Check the Antenna (outdoor APs)
Outdoor MR units use an externally attached antenna. If installed incorrectly, this could be the cause of poor/unreliable mesh links.
• Confirm the
antenna type and radio band being used is correct on both ends of the link
• Confirm antennas are attached securely to the correct radios, i.e. the 5GHz antenna is connected to the 5GHz radio
posts or that an antenna is installed at all.
• Confirm antennas are oriented correctly based on their coverage patterns. Meraki antenna coverage patterns are in
the
for each antenna model. For example, if a directional antenna is being used, make sure it is aiming
at its target with direct line of sight. If an omni antenna is used, verify it is at the correct elevation.
Packet Captures
When troubleshooting a mesh link, packet captures may be required in order to analyze traffic between APs. These promiscuous-mode packet captures must be
taken using
to effectively capture all nearby wireless traffic.
A monitor should be placed near each AP, and configured to capture packets on the channels being used for the mesh link. Once the packet captures been
gathered, they can be used to identify the issue, or provide helpful troubleshooting information for
.
Figure 11: In this example, the gateway and repeater on are channel 1. Therefore, a monitor is placed near each AP and configured to capture on
channel 1.
Do not attempt to establish a mesh link between outdoor APs without external antennas installed, even if they are a few feet apart, the communication
may not be reliable.
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