This is the physical and logical network layer the rest of the lab rides on — a managed switch, wireless access points under central management, and VLANs to keep traffic segmented instead of flat.
Switching
A Cisco 2960XR handles switching for the lab, with the two wireless access points trunked in on dedicated ports carrying the native VLAN. Running real Cisco IOS instead of a consumer switch means actual trunk and VLAN configuration, not just a web UI toggle.
Wireless — Omada-managed APs
Wireless runs through a TP-Link Omada controller (in Docker, on Linux — see that writeup) managing two EAP225 access points. Centralized management means one place to push SSID and RF changes to both APs instead of configuring each individually, and one place to watch the Events log when something goes wrong.
Current troubleshooting: intermittent AP drops
One of the two EAP225 access points has been dropping WiFi intermittently. The Omada Events log points at port 47 on the 2960XR — the evidence so far suggests a cable or switch-port issue rather than the AP itself.
Plan: re-terminate the run with fresh RJ45 ends, and if that doesn't clear it, move the AP to a different switch port and keep watching the Events log to isolate whether the fault follows the port or the cable.
What's next
- Finish isolating and fixing the port 47 AP drop issue
- Document the full VLAN layout and switch port assignments as a reference diagram