Should I keep the Omada Controller running after configuration?

Contents

Objective

Requirements

Introduction

Features that require the Controller to keep running

Features that don’t require the Controller to keep running

Conclusion

Objective

This article explains whether you need to keep an Omada Controller running to use different functions of APs.

Requirements

• Omada Controller (Software Controller / Hardware Controller, v5 and above)
• Omada AP

Introduction

The Omada AP without a Controller has limited features. That’s why we recommend configuring the Omada Controller with more advanced and stable features. This article will discuss whether the configuration on the Omada Controller still works with APs when the Omada Controller is offline.

Features that require the Controller to keep running

The features below work only when the Controller is running. If the Controller is offline, related configurations will no longer take effect.

• Portal (Voucher, External Portal Server, SMS Portal, Local User, Built-in Radius Server)

The authenticated wireless clients can work without problem if the Controller is offline. However, the newly connected clients who attempt to get authenticated are unable to pass the authentication because the authentication function is down. For more information about the portal, refer to Do I need to keep Omada Controller running when using portal authentication?

• Reboot Schedule, Upgrade Schedule

The Schedule module requires the Controller to keep running to ensure its effectiveness. When the Controller is offline, the reboot and upgrade schedules will not take effect at the set time.

• Fast Roaming

Mesh networking does not require the Controller to keep running, but for APs managed by earlier Controllers before 5.14, the Fast Roaming function requires real-time interaction with the Controller to work. For APs managed by Controller 5.14 or above, Fast Roaming no longer requires the Controller to keep running. For more information about roaming, refer to What is Fast Roaming of TP-Link Business Wi-Fi Products?

• AI Roaming

If the Controller is offline, the related background computing services for the AI ​​Roaming function will stop, which will affect the optimization effect of AI Roaming on the Fast Roaming function.

• Log, Statistics, Network Report

If the Controller is offline, statistical functions such as Log, Statistics, and Network Report may encounter breakpoints and missing data. These functions require the Controller to keep running in the background to record data for normal working.

• WLAN Optimization

If the Controller is offline, the WLAN Optimization function cannot analyze the wireless environment within the network and adjust the device settings such as channel, bandwidth, and power based on network topology, deployment scale, traffic, and clients.

• PPSK with Radius (Radius Proxy)

In Controller v5.14 and above, if you select the Radius Proxy policy for the SSID that uses the PPSK with Radius encryption, the PPSK encryption will take effect only when the Controller is running.

Features that don’t require the Controller to keep running

The features below are available both on the Controller and APs. When the Controller goes offline, these features will remain working because the related configurations have been saved on the APs.

• Portal (No Authentication, Simple Password, External Radius Server)
• Mac Filter
• Scheduler (WLAN)
• LED
• SSH
• Management VLAN
• Load Balance
• SSID Isolation
• SSID broadcast
• Airtime Fairness
• Band Steering
• Access Control
• Rate Limit
• RSSI Threshold
• Mesh
• Channel limit

Conclusion

We have summarized the Controller running requirement for different AP features. Keep the Omada Controller running based on your feature needs.

Get to know more details of each function and configuration please go to Download Center to download the manual of your product.