Is DHCP Service Active On ER8411 When Software Controller Is Not Running?
When the Software Controller (Windows) is not running in the background on a Windows system, does the DHCP service continue to function on the ER8411 Router?
This is not clear if the Omada Software Controller is offline for some days over the weekend, then the software is restarted on Monday for example, then select the Clients tool. The Clients table will be empty for some minutes.
The issue is, some clients cannot connect to the network on weekends. It is suspected that the ER8411 is not supplying IP addresses (DHCP) to some clients when the Lease Time expires over the weekend while the software controller may not be online, however the ER8411 router is online.
Expected behavior is for the ER8411 to continue to function properly with all services such as DHCP, DNS Proxy and IDS/IPS etc.
So two questions:
1) Specifically, when the Software Controller (Windows) is not running in the background on a Windows system, does the DHCP service continue to function on the ER8411 Router?
2) Generally, what functions of the ER8411 are disabled when the Software Controller is not running?
Thanks,
MD
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Hi @MDowns
Thanks for posting in our business forum.
1. Rest assured. Yes. The main functions like NAT, VLAN and load balancing of the router do not rely on the Controller.
2. Time sync, reboot schedule, and things that are related to the real-time sync and schedule are affected when the controller is offline.
EAP mesh and fast roaming will be down as well.
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Hi @MDowns
Thanks for posting in our business forum.
1. Rest assured. Yes. The main functions like NAT, VLAN and load balancing of the router do not rely on the Controller.
2. Time sync, reboot schedule, and things that are related to the real-time sync and schedule are affected when the controller is offline.
EAP mesh and fast roaming will be down as well.
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Thanks for the reply.
Is there documentation on what functions rely on the conrtorller?
It is not clear and i cannot find anything online, that does clarify what is dependant on the controller.
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Hi @MDowns
Thanks for posting in our business forum.
MDowns wrote
Thanks for the reply.
Is there documentation on what functions rely on the conrtorller?
It is not clear and i cannot find anything online, that does clarify what is dependant on the controller.
Since I am not specialized in the controller, many different services are relying on this but mostly are not about the router. Router is all about the core function of the network so even if there is no controller online, most parts will run smoothly without it.
See this link, will it help?
The difference between Standalone mode and Controller mode of Business router
For more questions, please @Hank for further queries as he is the specialist for the controller-related queries.
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https://www.tp-link.com/en/support/faq/3357/
Thanks for this link, however, it seems to be outdated. At this point it seems very difficult to determine what functions are disabled on the router if the software controller is not running and I am reluctant to experiment with trial and error to find out.
I have already discoved some limitations in the functionality of the router and hardware controllers which is why i need to use the software controller. For example the hardware controller does not have Deep Packet Inspection and Application Filters.
There is a limited comparision table in marketing materials at this link, in the section,"Choose the Right Controller that Fits Your Business".
https://www.tp-link.com/us/business-networking/omada-controller-cloud-software/omada-software-controller/#overview
I think the detailed differences/limitations amoung the controllers should be documented somewhere but I cannot find it on TP-Link web sites.
I am open to suggestion for finding out without having to experiment.
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MDowns wrote
https://www.tp-link.com/en/support/faq/3357/
Thanks for this link, however, it seems to be outdated. At this point it seems very difficult to determine what functions are disabled on the router if the software controller is not running and I am reluctant to experiment with trial and error to find out.
I have already discoved some limitations in the functionality of the router and hardware controllers which is why i need to use the software controller. For example the hardware controller does not have Deep Packet Inspection and Application Filters.
There is a limited comparision table in marketing materials at this link, in the section,"Choose the Right Controller that Fits Your Business".
https://www.tp-link.com/us/business-networking/omada-controller-cloud-software/omada-software-controller/#overview
I think the detailed differences/limitations amoung the controllers should be documented somewhere but I cannot find it on TP-Link web sites.
I am open to suggestion for finding out without having to experiment.
Hi @MDowns
Thanks for sharing. Currently we don't have a list to indicate all the features that will require the controller online. But you can try to check the feature on standalone mode. When the feature is visible in standalone mode, it means that you don't need to keep running the controller. However, for some advanced settings that are added into controller recently, the controller might be required.
And for Deep Packet Inspection etc, actually we cannot guarantee whether it will added into the hardware controller currently, as it is a new feature, and has not been added into hardware controller by now. For the difference on hardware controller and software controller, you may need to check their release notes and compare the new features.
I will mark down your request and wish that we can have a detail document to indicate all the difference in the future. Thanks for understanding.
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