How does the migration procedure from AOS 6 to AOS 8 unfold?

The transition from AOS 6 to AOS 8 is characterised by its relative simplicity. At now, there exist two approaches to achieve migration to the new architecture.

Initially, the most advisable approach to migrating is to establish a new Mobility Master and meticulously strategize the configuration hierarchy. Consideration of the possibility of incorporating more sites and hardware in the future is crucial. After establishing a model for the configuration hierarchy, it is advisable to collaborate with Aruba Technical Support to transfer the AP, PEF, and RFProtect licenses to the Mobility Master. The subsequent phase involves determining the configurations that are common to all locations and ensuring that such configuration is included in the higher level hierarchy. These may include comparable VLAN names, SSIDs, AP groups, and so forth.

Next, proceed downstream in the hierarchy to each individual node, such as the Mobility Controller. After the configuration is established, it is possible to transfer either a completely new mobility controller or a secondary controller to the AOS 8 architecture, together with a single access point (AP) to carry out configuration testing. Comprehensive configuration testing is advised. After completing successful testing, transfer all access points to the AOS 8 architecture and let the environment to operate in this configuration for a day or two to guarantee regular business operations. The final stage involves transferring the Mobility Master from the AOS 6 environment to the newly implemented AOS 8 environment.

One other approach is to utilize the migration tool offered by Aruba Networks. Furthermore, this virtual machine (VM) establishes a connection with your existing controllers, retrieves the configuration, and subsequently transfers that configuration to the Mobility Master, which must already be configured and operational on your network. While this approach is efficient, it may not always be the optimal option for migration. When executed correctly, the migration process is self-explanatory and necessitates minimal periods of inactivity. On average, the entire procedure can be completed within a timeframe of three to four days, contingent upon the intricacy of the WLAN environment.