Wireless - FlexConnect Mode

When deploying lightweight access points using a WLC, one of the modes that can be used is the FlexConnect mode. In this mode, an LWAP will create a CAPWAP tunnel to the WLC for the exchange of control data, but will route user data independently of the CAPWAP tunnel.

This is ideal for situations where an AP is located in a remote branch of an enterprise network and the WLC is in the datacenter of HQ. In such a case, you don't want to route all user traffic over the WAN to HQ before routing it to the Internet, because that WAN link may have limited bandwidth. It is preferrable to route such traffic to the Internet via the local ISP.

The other advantage here is that if the CAPWAP tunnel goes down and the LWAP loses connectivity with the WLC, it can continue to serve local wireless clients since it routes traffic locally.

For FlexConnect LWAP deployments, the switchports to which such LWAPs connect must be configured appropriately.

https://forum.networklessons.com/t/cisco-wireless-ap-modes/8999/23?u=lagapidis

https://networklessons.com/cisco/ccna-200-301/cisco-wireless-ap-modes#FlexConnect