Wireless Mesh Considerations — Habitech Support

Q: How do I add an AP to an Unleashed Network to make it a wireless mesh AP?

A: First, connect the AP to the same network as the rest of the Unleashed APs via Ethernet. After the AP joins the network and receives the configuration - including the mesh link encryption key - the AP is ready to be used as a wireless mesh AP. You can disconnect the AP's Ethernet link and move it to the desired location, and it will form a mesh connection to an uplink AP automatically.

Note: Beginning with release 200.6, you can also pre-approve APs to join the mesh network using the "Zero-Touch Mesh" feature. To do so, go to Admin & Services > System > Mesh > Zero Touch Mesh, and enter the serial numbers of APs that you want to pre-approve for mesh auto configuration.

Q: Can a mesh connection be established between an outdoor AP and an indoor AP?

A: Yes, but note that according to the regulations of your country setting, outdoor APs may not be allowed to use certain indoor channels. If the indoor AP stays on an indoor-only channel, the outdoor AP won't be able to connect to it. In this case, you can either fix the channel of the 5 GHz radio on the indoor APs, or, if a statutory permit exists, configure the outdoor AP to allow it to use indoor channels.

Q: How do I see the mesh network topology?

A: You can check the mesh topology on the web interface by clicking the Access Points > Summary tab. You can choose to display or hide the mesh topology by clicking Show Mesh Topology or Hide Mesh Topology.

Q: What can I do if a mesh AP cannot find an uplink connection?

A: Possible reasons include the following:

The APs, either the intended mesh AP or the uplink AP, may not support mesh. For example, R310 and H320 do not support mesh.
The mesh AP may not be properly configured. It is always a good practice to ensure an AP can join an Unleashed network through an Ethernet connection before making it a mesh AP.
The signal from the uplink AP could be too week. Try moving the AP to a different location to see whether that is the reason.
The uplink AP stays on a channel that the mesh AP cannot utilize. Note that an outdoor AP may not be able to utilize certain indoor channels, and, the mesh AP model may not support a DFS channel that the uplink AP is using.
Check the running release: release 200.0 does not support mesh.
In release 200.1, there was an issue (ER-3691) reported where the mesh uplink search may not start right after the Ethernet cable is disconnected, until the AP is rebooted. This issue has been resolved in 200.2 and later releases.

If the AP is accessible (through either wired or wireless), SSH into it and type the following CLI debugging commands. If you cannot interpret the results, use the reporting method described at the beginning of this guide.

On a root AP:
- get mesh
- get channel wifi1
- get scanresults wifi1
On a mesh AP:
- get mesh
- get channel wifi1
- get scanresults wifi1

Q: Is mesh supported on all Unleashed APs?

A: Mesh has been supported since release 200.1. For Unleashed 200.6 and earlier, mesh is supported on all AP models except R310 and H320.

Q: What will happen if the Master AP becomes a mesh AP?

A: If a Master AP becomes a mesh AP (i.e., its uplink becomes a wireless link), it will give up its master role after a reboot. The new master will be elected among the root APs automatically. Your Unleashed network should be adjusted automatically after a few minutes.

Q: How do I recover an isolated Mesh AP?

When a Mesh AP becomes isolated (unable to connect to the Master AP through either the Ethernet or wireless mesh interface), it begins broadcasting a "Recover.Me" SSID, which allows an administrator to connect wirelessly to the problem AP and begin troubleshooting and making configuration changes. The Recover.Me SSID includes the last six digits of the AP's MAC address (format: "recover.me-<last six digits of MAC>") so that you can identify which Mesh AP is having issues.

In Unleashed 200.6 and later, the "Recover.Me" SSID allows clients to access the AP via the AP's IP address 169.254.1.1. When a client is unable to get an IP address automatically (no DHCP server), it will usually assign itself an address in the range 169.254.x.x, which will be able to reach the isolated AP on 169.254.1.1.

Note: Some clients may be unable to automatically assign an address in the 169.254.x.x range. I

n this case, the user should configure a static IP address manually.

To troubleshoot an isolated Mesh AP, connect to the "Recover.Me" SSID and SSH to the AP's CLI. Once connected, log in using the Unleashed network's user name and password and perform troubleshooting tasks such as checking that the Mesh Name and Mesh Password match those in the Unleashed Master AP's web interface, saving debug info and checking other configuration settings.