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Can you go from zero to a fully operational wired and wireless network across a mid- to large-sized campus, all centrally managed from a single platform, in just 30 minutes?
This is no exaggeration. With Asterfusion’s OpenWiFi Based Campus Network Controller, it’s not only possible — it’s remarkably easy.
We’ve built a campus network using SONiC switches (Asterfusion CX-M series). The underlying network features a simplified Spine/Leaf architecture and unified BGP routing. The entire wired and wireless service configuration can be completed via a single cloud campus controller—the Asteria Campus Controller (ACC)—based on OpenWiFi. The experience is comparable to true “plug-and-play.”
Just Three Steps – That’s All the Network Controller Takes!
Before deployment, the campus network administrator imports device information into the controller under the appropriate [Organization]/[Venue], then connects and powers the devices according to the predefined network plan. The rest of the process is highly automated.
1. Devices automatically connect to the network controller (via DHCP option for auto-discovery of controller IP).
2. Based on the selected scenario template, the controller auto-generates the topology and completes basic network configuration (users are shielded from technical complexity — BGP addresses and routing are auto-calculated and deployed).
3. Wired and wireless services are provisioned (predefined or customized templates allow one-click batch deployment via GUI).
Step 1: Devices Automatically Connect to the Network Controller
Once powered on, there are two possible scenarios:
Scenario 1: DHCP Server Exists in the Network – Automatic Discovery
All Asterfusion devices — including switches and APs — act as DHCP clients by default and will initiate a DHCP request to obtain their IP address and controller IP from the network’s DHCP server.
To ensure that the device can receive the controller’s IP address
# The DHCP server must support option 138.
# Below is a sample configuration for sc-dhcp-server:
subnet 192.168.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
range 192.168.1.100 192.168.1.200;
option routers 192.168.1.1:
option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0:
option capwap-ac-v4 “192.168.10.1” # Controller IP address
}
Scenario 2: No DHCP Server in the Network – Manual Connection
In many initial campus deployment cases, there’s no existing DHCP server. In this case, connect to a Spine switch via serial port, enable the built-in ‘ucentral-client‘ container, and manually specify the controller IP.
sonic# config
sonic(config)# ucentral-client enable
sonic(config)# ucentral-client server 192.168.10.1 # Controller IP
Step 2: Auto-Generated Topology and Basic Network Configuration
After the devices are connected to the network controller, the admin can go to the [Design Topology] tab to create a new network scenario.
ACC comes with built-in templates for small-to-medium and medium-to-large campus scenarios based on a three-tier IP routing architecture using Spine-Leaf topology. The latter includes an additional Aggregation layer to scale horizontally to thousands of Leaf switches, ideal for large-scale campus networks.
By selecting the appropriate template and specifying switch roles (Spine/Leaf), model types, and quantities, the controller automatically generates a recommended topology.
Users can click the Edit button on the device side and select the device in the inventory to be applied to the current topology in the slide-out box on the right, and select the interconnect interface.
The resulting topology presents device status, link states, and interface relationships in a clear, visual overview.
Clicking [Basic Network] on the top-right allows admins to set up static routes for business traffic, or configure dynamic routing protocols on Spine uplinks — such as BGP, OSPF, and route aggregation.
Throughout this process, apart from inputting basic parameters like IP addresses, the user need not worry about technical complexities. ACC intelligently generates and deploys all necessary configurations based on the topology.
Step 3: Bulk Configuration of Wired and Wireless Services
Wireless Service Configuration
ACC allows admins to create predefined configuration templates before devices come online.
Under the “Wireless Configuration” tab, Wi-Fi settings such as SSIDs, security policies, etc., can be configured. The controller automatically generates deployment scripts based on admin input.
Click [Wireless Configuration] – [+] – [Wi-Fi Settings] to configure the necessary basic information for
the wireless AP, e.g. SSID settings, security policy. The controller can automatically generate the
corresponding configuration script based on the administrator’s input.
Multiple wireless service configurations are supported and can be tagged (e.g., “default”). Once a wireless AP is powered via a PoE switch and connects to the controller, it will automatically pull the matching configuration according to its assigned tag during inventory import.
For advanced scenarios, custom AP settings can also be modified.
If a panel-type AP has wired interfaces connected to wired endpoints, settings such as uplink/downlink interfaces, VLAN tags, and VLAN IDs can be configured under the LANs tab.
Wired Service Configuration
Similar to wireless, wired service configurations can be easily created and deployed via the ACC controller’s wired business configuration tab. Options include VLAN settings, DSCP relay, ACL, DAI/IPSG, and 802.1x authentication.
Click “Deploy”, wait for execution to complete, and your entire campus network, both wired and wireless, is fully provisioned. Based on real-world deployment tests, this process takes approximately 30 minutes on average.
At this point, all switches, APs, and endpoint devices across the campus can be centrally monitored and managed through the controller, simplifying daily operations and maintenance.
