FAQs

• Discovery (SNMP discovery, Manual Create)
• Configuration of name, IP settings, sysLocation and sysContact.
• Configuration of Radio Settings: transmit power, channel, transmit limits, radio enable/disable, beacon period, dtim, auto-channel, RTS/CTS threshold, fragmentation threshold, operational mode, max station data rate and multicast data rate
• Configuration of Security Settings: SSID, closed network, WEP, 802.1x, WPA, WPA/PSK and radius based mac authentication
• Configuration of VLANs/multiple SSIDs
• Rogue scanning
• User monitoring information: user mac, signal quality, bandwidth and username via radius accounting
• AP monitoring information: users and bandwidth
• Software upgrades. Please note that the AMP will not support the multi-stage upgrade of the HP420 APs from 2.0.x->2.1.0 versions but will support software upgrades from 2.0.x->2.0.x and 2.1.x->2.1.x software.

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• Baud rate (or bits per second): 9600
• Data bits: 8
• Parity: None
• Stop bits: 1
• Flow Control: None

Q: How can I easily determine what HP ProCurve Wireless Access Point 420 products are appropriate for use in my country/region?
To determine specific radio, channel and country compatibility when ordering the Access Point 420, view the Wireless Radio Country Approvals Matrix - 420 (pdf: 34.5 KB).

Q: How many console sessions can the HP ProCurve Wireless Access Point 420 support simultaneously?
The AP 420 supports one out-of-band console session through the console port and four in-band telnet console sessions.

Q: How many stations can associate simultaneously to the HP ProCurve Wireless Access Point 420?
The maximum number of 802.11b/802.11g clients that can associate simultaneously to the AP 420 is 128.

Q: Can I use external antennas with my HP ProCurve Wireless Access Point 420?
For more information on the external antennae offered for the AP 420, click here.

Q: What type of antenna connectors does the HP ProCurve Wireless Access Point 420 have?
The AP 420 has reverse polarity SMA connectors.

Q: What's the gain of the HP ProCurve Wireless Access Point 420 antenna?
The AP 420 antenna power gain is 2.5 dBi.

Q: What's the transmit power of the HP ProCurve Wireless Access Point 420?
For North America, the J8130A HP ProCurve Wireless Access Point 420 NA radio has a peak transmit power of 15 dBm.

Q: The last couple of software releases have had a security wizard. What is that for?
The security wizard simplifies the process of setting up security on the 420. There are 9 security "suites" which are combinations of encryption and authentication settings that should satisfy most configuration needs. The wizard allows you to configure all of the security settings with a single selection rather than setting each parameter individually. If it is necessary to configure a combination of settings other than those in the security suites, that can still be done manually.

Q: The 420 supports 8 SSIDs but when I look at the beacon packets I only see one being advertised. Why is that?
The 420 only has 1 wireless MAC address. Only the SSID that is configured as primary will be advertised in open mode. The other SSIDs will respond to probe requests.

Q: What is open mode and closed mode?
Open mode is where the access point advertises the primary SSID in the beacon frames and will allow associations with clients that request this SSID or send a probe request asking for "any" SSID. In closed mode the 420 will not advertise any SSID in the beacon frame and will not permit association with any client unless that client is correctly, explicitly requesting a configured SSID.

Q: What Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) methods can I deploy with the HP ProCurve Wireless Access Point 420 when using 802.1x?
The AP 420 supports the following Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) methods:

• Message Digest 5 (MD5)
• Transport Layer Security (TLS)
• Tunneled TLS (TTLS)
• Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol (PEAP)

Q: What type of communication protocol does the HP ProCurve Wireless Access Point 420 use for RADIUS MAC authentication?
The AP 420 uses the Password Authentication Protocol (PAP) for RADIUS MAC authentication.

Q: Why can't I read and edit a configuration file from the 420?
Prior to the 2.1.0 software release the config file could only be saved and restored in binary form. With 2.1.0 software and newer the 420 can also save and restore the config file in text form. This allows the config file to be used as a support tool and config files can be edited with a text editor and then pushed to the 420 either manually through the UI or with PCM.

Q: I have lost/misplaced/forgotten the password on my HP ProCurve Wireless Access Point 420. How do I reset the password?
To erase any configured password and clear the configuration of the HP ProCurve Wireless Access Point 420, use the "Restoring the Factory Default Configuration" procedure outlined in the Installation and Getting Started Guide (pdf: 1.69 MB).

Q: I powered up and configured various parameters on the wireless interface of my J8131A HP ProCurve Wireless Access Point 420 WW, but the clients in my wireless network still cannot associate to the access point. Why?
The J8131A does not come with the country pre-configured and the radio is disabled if the Country Code is not set. Once the Country Code is set, the radio is enabled and any parameters configured on the wireless interface will take effect.

• Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
  • WEP Static (pre-shared keys: 64, 128 and 152 bits)
  • WEP Dynamic (with 802.1x)
• Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)
  • WPA PSK (pre-shared keys: 64 hexadecimal digits)
  • WPA Dynamic (with 802.1x)

The correct Country Code must be set for the country in which you operate the access point so that it uses the correct authorized radio channels for wireless network devices.

The North America product, J8130A, comes with the Country Code pre-configured; the worldwide product, J8131A, does not. The radio is disabled if the Country Code is not set. Once the Country Code is set and saved, the radio is enabled.

If you are using the worldwide product, J8131A, before configuring radio settings on the access point, you must first use the CLI to set the Country Code. You can display the available country codes in the CLI by using the country? command from the Exec level. After a Country Code is entered the country command is removed from the Command Line Interface (CLI). If an invalid Country Code has been entered, reboot the access point by pressing the reset button for at least five seconds. This restores the factory default settings.

Make sure that the access point and wireless clients are configured with compatible security settings. Check to ensure that the wireless client is within the maximum range supported by the access point. Also verify that the wireless client has been configured with an IP address compatible with the attached network, either manually or via DHCP. For additional help, see Troubleshooting WLAN Connectivity (pdf: 582 KB).

New access point software is made available on the ProCurve Web site, http://www.hp.com/go/hpprocurve. Click "Software updates" then "Wireless access points".

By default, the access point is configured to acquire an IP address configuration from a DHCP server. If the access point fails to obtain an IP address from the DHCP server, its IP address defaults to 192.168.1.1. If this address is not compatible with your network, then the access point can only be managed through a direct console connection. To manage the access point through in-band (networked) access, you should configure the access point with an IP address and subnet mask compatible with your network.

If you just want to give the access point an IP address so that it can communicate on your network, HP recommends that you use the CLI to quickly configure IP addressing. To do so, do one of the following:

Enter config at the CLI Exec level prompt.

HP420#config

Enter interface Ethernet at the CLI Configuration level prompt.

HP420 (config) #interface Ethernet

Enter the IP address, subnet mask, and gateway at the CLI Interface Configuration level prompt.

HP420 (if-ethernet) #ip address <address> <subnet_mask> <gateway>

For more on using the CLI, see Chapter 8 "Using the Command Line Interface (CLI)" of the Installation and Getting Started Guide (pdf: 1.69 MB).

No, the AP 420 does not ship with a console cable. The console cable required for the AP 420 is the same cable (DB-9 serial cable) that is used on all ProCurve switches.

No, the 420 is not capable of creating a wireless bridge between two access points.

A Service set identifier (SSID) is the network name needed to separate one network from another. The SSID is used during initial establishment of communication between station and access point to allow a station to select the correct access point.