert dropdown, select the AP you’re logged into. Hopefully, no other APs have joined this virtual controller. If there are, ensure you’re converting the correct AP.

Then click on Convert.

Aruba will ask you to confirm you’re converting the correct AP. Click OK.

The AP will then reboot. When ready, log back in.

Creating a Network

Create a Network under Configuration > Networks.

Click on the + sign.

Give the network a Name, Type, and Primary usage. For Primary usage I am selecting Employee. Click Next.

Under the VLAN section, select Virtual Controller managed for Client IP assignment. For Client VLAN assignment, select Custom.

Next to Select Scope, click on the Add button.

Scroll down under Local DHCP Scopes. Click Add button.

This DHCP scope will be used for when devices associate to the SSID you’re creating on this AP. Fill out the details and use a desired network and scope.

Click OK.

Select scope newly created from the dropdown. Click Next.

Under Security, select your security type. Maybe you just need an open SSID for APoS purposes. Then click Next.

Under the Access section, set the Access Rules to Unrestricted unless you need to do something differently here. But for APoS we need to keep it simple. Now you’re done with the configuration of an SSID. You’ll see your SSID listed under Networks.

Access Point Configuration

Click on Access Points and select your AP. Click on the pencil icon to edit.

Expand Radio and configure the radios such as the channel and transmit power.

Expand External Antenna and configure the proper antenna gain, depending on the antenna you choose to use.

Click Save.

Navigate to Configuration > System and expand General. Change the system name. Click Save.

Go back to Configuration > Access Points > Edit your AP > Expand General and modify the AP name and give it a static IP so you can connect to it during your APoS, if needed.

Reboot AP to take effect.

Wait for AP to boot and start your APoS and join to it for your survey.