WAN 2 and Optic Fiber to MX85

[NeedHelp1]

Hi, 

I need to connect 300mbps optic fiber connection to our Cisco Meraci MX85. I have the necessary cables and a transceiver we received is a MA-SFP-TX-0003 Module ready to go. I was told to connect the transciever to the Meraki WAN SFP port 1 or 2. However, when I do, the connection isn't recognized by Meraki.

However, if I connect it to the Meraki LAN SFP port 13 or 14, the connection is identified by Meraki but it doesn’t appear as the WAN 2 connection.

So here's the challenges I'm facing: 

1) Is it ok if I connect the optic fiber to LAN SFP ports instead of WAN?
2) If LAN isn't right and WAN is the right one, how do I fix the recognition issue? 
3) How can I set the optic fiber connection as WAN 2? 

* Port GbE 3 is WAN 1 LTE/5G and port 5 is the connection to our APs.

** WAN 2 used to be our copper connection.

[AMP]

If it's a WAN connection it needs to go in one of the designated WAN connections. Unfortunately, MA-SFP-TX-0003, is not a Cisco branded SFP therefor support will not be able to assist past some basic troubleshooting. You can try connecting it to WAN port on MX and connect the other side of the connection to another device like a switch and see if you get link lights or not

[ww]

Sometimes the device needs a reboot

https://documentation.meraki.com/MX/MX_Overviews_and_Specifications/WAN_behavior_on_MX75%2F%2F85%2F%...

[NeedHelp1]

This helped, thank you! WAN SFP has been recognised after rebooting the MX. 

[Ryan_Miles]

A couple of things to confirm first.

- A SFP needs to be inserted during boot up. Ensure you're not hot swapping or inserting a SFP after boot.

- Second, WAN ports 1 & 3 and 2 & 4 are shared ports. You can only use 1 or 3 AND 2 or 4. Details here.

If the SFP works in a LAN SFP port you could always use this method as a last resort keeping in mind it's totally unofficial and not supported. 

[PhilipDAth]

I have also run into an issue where if you only plug a fibre SFP+ into WAN2 (prior to boot, on an MX105), it won't come online.  You must have something plugged into WAN1 for it to work.

I did try raising it as a bug, but support made it too difficult.

[NeedHelp1]

This helped, thank you!

I reconnected before boot up and the WAN SFP has been recognised after rebooting the MX. I was also able to switch the exsiting WAN 1 to WAN 2 so that fiber can now be WAN 1 and the LTE/5G as WAN 2. (Respecting the shared port information you mentioned9
No need to connect with LAN SFP. 

Now I'm stuck on the next step (hopefully you can help further): 

The connection shows on the Status Dashboard > Location > Ports (which wasn't working before). However, the Uplink for WAN 1 (now the fiber connection) shows as follows in the Security & SD-WAN > Monitor > Appliance Status: 

Type                                 IPv4                         IPv6
Configuration as        Dynamic                  Auto (Stateless)
Status                              Not connected       Not connected

What can I do to activate the status?

[Ryan_Miles]

The interface is set for DHCP. Should it receive a DHCP IP or does it need a static IP?

[PhilipDAth]

Another tip to try, sometimes with some models you need a firmware update before everything can be recognised.  Try plugging the MX85 temporarily into an existing network using a copper connection and update it to a current stable or better firmware image.