MX65 wireless drops when saving firewall rules

[bbayles]

I'm having a curious problem when adding Layer 3 outbound rules to my MX65W appliance.

Whenever I go to save a new rule (Allow or Deny), many of the wireless clients the appliance is hosting disconnect. They seem to lose the SSID for a moment. Most of them reconnect, but some have problems restoring connectivity for a few moments.

I noticed the same problem when applying rules using the API and when using the web interface.

Is this a known problem? Is there any workaround? The affected devices were quite diverse - Mac laptops, Linux laptops, phones, etc.

[Ryan-Zimmerle]

We have a couple of the MX65w's running at a few remote locations.  Unfortunately I cannot speak to the issue at hand.  For me I was left feeling that the build in wifi on the MX65 was no where near what the MR42 could offer.  Having said that we hung an MR42 off the MX with a PoE injector, that configuration works really great for us.  

[PhilipDAth]

@Ryan-Zimmerle I believe the built in WiFi is 2x2 MIMO while the MR42 is 3x3 MIMO.  Also almost certainly the antennas on the MR42 will have higher gain.

As a result the MR42 should be a lot better than the built in access points.  I almost never sell the units with the built in WiFi as a result.

[Ryan-Zimmerle]

@PhilipDAth

I think you are correct on the specs.  I would also add the MR42 supports AC Wave 2, had a dedicated scanning radio, just to name a few more.  I agree with you here, where possible I try to deploy an MX as a dedicated security appliance and use MRs for the wifi needs.  

[bbayles]

I suppose it's useful to know that other appliances may have better wireless capabilities, my question is about whether adding firewall rules should be expected to interrupt connectivity. Is there a way to resolve this?

[Dashboard_DJ]

@bbayles That doesn't sound like expected behavior to me. Might be worth giving Support a quick ring and having them validate.

[Ryan-Zimmerle]

I agree with @Dashboard_DJ that does not appear to be expected behavior.  I do not see this when making firewall changes to MR devices I would expect the same for the MX.  

[bbayles · Accepted solution]

FWIW, Support confirmed this is expected behavior.