The WC7500 contains 4 Ethernet LAN ports configured to form a 4 port bond in Linux active-backup mode. In this mode the ports effectively function as one port rather than four separate ports, with one port active and three ports acting as backup should the active port fail.
This allows for the controller to be connected into a network switch with up to four cables, should one of the cables or ports fail, the controller will fail back to one of the backup ports. When all four ports are used in active-backup, up to three ports/cables can fail and the controller will continue to work on the one active port.
It is important to bear in mind that once a device is connected to one of the LAN ports of the WC7500 (i.e. PC, access point, switch), the controller will only pass traffic over that first connected port. Any subsequent devices connected to any of the remaining free ethernet ports on the WC7500 will not be able to communicate with the controller as the four Ethernet ports do not act as a switch. For example if you connect a PC and an access point to the controller Ethernet ports only the first connected device will communicate with the controller.
Other ProSafe controller models do not use this configuration, it is limited to the WC7500 model controller.
With this port behaviour it is recommended to first connect your PC to the controller, configure the IP address settings for installation into your LAN, then connect the controller into your network by uplinking to a networked switch.
Last Updated: 08/11/2016