Users Guide

Zero-Touch Provisioning
Traditionally, the deployment of controllers was a multiple step process where the master controller
information and local configurations were first pre-provisioned. After the local controller connected to the
network, it established a secure tunnel to the master and downloaded the global configuration.
Zero touch provisioning makes the deployment of local controllers plug-n-play. The local controller now learns
the required information from the network and provisions itself automatically. A W-7000 Series branch
controller is a zero-touch provision (ZTP) controller that automatically gets its local and global configuration
and license limits from a central controller.
A controller does not need to be configured as a branch controller to be provisioned using ZTP.
ZTP offer the following advantages over a standard local controller:
l simple deployment
l reduced operational cost
l limits to provisioning errors
The main elements for ZTP are:
l auto discovery of master controller
l configuration download from the master controller
Provisioning a controller includes completing the following:
l setting the role
l setting the country code
l configuring the local configuration
The local configuration is the configuration that is specific to a controller. That is, not the global configuration shared
by a network of controllers. This includes, but is not limited to, IP addresses and VLANs.
Once the controller is provisioned, it is ready to obtain its global configuration either by:
l The administrator entering the global configuration directly from the WebUI or CLI of a master controller
l The controller retrieving the global configuration from a mastercontroller
Previously the steps of setting the role, setting the country code, and configuring the local configuration could
only be performed manually by an administrator. With ZTP, these steps can be automatically completed.
The local configuration that a branch controller retrieves through ZTP is called as branch config group.
A controller that is deployed using ZTP is called as branch controller.
Only the W-7000 Series controllers may be deployed as branch controllers.
Before you Begin
Before you deploy a W-7000 Seriesbranch controller, use the smart config feature on the master controller to
a create branch config group. The master controller can push a branch config group configuration to a branch
controller when the branch becomes active on the network. The smart config feature is enabled by default. For
more information on branch config group settings, refer to Using Smart Config to create a Branch Config
Group on page 298.
Dell Networking W-Series ArubaOS 6.4.x | User Guide BranchController Config for Controllers | 296