Roaming from Cisco AP1242 to Intemec AP2100

Question

Hello all,
Currently our warehouse and manufacturing environment consists of Intermec 2100 802.11 b AP's our intensions are to slowly migrate to Cisco 1242 AP for future VOIP applications. Our question is will there by any problems with roaming between the two manufactures and if so how can we resolve these issues. We cannot replace all the AP?s at once because of our 24/7 operation.

Answer 1

Thanks for the extra info; it helps!
The short version first; I believe you'll be OK with the one-for-one swapout (of course, try a pilot in the least-used area first).
The details:
Since you are using WEP and different vendors, your best friend here for roaming will be IAPP (Inter-Access Point Protocol). This is a protocol to hand off traffic from one AP to another during the roam. IAPP should be fast enough for pure data traffic. It *may be* fast enough for voice, but I'm betting it'll be spotty, at best.
It would be good to investigate whether your Intermec APs support it, and that it is enabled. I believe it is a standard function for most resonably recent (~coule years) APs. If you still have contact with the Intermec folks, check with them to see that your current images include IAPP support.
The other possible issues I'd keep an eye out for are:
* The antennas you choose for your Cisco APs. Since you have a good site survey, and it seems to be working for you, try to choose antennas for the Cisco that have the same coverage, gain, and pattern as the Intermec APs. If you have an aea that is a little weak, then check out some of the other antennas with higher gain or a better-suited pattern. If there's a doubt, go with the higher gain or broader pattern ... it's easy enough to drop the power at the AP.
* Once you have a/some pilot unit(s) in place, check the switch that connects the Intermec and the Cisco APs; OCCASIONALLY there are some issues with the switch not recognizing the roam fast enough (or the old AP doesn't drop the association fast enough), and the switch will report "flapping" because it will see the same client/MAC at two ports. We mostly have seen this with Cisco 6500s and another (non-Intermec) AP /client.
* If you're using POE to power the APs, verify the POE config. Before it was a standard, Cisco used a proprietary POE scheme (as did everyone else with a POE-capable AP). I believe the newer APs are POE standards compliant (brain fart, I don't remember). So, depending on your current setup, you may need to also use Cisco power injectors, or a Cisco-compliant injector panel.
Now would be a good time to study-up on Cisco Central Key Management (CCKM), TKIP, and Cisco's flavor of WDS.
CCKM may be something that will help with the seamless roaming for the voice clients.
TKIP will permit dynamic rotating keys to bump your security up a notch.
(Cisco)WDS is a method to get the clients rapidly re-authenticate at the new AP as part of the roam process.
I'm sure Rob and the others will jump in with some additional tips and advice. Many of the other folks posting here are managing large campus systems and can speak from direct, recent experience.
Good Luck
Scott