Profile Mesh Point Configuration

Mesh points are WiNG managed access points dedicated to mesh network support. Mesh networking enables users to access broadband applications anywhere (including moving vehicles).

To set a profile's mesh point configuration:

1. Select the Configuration tab from the Web UI.

2. Select Profiles from the Configuration tab.

3. Select Manage Profiles from the Configuration > Profiles menu.

4. Select Mesh Point.

5. Refer to the Mesh Point screen to review existing mesh point configurations and determine whether a new mesh point configuration requires creation or an existing mesh point configuration requires modification.

   MeshConnex Policy	Lists the administrator assigned name for the MeshConnex Policy, defined upon its creation. The name cannot be edited later with other parameters.
   Is Root	Displays whether the mesh point is the root node in the mesh network or not. A green checkmark defines the mesh point as a root, a red X does not.
   Preferred Root	Lists the MAC address of a a preferred root device.
   Preferred Neighbor	Lists the MAC address of the preferred neighbor within the mesh point's mesh topology.
   Preferred Interface	Displays either 2.4GHz or 5 GHz as the preferred band of operation for the mesh point.
   Monitor Critical Resources	When enabled (as defined by a green checkmark) you allow the dynamic conversion of a mesh point from root to non-root when there is a critical resource failure. This option is disabled by default.
   Monitor Primary Port Link	When enabled (as defined by a green checfkmark) you allow the dynamic conversion of a mesh point from root to non-root during a link down event. This option is disabled by default.
   Path Method	Lists the method used for path selection in a mesh network. Available options include: None – No criteria used in root path selection. uniform – Indicates the path selection method is uniform (two paths are considered equivalent if the average value is the same for these paths). mobile-snr-leaf – The access point is mounted on a vehicle or a mobile platform (AP 7161 models only). The path to the route is selected based on the Signal To Noise Ratio (SNR) with the neighbor device. snr-leaf – Indicates the path with the best signal to noise ratio is always selected.

Note

An AP 7161 model access point can be deployed as a vehicular mounted modem (VMM) to provide wireless network access to a mobile vehicle (car, train etc.). A VMM provides layer 2 mobility for connected devices. VMM does not provide layer 3 services, such as IP mobility.

1. If an existing mesh point does not meet your requirements, select the Add button to create a new configuration or the Edit button to modify the parameters of an existing configuration.

2. Before defining a VMM configuration (mounting an AP7161 mesh point on a moving vehicle), refer to the following deployment guidelines to ensure the configuration is optimally effective:

   • Disable layer 2 stateful packet inspection from the firewall policy when enabling VMM.

   • Set the RTS threshold value to 1 on all mesh devices. The default is 2347.

   • Use Opportunistic as the rate selection setting for the AP7161 radio. The default is Standard.

   • Disable Dynamic Chain Selection (radio setting). The default is enabled. This setting can be disabled in the CLI using the dynamic-chain-selection command, or in the UI.

   • Disable A-MPDU Aggregation if the intended vehicular speed is greater than 30 mph.

   • Consider setting a misconfiguration recovery time for the non-root AP profile. This configuration should delay the rejection of the newest configuration push from the controller, potentially causing adoption loss.

     The additional delay is to support cases when the new configuration from the controller causes the root AP to move from current channel to other channels, resulting in a mesh link going down, and in turn non-root APs losing adoption. This delay accommodates the time needed for the non-root AP to scan all channels and finding the best root node. The non-root AP can begin operatng on the new channel, and establish the mesh link re-adopt to the controller. (For countries using DFS, the scan time is also factored in for the configured value). If the AP fails to find a suitable root node within this time, this new config is a misconfiguration and the device would reject the latest config.

     For outdoor APs, it is recommended the misconfiguration-recovery-time be disabled. This can be accomplished by setting the value to 0. Update non root ap71xx profiles on the controller to include this change.

     Using an appropriate console terminal and or connection to your device log on to the CLI and follow these steps:

     nx9500-xxxxxx>enable

     nx9500-xxxxxx #configure terminal

     Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.

     nx9500-xxxxxx (config)#profile ap71xx Non-Root AP71xx

     nx9500-xxxxxx (config-profile-Non-Root-AP71xx)#misconfiguration-recovery-time 0

     nx9500-xxxxxx (config-profile-Non-Root-AP71xx)