CAPWAP

Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) is a protocol for encapsulating a station's data frames between the Wireless Transmission Point (WTP) and Access Controller (AC). Specifically, the station's IEEE 802.11 data frames can be either locally bridged or tunneled to the AC. When tunneled, a CAPWAP Data Channel is used for tunneling. In many deployments, encapsulating data frames to an entity other than the AC (for example, to an Access Router (AR)) is desirable. Furthermore, it may also be desirable to use different tunnel encapsulation modes between the WTP and the Access Router. This document defines an extension to the CAPWAP protocol that supports this capability and refers to it as alternate tunnel encapsulation. The alternate tunnel encapsulation allows 1) the WTP to tunnel non-management data frames to an endpoint different from the AC and 2) the WTP to tunnel using one of many known encapsulation types, such as IP-IP, IP-GRE, or CAPWAP. The WTP may advertise support for alternate tunnel encapsulation during the discovery and join process, and the AC may select one of the supported alternate tunnel encapsulation types while configuring the WTP.

The Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol binding for IEEE 802.11 defines two Medium Access Control (MAC) modes for IEEE 802.11 Wireless Transmission Points (WTPs): Split and Local MAC. In the Split MAC mode, the partitioning of encryption/decryption functions is not clearly defined. In the Split MAC mode description, IEEE 802.11 encryption is specified as located in either the Access Controller (AC) or the WTP, with no clear way for the AC to inform the WTP of where the encryption functionality should be located. This leads to interoperability issues, especially when the AC and WTP come from different vendors. To prevent interoperability issues, this specification defines an IEEE 802.11 MAC Profile message element in which each profile specifies an unambiguous division of encryption functionality between the WTP and AC.

This memo defines a portion of the Management Information Base (MIB) for use with network management protocols. In particular, it describes the managed objects for modeling the Control And Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) Protocol. This MIB module is presented as a basis for future work on the SNMP management of the CAPWAP protocol. This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.

This memo defines a portion of the Management Information Base (MIB) for use with network management protocols. In particular, it describes managed objects for modeling the Control And Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol for IEEE 802.11 wireless binding. This MIB module is presented as a basis for future work on the management of the CAPWAP protocol using the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). This document is not an Internet Standards Track specification; it is published for informational purposes.

In recent years, there has been a shift in wireless LAN (WLAN) product architectures from autonomous access points to centralized control of lightweight access points. The general goal has been to move most of the traditional wireless functionality such as access control (user authentication and authorization), mobility, and radio management out of the access point into a centralized controller.

The IETF's CAPWAP (Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points) WG has identified that a standards-based protocol is necessary between a wireless Access Controller and Wireless Termination Points (the latter are also commonly referred to as Lightweight Access Points). This specification defines the Lightweight Access Point Protocol (LWAPP), which addresses the CAPWAP's (Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points) protocol requirements. Although the LWAPP protocol is designed to be flexible enough to be used for a variety of wireless technologies, this specific document describes the base protocol and an extension that allows it to be used with the IEEE's 802.11 wireless LAN protocol. This document defines a Historic Document for the Internet community.

The Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) problem statement describes a problem that needs to be addressed before a wireless LAN (WLAN) network designer can construct a solution composed of Wireless Termination Points (WTP) and Access Controllers (AC) from multiple, different vendors. One of the primary goals is to find a solution that solves the interoperability between the two classes of devices (WTPs and ACs) that then enables an AC from one vendor to control and manage a WTP from another.

In this document, we present a protocol that forms the common technology-independent framework and the ability to negotiate and add, on top of this framework, a control protocol that contains a technology-dependent component to arrive at a complete solution. We have also presented two such control protocols -- an 802.11 Control protocol, and another, more generic image download protocol, in this document.

Even though the text in this document is written to specifically address the problem stated in RFC 3990, the solution can be applied to any problem that has a controller (equivalent to the AC) managing one or more network elements (equivalent to the WTP). This document defines a Historic Document for the Internet community.

This specification defines the Control And Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) Protocol, meeting the objectives defined by the CAPWAP Working Group in RFC 4564. The CAPWAP protocol is designed to be flexible, allowing it to be used for a variety of wireless technologies. This document describes the base CAPWAP protocol, while separate binding extensions will enable its use with additional wireless technologies. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

Wireless LAN product architectures have evolved from single autonomous access points to systems consisting of a centralized Access Controller (AC) and Wireless Termination Points (WTPs). The general goal of centralized control architectures is to move access control, including user authentication and authorization, mobility management, and radio management from the single access point to a centralized controller.

This specification defines the Control And Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) Protocol Binding Specification for use with the IEEE 802.11 Wireless Local Area Network protocol. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

The Control And Provisioning of Wireless Access Points Protocol allows a Wireless Termination Point to use DHCP to discover the Access Controllers to which it is to connect. This document describes the DHCP options to be used by the CAPWAP Protocol. [STANDARDS-TRACK]

Early Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) deployments feature a "fat" Access Point (AP), which serves as a \%stand-alone interface between the wired and wireless network segments. However, this model raises scaling, mobility, and manageability issues, and the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) protocol is meant to address these issues. CAPWAP effectively splits the fat AP functionality into two network elements, and the communication channel between these components may traverse potentially hostile hops. This document analyzes the security exposure resulting from the introduction of CAPWAP and summarizes the associated security considerations for IEEE 802.11-based CAPWAP implementations and deployments. This memo provides information for the Internet community.

This document presents objectives for an interoperable protocol for the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP). The document aims to establish a set of focused requirements for the development and evaluation of a CAPWAP protocol. The objectives address architecture, operation, security, and network operator requirements that are necessary to enable interoperability among Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) devices of alternative designs. This memo provides information for the Internet community.

This document is a record of the process and findings of the Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points Working Group (CAPWAP WG) evaluation team. The evaluation team reviewed the 4 candidate protocols as they were submitted to the working group on June 26, 2005. his memo provides information for the Internet community.

This document provides a taxonomy of the architectures employed in the existing IEEE 802.11 products in the market, by analyzing Wireless LAN (WLAN) functions and services and describing the different variants in distributing these functions and services among the architectural entities. This memo provides information for the Internet community.

This document describes the Configuration and Provisioning for Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) problem statement. This memo provides information for the Internet community.