Wireless Access Point Modes

1.Local

2.Monitor

3.FlexConnect

4.Sniffer

5.Rogue Detector

6.Bridge/Mesh

7.Flex plus Bridge

1.Local:

• This is the AP’s default mode.
• In this mode the access point has a direct tunnel (CAPWAP or LWAP) connection with the WLC over WAN.
• This mode is totally dependent on the WLC.

2.Monitor

• An AP in monitor mode doesn’t broadcast any SSID and transmit client traffic.
• Users cannot connect to this mode. This is purely for security purposes.
• This mode is commonly used when wIPS (Wireless Intrusion prevention system) are deployed in the network.

It’s a dedicated sensor that:

• Checks Intrusion Detection System (IDS) events
• Detects rogue APs
• Determines the position of wireless stations

3.FlexConnect

• This mode helps  you to configure and control access points in  remote office from the corporate office through a wide area network (WAN) link without deploying an independent controller in each remote office.
• The FlexConnect access points (APs) can switch client data traffic locally and perform client authentication locally
• Flex connect modes previously known as Hybrid Remote Edge Access point mode.
• In this mode, the AP can still function even if it loses connection with the controller.

4.Sniffer

• An AP in sniffer mode dedicates its time to receive 802.11 wireless frames.
• The AP becomes a remote wireless sniffer; you can connect to it from your PC with an application like Wildpackets Omnipeek or Wireshark.
• This can be useful if you want to troubleshoot a problem and you can’t be on-site.

5.Rogue Detector

• Rogue detector mode makes the AP detect rogue devices full-time.
• The AP checks for MAC addresses it sees in the air and on the wired network.

6.Bridge/Mesh

• The AP becomes a dedicated point-to-point or point-to-multipoint bridge. Two APs in bridge mode can connect two remote sites. Multiple APs can also form an indoor or outdoor mesh.

7.FlexConnect plus Bridge mode:

• This mode allows flex connect features across the mesh AP’s
• Flex + Bridge mode is used to enable Flex Connect capabilities on Mesh (Bridge mode) APs. Mesh APs inherit VLANs from the root AP that it is connected to it.
• This feature is enabled in Cisco IOS after 8.0