What is CAPWAP?
A. In controller software release 5.2 or later, Cisco lightweight access points use the IETF standard Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points protocol (CAPWAP) in order to communicate between the controller and other lightweight access points on the network. Controller software releases prior to 5.2 use the Lightweight Access Point Protocol (LWAPP) for these communications. CAPWAP, which is based on LWAPP, is a standard, interoperable protocol that enables a controller to manage a collection of wireless access points. CAPWAP is being implemented in controller software release 5.2 for these reasons: • To provide an upgrade path from Cisco products that use LWAPP to next-generation Cisco products that use CAPWAP • To manage RFID readers and similar devices • To enable controllers to interoperate with third-party access points in the future LWAPP-enabled access points can discover and join a CAPWAP controller, and conversion to a CAPWAP controller is seamless. For example, the
