Channel changes, including those due to DFS, will bring down a mesh link. Therefore if 5GHz is being used for mesh, non-DFS channels are preferred.
However, this may not be an option depending on the country of operation (regulatory domain).
Therefore, always check for DFS as a possible cause of mesh
The Channel planning section of the Radio settings page has the regulatory domain of the network, which is based on the selected Country, and an option to
allow DFS channels.
Figure 10: A network that allows DFS channels. APs in this network could be subject to automatic channel switching.
DFS channel change events are reported in the Dashboard Event log. If you suspect DFS could be causing the mesh link to drop, the Event log is a good place
to check.
RF spectrum
If an AP has a dedicated Air Marshal radio, it can report real-time RF information in Dashbord under
Wireless > Monitor > RF spectrum
. Check this page to
find any indications of high channel utilization. If there is high utilization on certain channels, a manual channel adjustment may be necessary.
Physical Inspection
If an offline repeater is not showing up as a mesh neighbor of nearby APs, there may be a physical issue that requires on-site troubleshooting. In particular, it
may be necessary to spot check mesh APs for signs that something in the deployment has changed or was installed incorrectly.
Check the LED
Monitor the LED of the offline node and note the color and activity patterns. The
has the LED code definitions.
• If there are no LED, does the AP have a working power source?
• If there are no LED, try resetting the offline unit. After a reset, if there is still no LED activity, verify the offline AP has
a working power source and check the cabling and hardware for damage.
• If the LED shows the offline node in a scanning state, it may be unable to find a path to the gateway AP. This could
be attributed to antenna placement or orientation which should be checked on both ends of the link.
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