Juniper WLC2 / MXR2 & WLC8 / MX8 different revisions and MSS

Here is an issue I bumped into whilst working on Juniper WLAN implementations. The scenario is that a customer has multiple Juniper WLC2 Wireless LAN Controllers, many of which they purchased before Juniper acquired Trapeze networks. This means they are actually MXR2s and some were quite old.

Now the WLC has now been called EOL (as of 4th October 2013) so it is not the best platform for use going forward, however at the time it was still a current product, and in honesty how many customers do you know who throw away hardware as soon as it's called EOL? Not many that I know, hardware is sweated until the end of support date gets too close for comfort and then the upgrade happens.

Back to the story, the newest Juniper APs, such like the WLA322 require a minimum of MSS 7.7 to work. The WLC2 technically supports MSS up to version 9.0, however the gotcha here, which is stated in the release notes, is that the Hardware revision must be at least "revision P". Here is the note from Juniper:

Warning: This release of MSS no longer supports older MXR-2, MX-8, and MX-8R WLAN controller platforms
that were initially built with 32MB of flash. Newer models support 128MB or 256MB. The best method for
determining if your controller can support MSS 7.7 is by checking the revision label on the unit:

• Models MX-8 and MX-8R controller - Revision "P" and above
• Model MXR-2 controller - Revision "N" and above
• All Juniper-branded equivalents will support MSS 7.7.

Please note this appliease to the WLC8 /  MX8, as above.

There is a free upgrade program with Juniper, as long as your device has a valid support contract, whereby you can RMA your older revision with Juniper and they will send you a newer version, however this is an RMA so can take a good amount of time, be aware.

To help myself I've put together a quick table showing WLA, WLC and the various MSS version supported:

	7.0	7.1	7.3	7.5	7.6	7.7	8.0	9.0
	Access Points
WLA632	N	N	Y*	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
WLA532E	N	N	N	N	N	N	Y	Y
WLA532	N	N	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y
WLA522	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
WLA322	N	N	N	N	N	Y*	Y	Y
WLA321	N	N	N	N	N	Y*	Y	Y
MP-432	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
MP-422B	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
MP-371	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N
MP-372	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N
MP-352	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
MP-341	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
MP-262	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
MP-252	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
MP-241	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
MP-82	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
MP-71	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N

7.0

7.1

7.3

7.5

7.6

7.7

8.0

9.0

	WLC
vWLC	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	Y
WLC2800R	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
WLC880R	N	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
WLC800R	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
WLC200	N	N	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
WLC100	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	Y
WLC8	N	N	Y*	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
WLC2	N	N	Y*	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
MX8R	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y*	Y*	Y*
MXR2	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y*	Y*	Y*

The Stars here show where minimum software versions or hardware revisions are required. Check the release notes for full details.

References:
Juniper MSS 7.7.4.4 release Notes:
http://www.juniper.net/techpubs/en_US/release-independent/wireless/information-products/topic-collections/wireless-lan/software/7.7/mss-rn-77-mr4.pdf