Examkin

Question

Difficulty: Very hardCisco Wireless Architectures and AP Modes

A network engineer deploys lightweight Cisco Access Points (APs) across multiple remote branch offices linked via a wide area network (WAN) to a centralized Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) in the main datacentre. During a unexpected WAN outage, wireless users at Branch 1 lose all network access to local site servers, whereas wireless users at Branch 2 continue accessing local network resources uninterrupted. Which configuration difference regarding AP modes and traffic handling accounts for this behavior during the WAN failure?

  1. Branch 2 deployed APs in FlexConnect mode with local switching configured for the WLAN, whereas Branch 1 deployed APs in standard Local mode, which relies on CAPWAP data tunnels to centralize all traffic at the WLC.Answer
  2. B
    Branch 2 deployed APs in Local mode with fallback local switching enabled, whereas Branch 1 deployed APs in FlexConnect mode with central switching enabled.
  3. C
    Branch 2 deployed APs in Monitor mode to locally bridge client traffic, whereas Branch 1 deployed APs in Rogue Detector mode.
  4. D
    Branch 2 deployed APs in Sniffer mode configured to bridge local data packets, whereas Branch 1 deployed APs in Autonomous mode without WLC control.

Answer

Branch 2 deployed APs in FlexConnect mode with local switching configured for the WLAN, whereas Branch 1 deployed APs in standard Local mode, which relies on CAPWAP data tunnels to centralize all traffic at the WLC.
In Cisco wireless architectures, standard Local mode APs encapsulate all user traffic inside CAPWAP data tunnels and route it back to the centralized Wireless LAN Controller (WLC) regardless of destination. If the WAN link connecting a remote branch to the central WLC drops, Local mode APs cannot process or forward client packets. Conversely, FlexConnect APs are designed for remote/branch deployments; when configured for local switching, client data frames are bridged directly onto the local wired network switch port at the branch. This allows local network connectivity to persist even during a WAN link or WLC failure.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the operational requirements of AP modes during WAN link failure scenarios.
Identified that Local mode requires active CAPWAP control and data tunnels back to the central WLC for all traffic forwarding.
Standard Local mode APs depend entirely on the WLC to process and switch client data packets.
2
Evaluate the behavior of FlexConnect AP mode when WAN connectivity breaks.
FlexConnect mode allows APs to drop into standalone mode and switch client data packets locally to the access switch on configured local VLANs.
FlexConnect separates the control plane from the data plane, allowing local subnet resources to stay reachable locally when the central WLC is unreachable.
3
Determine why other listed modes (Monitor, Sniffer, Rogue Detector) do not apply.
Specialized AP modes (Monitor, Sniffer, Rogue Detector) do not broadcast SSIDs or handle client traffic.
Only client-serving modes like Local and FlexConnect support active client associations.

Key Concept

Cisco Lightweight AP Modes and FlexConnect Local vs Central Switching
Rate this question

Topics

Cisco Wireless Architectures and AP Modes

More questions from this topic